Kicking off September
Happy Labor Day! Happy any day as long as it gives me a day off.
The thing I want the most right now is probably the adx lite and unfortunately “According to Yuan in DM the ADX Lite has been delayed to September as the Lite stocks have all ran out.” Not mentioning the ending of the de minimis exemption that could further erode the cost performance of the lite.
We also have the Apple Event on the 8th. Meanwhile, eBay is celebrating their 30th birthday with a -20% coupon till Sep 5th that can bring me an iPhone 16e that has a physical SIM at $527.96. My only 2 major complaints with my current 13 mini is its 4GB RAM and borderline battery. I do can live with 4GB RAM and I can spend lesser money for a battery replacement. We will see how the iPhone 17 series are and decide on whether or not to do a battery replacement and keep using the perfect-sized phone. At this pace I can also choose to wait on a very likely 17e that might be as disappointing as a 16e.
09-11 edit:
Of the 3 persons that are unloading their maimai controllers in the UCI group, one of them luckily resides in the bay area instead of LA. I am planning to pay a visit and possibly buy it off their hands this Saturday. They own an “hEDX” instead of a more common “adx”. According to the internet (e.g., bilibili & a qq group), the controller sells at 4499 cny ($630) while being significantly lighter in weight (~35kg/77lb). That means they probably bought it and shipped via standard air (estimated ~$75-100 for a parcel this heavy), roughly $700 overall. As long as the controller isn’t that bad in quality, I’m fine with a cheaper one. Might be negotiable to $500?
The Apple Event was a-ok, maybe because the 2024 one was so bad (should I remind you of the “Apple Intelligence”.) I was considering a 16e purchase if they kept the maximum RAM at 8GB but obviously the A19 PRO chip now ships with 12GB of RAM. This means Apple will now design its software and OS with a hard ceiling of 12GB instead of the previous 8. Given this and the absurd 6.3" size of a stardard iPhone 17, I might just hang onto my 13 mini indefinitely. The next point-of-consideration will be the 17e in early 2026, of which I don’t really have high hope on. Obviously the 17e will ship with 8GB of RAM (there’s no way an e-series will ship more RAM than the standard one.) To be fair, an upgrade from 4GB to 8GB can be a night and day difference for a phone that might last me longer than the phone itself can hold onto (i.e., the 8GB might still be ample in years before other component gives; compared to the 4GB being the major propelling factor for an upgrade for me right now.) I’d still want a smaller-sized phone despite the 17e might be only .2" smaller than the 17. What happened to these 5" phones? I don’t understand.