Originally Posted by Mike Halloran
Mercedes Benz does make the Smart Car. Just sayin’…
Yes, but it's not really branded as a Mercedes product. I view it a bit more like Toyota/Lexus, or to keep things music related Gibson/Epiphone. This kind of branding isn't common in the computer world. Not to mention that Apple is far from the only company who only caters to the upscale market - Microsoft makes the Surface which is more expensive than the cheaper iPads, but they don't make a low end version.

Originally Posted by Mike Halloran
My wife’s M1 MacBook Air is showing 1% usage wear after nearly 5 years.
My Mini is showing 21% after 5 years, which could be extrapolated to say I'll get 25 years of life out of it - however it's also showing 628tb written, which on a 1tb SSD is VERY high. Most 1tb SSD's are rated for 300-600TBW which I've already crossed.

Originally Posted by Mike Halloran
If a laptop, the NAND is soldered. Apple Silicon Desktops have socketed NAND. It’s proprietary as the controller is built into the CPU but upgrades and replacements are available on the grey market from those reboxing the Samsung OEM.
Not all Apple Silicon desktops are socketed - so far only the Pro, Studio, and now the M4 Mini. All of the M1-M4 iMacs and M1-M2 Minis have storage soldered to the logic board.

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