Apple is not having a good time of it, due mostly to battery replacements, economic slowdowns, and 4-digit price tags. It owns 80% of the $800 smartphone market, but that’s about the only good news.

Our roundup features stories about CES next week (squeeee!), Xiaomi’s second sub brand, another weather app that gathers more info than it needs, photos of Ultima Thule, Tesla’s price cut, and the harrowing life of a cable guy.