I'm curious about the new Mac Studio and Studio Display. The only thing I'm not happy about is the sticker shock. My iMac is a 2010 model and it is showing its age. I've been increasingly thinking about upgrading, but have been waiting because of all the changes taking place to their lineup. I've not decided yet whether I'll go the route you did or hold off a bit longer to see if anything else changes. I do prefer the computer and monitor separate, and that's the reason I held off so long getting the iMac. It was only when my PowerMac died that I made the decision to try one. My fear, though, is that the same will happen to me and the iMac will die before I take the time to upgrade.

I share some of your feelings about computational photography. I think the technology is amazing and there are so many uses for it. But it will also be used as a crutch for some. One thing I look for is the composition of a photo because today's phones don't really take care of that aspect for you, so it gives a bit of insight into the person behind the phone. But with advances in AI that may one day change. Just point at a scene in general and the phone chooses what to shoot, how to shoot it, how to process it, and perhaps automatically switches in a "nicer" sky, deletes that trash at your feel, etc.

And your mention of the removal of an aperture ring on the lens reminded me of having to get used to that when I bought my first DSLR and discovered the lenses no longer had aperture rings. I'm used to it now, but it did take a while. Every so often, though, I'll pull out my old 50mm and do everything manually. 🙂