🎁 Happy Friday everyone! Today is the day (most) iPhone 14 models begin arriving, which is good news for anyone waiting for Apple’s latest. However, it isn’t all sunshine and lollipops in Cupertino this year.

Who wants an iPhone 14 Plus? Apparently no one.

The big changeup in this year’s iPhone 14 lineup (aside from reserving new processors for the Pro models) was the addition of the iPhone 14 Plus. Essentially just a larger version of the standard iPhone, it replaced the iPhone Mini, which was essentially just a smaller version of the standard iPhone.

Did this pay off? Spoiler: no, it did not.

• Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo (via MacRumors) reported on Monday that demand for the iPhone 14 Plus was “significantly lower than expected.”
• Demand for the Pro models was relatively good, and the standard model average or below average.
• Notably, demand for the iPhone 14 Plus is lower than for smaller phones like the iPhone 13 Mini or iPhone SE 3.
• Part of this could be seen in pre-order delivery dates.
• The iPhone 14, 14 Pro, and 14 Pro Max were all expecting delays of days or weeks for pre-orders yesterday.
• The iPhone 14 Plus, on the other hand, still delivers on its launch day.
• Granted, the iPhone 14 Plus doesn’t ship until October 7, so it’s possible people are just waiting (but very unlikely).

Went big and went home

• At this point, it’s looking like this part of Apple’s strategy this year has failed.
• I mentioned above that demand is lower than the 13 Mini and SE 3, both of which were also considered failures.
• Apple cut production for both models less than six months after launch due to low demand.
• Ming-Chi Kuo expects Apple to do the same with the iPhone 14 Plus, and possibly with the standard iPhone 14 as well.
• Honestly, it’s hard to be surprised.
• Both phones have nearly the same components as last year’s devices, and this economy isn’t exactly helping.
• The iPhone 14 Plus costs $200 more than the iPhone 13 Mini did at launch.
• Now that Apple has lowered the price of the 13 Mini, the difference is $300.
• PS, if you did get an iPhone 14, here are some killer cases to keep it safe.

Roundup

💘 Ahead of the Pixel 7 launch in a few weeks, this past month reminded our own Rita El Khoury of why she really loves (and hates) the Pixel 6 Pro (Android Authority).

🍎 How the turntables: Apple copied Xiaomi with these lesser-known iPhone 14 features (Android Authority).

📱 Rumor suggests Qualcomm could launch two versions of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, but we’ll find out in November (Android Authority).

🏭 Samsung aims to make global operations and products carbon neutral by 2050 (Tech Crunch).

💸 Adobe is buying the design platform Figma for $20 billion. That’s 50x annual revenue for the Adobe XD rival (CNBC).

🙅 How often do people upgrade their tablets? Apparently, not very often at all (Android Authority).

⛏️ Ethereum completes the “Merge,” which ends mining and cuts energy use by 99.95% (Arstechnica).

🛰️ In light of today’s release, here’s how Apple’s Emergency SOS via satellite works (Android Authority).

🙌 Snapchat for Web is now available for everyone (Engadget).

🧑‍💻 Uber apparently hacked by teen, employees thought it was a joke (The Verge).

🦵 Software engineers from big tech firms like Google, Amazon, Microsoft, and Meta are paying at least $75,000 to get 3 inches taller (Business Insider).

Friday fun

The old saying goes that cats have nine lives, and now science has helped explain why. An article from The Atlantic earlier this week goes into more detail, but here’s the short version:

Using Very Serious Science™️, physicists have determined that cats are able to land on their feet using angular momentum. Essentially, a cat’s spine is incredibly flexible, so it can twist its top half one way and its bottom half the other way. Combined with, well, cat-like reflexes, our feline friends can right themselves nearly instantly.

Additionally, scientists have determined how cats are able to survive falls from incredible heights. Due to their light weight, they hit a terminal velocity of 60mph after about five stories. This feeling of weightlessness may relax the cat, lessening the final impact. This explains why, paradoxically, cats have a higher survival rate after falling more than six stories. And that survival rate is 90%, even when falling hundreds of feet.

Note: Do not try this at home. The cats are still injured, and all of this is based on observational data due to the obvious moral problems with throwing cats out of windows for science.

Meow,

Nick Fernandez, Editor.