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If you’re asking how much I think Apple will charge for Arcade: based on the prices of other games, the types and quality of the demoed games, the costs of in app purchases under the alternative freemium model, the demographic of the potential target market—and of course the cost of subsidizing developers and operating the business unit—my estimate is $15-20 per month. Personally, I’d like to see $9.99 but I think that’s wishful thinking on my part. $14.99-19.99 would be a good value. 30-60 day free trial period.

re: TV+, pricing depends wholly on what the offering will be. If it’s only Apple’s original content, I think it’ll be maybe $2.99. There just isn’t a lot of value when their initial offering will be so limited. Of course, over the years they could charge more, as their catalog expands.

But if Apple really is going to field a Netflix competitor—i.e. their own original content supplemented by a ton of content licensed from third parties in the vein of Netflix/Hulu/HBO/Amazon Prime—then I think it’ll be priced in the $9.99-12.99 range.

re: the cancellation of AirPower vs. the success/failure of Apple Arcade or TV+, I think their is approximately zero linkage. If Apple puts forth a competitive streaming TV offering, I’m sure they’ll be able to acquire tens of millions of subscribers in relatively short order, like they did with Apple Music.

I think Arcade has a ton of potential, since there is a fair amount of IAP fatigue and Apple has a potentially highly-effective marketing platform in the form of an Arcade tab in the App Store, plus the ability to give away samples very cheaply. (When you’ve got a great product, sampling is an extremely effective marketing technique. But it cuts both ways; it’ll kill a crappy product in no time flat.)

Looking forward to your comments and analysis.

Of all the announced new services, I think Arcade has the best chance for success, depending on the price. I’m no longer part of the target audience for this, but I have no doubt there is a large number who are and who will give this a try. I think sustained success will depend upon content and price. Will it be the next big thing or change the future of gaming? I’m not really qualified to do more than take a guess. When I was a regular gamer, I tended to play a couple of games until completion and then move to something else. I also had a couple of fun, play anytime games for fill ins.

Apple TV service? Again, no pricing information a bunch of celebrities and promises. What can Apple offer in this segment that hasn’t already been done besides their own original content? I don’t see Apple going out on a ledge with content like Netflix, Showtime, HBO, etc. IMO, I think Apple will be all about family friendly and politically correct. And other than it being Apple, would you or any other supporters here even be interested? What if it was, Google, or Microsoft, or Toyota, or Exxon? The bandwagon here is solely because it’s Apple, IMO.

I think Apple did the right thing cancelling AirPower, but the wrong thing with the premature announcement. It will be interesting to see if they can step up to the plate with Arcade and TV or will it be half baked.

Apple pairing up with Goldman Sachs? If Goldman Sachs came up with the exact same thing, none of you here would be crowing about it. It would be like Apple going partners with Samsung. Again, it’s Apple has a credit card, ooh boy, I can’t wait to get one, it’s Apple. Again, IMO as you asked.
 
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Well, I'd say extremely well... He's now leading one of the most successful tech companies in the world. And was also hand-picked by Steve Jobs coming to Apple, and then picked again by Jobs to succeed him. He started leading Apple in 2009 when Jobs took a medical leave of absence, two years before he passed.

His engineering degree prepared him for a lifetime of success in the tech world. It's not about designing logic boards, writing code, etc. But rather developing thought processes enabling him to succeed over a long career addressing myriad challenges along the way.

Results matter. I have no idea why you are fighting that.

What is the evidence that it was his engineering skills that landed him the job? I bet it was his MBA and experience at IBM in a manager role that got Steve's attention. And to be fair, it was the most successful tech company in the world when he took over, so I don't give him a lot of points for that.
 
What is the evidence that it was his engineering skills that landed him the job? I bet it was his MBA and experience at IBM in a manager role that got Steve's attention. And to be fair, it was the most successful tech company in the world when he took over, so I don't give him a lot of points for that.

I suspect it was both, along with his demonstrated success. But that's getting off the subject that Cook's engineering degree is somehow not real or a lesser degree, and thus he's not an engineer.

Again, one of the most valuable aspects of earning an engineering degree are the thought processes such a program develops and fosters. Which for most are very valuable life long skills no matter what discipline one is engaged in.
 
Welp, like it or not, people come and go in the workplace. Nobody will know why until someone, like any of the tech bloggers who pretended to be journalists, maybe try to contact the person and ask. Until then, there's no news here, unless you are trying to short some stocks.
 
I think the Apple Maps rollout was probably a worse week, but your point is well taken.

Unlike Maps, this failure doesn’t pass the “dad” test. I haven’t received a text from my dad asking what’s up about AirPower. My wife has never heard of it. My kid doesnt know what it is.

We all live in a little bubble here - we assume everyone knows about AirPower, and that everyone knows about its cancellation. But nope.
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Welp, like it or not, people come and go in the workplace. Nobody will know why until someone, like any of the tech bloggers who pretended to be journalists, maybe try to contact the person and ask. Until then, there's no news here, unless you are trying to short some stocks.

To put in perspective, back when the key visionary for cpus at AMD left, a guy who was much more important to AMD than this guy is to apple, nobody in the press noticed. It’s just a slow news day.
 
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This really is the worst week for Apple in recent memory


LOL on the hyperbole. People come and go all the time. This guy has been there for many years. It's not a one person shop. Too bad that Apple wasn't successful in trying to do what no one else has done with a wireless charger, but probably 95% of Apple's customers didn't know anything about the Airpower accessory in the first place, and heard nothing about its cancellation, and if they did, they hardly worry about a minor accessory. Today's news is that someone from Tesla came over to join the Triton team at Apple. Does that make this a great week?

Millions of people around the world bought an Apple product this week. Billions in revenue came in. A hundred million people around the globe watched Apple News today, if only ten percent of them signed up for Apple News + that's over a billion dollars a year in new revenue just for starters. They just put out a record number of products in the past week with great reviews: iPad mini, new Air, new AirPods, new iMacs. The new AirPods demand is great with ever growing wait times. That's called WINNING.
 
It's common saying that implies people don't change. You know, like you just said. According to you, because he got a degree he is an engineer. It doesn't matter that it was almost 30 years ago and he hasn't really done any engineering since then. Four years of school makes him an engineer. There are no other qualifications needed. No CE classes. No hands on experience. How many credits does it take to be permanently branded as an engineer? One? Does it matter what the class was? Are electrical, civil and social engineering all the same?

Or, is it more likely that no one really cares what your bachelors degree is in when you apply for a job outside of that field?
Well, I didn’t say any of that (you’re confusing me with the person to whom you replied) but I agree. The communication stumble here is semantics. On one hand is the degree, on the other is the job one chooses.

Yes, one is allowed to call oneself an engineer, forever, if one does the necessary coursework and is awarded an accredited degree. Swallow hard because that’s just the way it is. This apparently really bothers you, and the reason is that one gets to call oneself an engineer even if one doesn’t do that work anymore. Maybe there’s some additional engineering certification that enhances the status, but I have no idea. Most people probably wouldn’t call themselves engineers if they didn’t do engineering of some kind for a living, and I agree that it’d be odd, and possibly inappropriate. Most people would probably distinguish that they have an engineering degree but work in business, or whatever. You were emphasizing the task of the job, while he was acknowledging an educational background. Both are accurate.

More examples. You can go through all the memorization, ritual, and indoctrination of Freemasonry, go though your first three degrees, and earn the title Master Mason. You can then never attend a single Mason function or do any further Mason activities, but you’re still a Freemason until you die. I am a medical doctor (four years after college) and I get to call myself that for the rest of my life, even if I walk away from medicine tomorrow and earn a living as a bass player. That’s just the way it is. I probably wouldn’t introduce myself that way because it would be misleading, but that’s my honor and my right for having been through medical training, sworn an oath, and practiced as a physician. If I tried to re-enter practice after 15 years my certification would be stale and I’d need CME coursework to satisfy a credentialing body. But I’d always be Dr.

As to your other questions, they have obvious answers.
 
Link please?
German Apple Store, choose 15" Macbook Pro model, klick buy. Upgrade from 256 to 1 TB: 720 Euron (equal 808 US$) (https://www.apple.com/de/shop/buy-mac/macbook-pro/15-zoll-space-grau-2,2-ghz-6‑core-256gb#)

13 Inch model: 1 TB upgrade 750 Euro (842 US$) (https://www.apple.com/de/shop/buy-mac/macbook-pro/13-zoll-space-grau-2,3-ghz-dual‑core-256gb#)

Mac Mini: 1 TB upgrade 960 (!!!) Euro (1078 US$) (https://www.apple.com/de/shop/buy-mac/mac-mini/3,6-ghz-quad‑core-prozessor-128gb#)

Apple US:
Mac Mini (US Store): 1 TB upgrade 800$ (https://www.apple.com/shop/buy-mac/mac-mini/3.6ghz-quad-core-processor-128gb#)
 
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Gerard Williams III, lead designer of Apple's custom iOS chips from A7 to A12X, has departed the company, according to CNET. While no indication of a change has been made on his LinkedIn profile, it does offer a glimpse into his design prowess.

Williams' presence goes back even further into Apple device history, as he served as the technical lead for the Cortex-A8 design, ARM's first superscalar core design and the heart of the iPhone 3GS. His role evidently grew over the years, with CPU architecture responsibilities eventually evolving into ownership of the entire system on chip (SoC), which houses CPU, graphics, image processing, secure enclave, motion, and AI cores.

A look at his patent portfolio shows he was a key force behind Apple's foray into mixed CPU core clusters starting with the A10 Fusion chip, and transitioning into full heterogeneous cores with the A11 Bionic. His body of work also includes an emphasis on cache, memory, and energy efficiency. These have become key differentiating features as seen in performance benchmarking from sites such as AnandTech.

a7.png

He came to Apple with a splash, as the A7 was Apple's first 64-bit CPU core. This design arrived on the market over a full year before competitors like Qualcomm and Samsung could respond and largely cemented the technical prowess of the SoC team Apple had created.

If confirmed, his departure would follow the more well-known CPU architect Jim Keller, who was part of Apple's acquisition of PA Semi. More recently, Apple's SoC team lost its lead Manu Gulati, whose vacated role was assumed by Williams. Apple has had some success at retaining key technical executives, however, as the recent rumors of SVP of Hardware Technologies Johnny Srouji's candidacy for Intel CEO fizzled out. Apple also managed to keep Bob Mansfield despite having announced his retirement.

As for potential destinations, Intel has become the number one destination for high-profile technical leads, as they have lured many key AMD executives, as well as former Apple lead Jim Keller. Intel has been absorbing members of the press as well as it seeks to reclaim its technical leadership in the industry, taking on long-tenured PC Perspective writers, including editor-in-chief Ryan Shrout.

Article Link: Key iOS Chip Architect Gerard Williams III Departs Apple

Not so good for apple, unless they can continue with new designs.
 
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Apple charges more than 800 bucks for an upgrade to a 1 TB SSD. You can purchase high quality NVMe SSD in retail for roughly 220.
Hence Apple charges approx 4x, not even considering its an upgrade and Apple doesn‘t purchase in retail.

Sorry, but 4x for something mundane like an SSD IS outrageous. Ridiculous. Greedy

Were you complaining when their computers were 4x the cost of PCs in the 80s?
 
Well, I didn’t say any of that (you’re confusing me with the person to whom you replied) but I agree. The communication stumble here is semantics. On one hand is the degree, on the other is the job one chooses.

Yes, one is allowed to call oneself an engineer, forever, if one does the necessary coursework and is awarded an accredited degree. Swallow hard because that’s just the way it is. This apparently really bothers you, and the reason is that one gets to call oneself an engineer even if one doesn’t do that work anymore. Maybe there’s some additional engineering certification that enhances the status, but I have no idea. Most people probably wouldn’t call themselves engineers if they didn’t do engineering of some kind for a living, and I agree that it’d be odd, and possibly inappropriate. Most people would probably distinguish that they have an engineering degree but work in business, or whatever. You were emphasizing the task of the job, while he was acknowledging an educational background. Both are accurate.

More examples. You can go through all the memorization, ritual, and indoctrination of Freemasonry, go though your first three degrees, and earn the title Master Mason. You can then never attend a single Mason function or do any further Mason activities, but you’re still a Freemason until you die. I am a medical doctor (four years after college) and I get to call myself that for the rest of my life, even if I walk away from medicine tomorrow and earn a living as a bass player. That’s just the way it is. I probably wouldn’t introduce myself that way because it would be misleading, but that’s my honor and my right for having been through medical training, sworn an oath, and practiced as a physician. If I tried to re-enter practice after 15 years my certification would be stale and I’d need CME coursework to satisfy a credentialing body. But I’d always be Dr.

As to your other questions, they have obvious answers.

And you can play football on your college team, but that does not make you a professional football player.
 
Yeah - I trust the insights of everyone who has a Bachelor's degree. Those take a lot of effort to get.
Hi, I'm 41 days away from graduating with a bachelor's from one of the top several meteorology schools in the United States (and depending on whom you ask, the best). Maybe you breezed through your bachelor's degree, but I had to fight like hell at times to get here.

No matter what I wind up doing for a job, I will always be a meteorologist because that's a field in which I received formal training and can contribute insight. It's not like this stuff is going to just slip my mind in a decade if I work in another career while waiting to get hired or just doing something about which I'm passionate that isn't meteorology.

I am saying it's been nearly 30 years since he has done anything resembling engineering.
As an engineer, I'm sure you're aware that engineering is not limited to hardware and software. Tim Cook most notably engineered Apple's modern supply chain (and is probably still deeply involved in it), and that's exactly what industrial engineering is. He has not been engineering the products at Apple; he's been engineering the infrastructure which made those products possible. That's still engineering, and it requires an engineering mindset to pull it off successfully.

What you said is much like my saying operational and broadcast meteorologists are the only "real" meteorologists since many research meteorologists haven't published a forecast in many years, if ever. That doesn't make research meteorologists less valid as meteorologists; they just have a different and equally (or more) important focus in their contributions to the field as a whole.
 
I suspect it was both, along with his demonstrated success. But that's getting off the subject that Cook's engineering degree is somehow not real or a lesser degree, and thus he's not an engineer.

Again, one of the most valuable aspects of earning an engineering degree are the thought processes such a program develops and fosters. Which for most are very valuable life long skills no matter what discipline one is engaged in.

I disagree. I think people with the “engineering mind” successfully pass the work while those without it change their majors or never work in the field. The coursework doesn’t make you think more one way or the other, but rather the curriculum attracts people who already think that way or are predisposed to think that way.
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Hi, I'm 41 days away from graduating with a bachelor's from one of the top several meteorology schools in the United States (and depending on whom you ask, the best). Maybe you breezed through your bachelor's degree, but I had to fight like hell at times to get here.

No matter what I wind up doing for a job, I will always be a meteorologist because that's a field in which I received formal training and can contribute insight. It's not like this stuff is going to just slip my mind in a decade if I work in another career while waiting to get hired or just doing something about which I'm passionate that isn't meteorology.


As an engineer, I'm sure you're aware that engineering is not limited to hardware and software. Tim Cook most notably engineered Apple's modern supply chain (and is probably still deeply involved in it), and that's exactly what industrial engineering is. He has not been engineering the products at Apple; he's been engineering the infrastructure which made those products possible. That's still engineering, and it requires an engineering mindset to pull it off successfully.

What you said is much like my saying operational and broadcast meteorologists are the only "real" meteorologists since many research meteorologists haven't published a forecast in many years, if ever. That doesn't make research meteorologists less valid as meteorologists; they just have a different and equally (or more) important focus in their contributions to the field as a whole.

I didn’t realized he did it himself. I was under the impression he approved others work. Maybe, someday, one of us will be lucky enough to own an original Tim Cook print.

If you don’t do anything in meteorology for 30 years people might still call you a meteorologist, but I won’t. That’s a title I reserve for people actively in the field. I’ll say you were one, or you went to school to be one, but I won’t say you are one.
 
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Were you complaining when their computers were 4x the cost of PCs in the 80s?
Did they use standard PC hardware back then? Do you think it was a good idea to rip customers off back then?

Apple is free to ask whatever they want. Similarly, I am free point is out if someone charges 800 currency units for stuff that is available for much, much less (at same quality level).
 
Forget fantasy football and the like, macrumors members need a fantasy management team. That way they can build their own teams and compete them and see which macrumors CEO can win the bowl/trophy/cup or other sports dishware.
 
I didn’t realized he did it himself. I was under the impression he approved others work. Maybe, someday, one of us will be lucky enough to own an original Tim Cook print.
Do you know something that I don't? Even if he were just approving others' work as COO (which I don't believe to be the case at all, particularly in his early years at Apple), he'd still require knowledge of industrial engineering to fully know what to approve and what to reject.

Engineering, or being responsible for the engineering of, Apple's modern supply chain is a massive industrial engineering achievement. Cook is almost universally lauded for it, even among quite a few of his detractors as CEO. What have you done?
 
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Yes, one is allowed to call oneself an engineer, forever, if one does the necessary coursework and is awarded an accredited degree.

How poorly that reflects the field. That would never fly in other disciplines. Imagine a BS in psychology calling themself a psychologist or a doctor who refuses to do CE claiming they are still qualified to practice.

Is that the issue? Should I say he is an engineer that isn’t qualified to do engineering?
 
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"Intel has been absorbing members of the press as well as it seeks to reclaim its technical leadership..."

This is a bizarre statement. I doubt that hiring magazine editors could possibly advance Intel's chip designs.
 
Do you know something that I don't? Even if he were just approving others' work as COO (which I don't believe to be the case at all, particularly in his early years at Apple), he'd still require knowledge of industrial engineering to fully know what to approve and what to reject.

Engineering, or being responsible for the engineering of, Apple's modern supply chain is a massive industrial engineering achievement. Cook is almost universally lauded for it, even among quite a few of his detractors as CEO. What have you done?

Tim Cook’s potential title as an engineer has nothing to do with my accomplishments. I don’t have to have his accomplishments to assess his.
 
"Intel has been absorbing members of the press as well as it seeks to reclaim its technical leadership..."

This is a bizarre statement. I doubt that hiring magazine editors could possibly advance Intel's chip designs.

Yes, it could, by using media as propaganda.
 
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Do you mean the notch that other companies have replicated without the facial recognition software? Maybe they should've just put a hole in the screen like Samsung.
Lots of Android sheep decided they hated the notch from the start, and even though they've been repeatedly proven wrong in their judgements of, they can't stop going off on it. Meanwhile, these same fanboys praise Samsung's hideous looking hole, their own poor efforts to deal with fingerprint sensors, and the fact that Android hasn't come up with anything remotely as good as Face ID.

I wonder what the Android sheep would say about Face ID if Samsung had come up with it instead and Apple was the one still using Touch ID.
 
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