I concede that ppl who don't have many usb -c chargers lying around will be more off put by this. That said, transitions like this generally involve some degree of nuisance until we all get finally settled in. Remember when Apple changed the pin connector to lightening many years ago? My suggestion: Don't even buy a charging brick from Apple. Get one from either Anker or Aukey (they both make GAN chargers, which are far superior to that of Apple's and much smaller in size). Then use those to either plug in your phone directly or buy a MagSafe puck.

I think the carriers were playing some games with the pricing and Apple should not have played along. It should have been consisting pricing irrespective of carriers. I agree, it's a bit disingenuous to market the lower price, which is only applicable to 2 specific carriers. I thought Apple had reversed this decision, but I could be wrong...

The mini didn't interest me. I already own the original HomePod, but I am genuinely interested in the upcoming HomePod update, which will bring Atmos capability. At that point, I might buy another HomePod to create a stereo pair with my Apple TV. Whether the Homepod is useful when they launch the AirTags feature is something we will have to see. Not entirely sure how that will work.

I'm a bit bummed that I that opted for the second best camera, but I am ok with it. The iPhone 12 Pro is already slightly bigger than it's predecessor, so there's that, plus I just cannot fathom using such a large iPhone on a daily basis.