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Did you ever think Apple was deleting the Lightning port just so they could make the iPhone Lucky Number 13 thinner? Like, opposite of THICCC thinner? Like a credit card? Like 2D?

I'm kidding. I swear. But…

Earlier this week, supply-chain exfiltrator extraordinaire Kuo Ming-Chi dropped another spoiler bomb and I had so many questions about it I made yesterday's video.

Well, it turns out, you had even more questions, especially about the rumor that Apple would be deleting the Lightning port on the Pro-level iPhones comes 2021.

So, follow up time.

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LINKS:

• Why Apple is Killing Lightning* - YouTube
• Kuo: Apple to Launch Five iPhones in 2020, Including 5.4-Inch, Two 6.1-Inch, and 6.7-Inch Models With 5G - MacRumors
• Kuo: Apple to Launch 'Completely Wireless' iPhone Without Lightning Connector and 'iPhone SE 2 Plus' With Touch ID Power Button in 2021 - MacRumors

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*If noted supply-chain exfiltrator extraordinaire Kuo Ming-Chi of TF International Securities is to be believed.

Yes, Kuo dropped another spoiler bomb this week, this time concerning the five — yes, five — new iPhones he is expecting from Apple in 2020. Including 4 versions of the iPhone 12 and, this time, all OLED. And... maybe not all Lightning in 2021...

It lines up, in part, with similar supply-chain exfiltrations earlier in the week from Samik Chatterjee of JPMorgan, who also suggested Apple might start splitting its release schedule between spring and the traditional fall and…

I have so many questions.

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LINKS:

• Kuo: Apple to Launch Five iPhones in 2020, Including 5.4-Inch, Two 6.1-Inch, and 6.7-Inch Models With 5G - MacRumors
• Kuo: Apple to Launch 'Completely Wireless' iPhone Without Lightning Connector and 'iPhone SE 2 Plus' With Touch ID Power Button in 2021 - MacRumors
• Apple could change its annual iPhone release schedule, JP Morgan says

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Over the last few weeks and months, if not years, Apple has come under fire for how they're handling China and Hong Kong, U.S. President Donald Trump, and Russia and Crimea.

Some have accused Apple and Tim Cook of betraying their principles for greed and abandoning customers who placed their trust not just in Apple's products but their ethics and values.

Others have praised the company and their CEO for doing their fiduciary duty, following the laws of the all the various lands, and preserving important markets and shareholder value.

Still others have seen it as Apple, caught in their own expansion, trying to navigate an impossible balance between political turmoil, corporate interests, and social and customer responsibility.

Now, that fire is becoming an inferno. How close can Apple play it without being frozen out… or burned?

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LINKS:

• China, Russia, Trump, and Apple — Explained | iMore

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Just over a year ago, Apple announced the all new iPad Pro. Gone was the Home button and Touch ID, and the Lightning port. Thanos-snapped were half the bezels. In their place was a TrueDepth camera and Face ID, and a USB-C Port. All wrapped up in a modern, retro design.

It was controversial at first because all that A12X power and Liquid Retina grace just felt so underserved by the iOS 12 feature set it shipped with.

That was 2018. This is 2019. And, while the atoms have gone without an upgrade the bits have finally started coming into their own with iPadOS, an offshoot of iOS 13.

We've even seen some discounts, a hundred or a couple bucks off the top, as we head into the holidays.

So, have we gone from super high priced to slightly more affordable? More importantly, have we gone from bleeding-edge hardware limited by software to outdated hardware made functional at longest last? Or, have we finally found the perfect balance, at least until the next update?

Let's figure it out.

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LINKS:

• New iPad vs. Air vs. mini vs. Pro — Which should you buy? - YouTube
• iPad Pro (2018) Review - YouTube
• Apple Pencil (2nd Generation) Review - Drawn with Apple Pencil! - YouTube
• iPad Pro (2018) Review: Two weeks later! - YouTube
• Can iPad Pro Replace Your Laptop Now? - YouTube

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When Steve Jobs first unveiled the iPad, you only had one 9.7-inch model to choose from. Over the years, though, Apple expanded the lineup to include the ultra-portable 7.9-inch iPad mini and the ultra-productive 12.9-inch iPad Pro.

Now, the 9.7 is finally, truly gone, and in its place we have five different sizes stretched across five different price points — Entry-level 10.2-inch iPad 7, mid-range 7.9-inch iPad mini 5 and 10.5-inch iPad Air 3, and high-end 11.-inch and 12.9-inch iPads Pro. And, of course, all the color, storage, and cellular options for each.

And… it can seem like a lot. I get it. I totally get it. But it doesn't have to be. Keep watching and we'll quickly, simply hone things down to the perfect first-time or upgrade iPad for you.

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• Amazon.com : Apple iPad Air (10.5-inch, Wi-Fi, 64GB) - Space Gray (Latest Model)
• Amazon.com : New Apple iPad (10.2-Inch, Wi-Fi, 32GB) - Space Gray (Latest Model)
• Amazon.com : Apple iPad Mini (Wi-Fi, 64GB) - Space Gray (Latest Model)
• Amazon.com : Apple iPad Pro (11-inch, Wi-Fi, 64GB) - Space Gray (Latest Model)

LINKS:

• iPad Air 3 (2019) Review — In the Air! - YouTube
• $329 iPad (2019) Review: One Month Later - YouTube
• iPad mini 5 (2019) Review - YouTube
• iPad Pro (2018) Review: Two weeks later! - YouTube

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I've been using the 16-inch MacBook Pro day in, day out, as my main computational machine, since just before Apple announced it. I've done all the emails and messages, surfed all the websites, watched all the TV, written tens of thousands of words, and edited 7 or so YouTube videos comprising about an hour of a-roll and just a ton of b-roll.

In other words, I've hammered on it. And here's how it's held up.

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• Amazon.com: New Apple MacBook Pro (16-Inch, 16GB RAM, 512GB Storage) - Silver

LINKS:

• How Apple Fixed the MacBook Pro - YouTube
• 16-inch MacBook Pro — 24-Hour Review - YouTube
• 16-inch MacBook Pro vs. 13-inch Pro vs. Air — Which Should You Get? - YouTube

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When I first got sent the 'Why Are Apple Products So Expensive' video, before I even hit play, I guessed that the entirety of it was going to come down to Bill of Materials + Apple Tax x Sheep = PROFIT!

I hoped for more. A deep dive into Apple margins over time and how they compared to the rest of the industry. A breakdown of price vs. value, where the up-front dollars were measured out over the total cost of ownership. And of how exactly Apple was providing the kind of value people were willing to pay premium prices for again and again..

But, yeah, all I got was Bill of Materials + Apple Tax x Sheep = PROFIT exclamation mark, exclamation mark, number 1.

Which is… just such a tired, trite, old, lazy, rehashed, cliched take on why Apple's products are legitimately more expensive than others.

So, let's do that now.

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LINKS:

• Why Apple Products Are So Expensive | So Expensive - YouTube

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The iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, and iPhone 11 Pro Max Smart Battery Cases are here! Obviously, they change up the camera bump cutout, but they also add a new, dedicated, hardware camera button to launch the camera app and take photos and QuickVideo.

So, how does it work? Here's an overview of the technology and a look at whats new!

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• iPhone 11 Smart Battery Case with Wireless Charging - Soft White - Apple
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I'm not a minimalist. I try not to buy too many things but I often buy the wrong version of a thing once or twice before finding the right one. And that… piles up.

But it does mean that, come Black Friday and Cyber Monday, or the Long Turkey Weekend, or just what I call it now — November — I have a pretty good, tried and tested idea, about what I want to give and get going into the holidays.

And then I just have to stick to my list, look for the best the prices possible. And hit the buy button.

For the best prices possible part, I keep it locked to my friends and colleagues over at Thrifter.com. I work with them every day, so I get to see first hand just how hard they work, especially this time of year. Like round-the-clock hard. And no, this isn't a paid endorsement. It's… awe. So, I'm just going to link up all their 24/7 roundups in the description. You're welcome.

As to the list, well, it's Apple-heavy as you might expect. And here it is.

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LINKS:

• Black Friday 2019 | Android Central
• What's in Rene's Apple event gear bag? | iMore

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I've been using Google's Pixel 4 phone for almost a month now. I mean, really using it. With my SIM card in it and everything. Taking photos. Making calls. Playing Pokemon Go. Yes, still.

And, you know, this isn't my first Google phone. I had the Nexus One, the Nexus 4, and the Pixels 1 and 2.

I usually get the XL but since I've switched back to the smaller iPhone, I decided to go with the smaller Pixel as well.

Now, up front, I consider Google to be the most important company in the world. I love Apple's products and their overall philosophy currently best aligns with mine. I think Amazon is transformative in the best and worst ways. Facebook is… a disaster that still brings the world together like nothing else. But, Google, literally, is trying to build the Star Trek computer. The future of humanity. And there is no amount of scrutiny that's enough, no slack cut that's not detrimental to what that future will be for all of us. Ethically and technologically.

Apple makes phones. Phones that are increasingly tied to entertainment services, sure. But Google's phones are services. The atoms themselves are spectacularly unimpressive without the algorithms that bring them to life… and harvest unprecedented amounts of personal, private data while doing it. All in service of financing and building that Star Trek computer.

So, if I seem the tough on Google and their products like the Pixel. It's because I have to be. We all have to be.

So, with all of that understood, here is my Pixel 4 review... one month later.

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