• Bloomberg offered a bit more specificity on things in a report on Wednesday, saying that the first ARM-based Macs could come in 2020, with plans to offer developers a way to write a single app that can run across iPhones, iPads and Macs by 2021.
• The first hints of the effort came last year when Apple offered a sneak peek at its plan to make it easier for developers to bring iPad apps to the Mac.

Why it matters: The move could give developers a way to reach a bigger market with a single app, although the transition could be bumpy. For Intel, of course, it would mean the loss of a significant customer, albeit probably not a huge hit to its bottom line.

Our thought bubble:

• If anything, the Bloomberg timeline suggests that Intel might actually have more Mac business in 2020 than some had been expecting.
• The key question is not the timeline but just how smoothly Apple is able to make the shift. For developers, it will likely mean an awkward period of time supporting new and classic Macs as well as new and old-style Mac apps.

History lesson: Apple has already made several big shifts in the 25-year history of the Mac, moving from Motorola chips to PowerPC processors and then to Intel. It's also moved from the classic Macintosh operating system to the Unix-based Mac OS X.

The bottom line: A tiny fraction of folks will pay $2,000 or more for a smartphone provided it is significantly luxurious and makes them the coolest executive or celebrity in the room.

• That's clearly the market Samsung is going for with its Galaxy Fold, though it didn't specifically say who might buy the new device.
• For most people, though, current top-of-the-line smartphones are already stretching their budgets.
• It wasn't that long ago that $800 was seen as the highest starting point consumers would stomach.

Flashback: In 2015, I predicted that Samsung had gone too far and that $900 would prove to be the high water mark for non-Apple phone prices.

• "The era of the big-bucks phablet is coming to an end," I boldly and wrongly declared.

Meanwhile, high-end phone prices have moved steadily upward in recent years even as the market has matured, with consumers showing plenty of appetite to pay up for larger screens and better cameras.

• Yes, but: There's a difference between a little year-over-year price creep and introducing a phone that costs more than a high-end smartphone and tablet combined.

The Galaxy Fold raises other questions, too, including whether the world really needs a foldable phone. For the uninitiated, the Galaxy Fold consists of a smaller "cover screen" and then the big unfolding tablet-size one that appears when you open (aka unfold) the device.

• The pros: A foldable phone lets you have something that's easy to hold and can often be put in a pocket, while also offering more screen real estate for browsing the web or watching a movie.
• The cons: Obviously first and foremost is the cost. But the Galaxy Fold is also thicker when folded up than a traditional phone, and its folded-up screen is just 4.6 inches diagonally.

While this effort is sleeker than past attempts, others have introduced devices that took a roughly similar approach with less advanced technology.

• One of the more recent attempts was ZTE's Axon M, which had similar pros and cons, albeit at a price tag that was less than half of the Galaxy Fold.

What's next: Expect more foldable devices, with Huawei, Xiaomi and Lenovo all in various stages of development.

Go deeper: Smartphone ownership is rising around the world

Galaxy Fold details:

• The Fold will come in LTE and 5G models, but will start at a whopping $1,980 — the price of a high-end phone and tablet combined.
• The device has a 4.6-inch display when closed and opens to reveal a 7.3-inch display.
• It packs 6 cameras and will ship in April.
• Samsung previewed its foldable at a developer conference last year.

Meanwhile, the Galaxy S10 will come in 4 models:

• A smaller model, known as Galaxy S10e, starts at $749 and has a 5.8-inch display.
• The standard model, the S10, starts at $899 and has a 6.1-inch display.
• A larger screen model, the S10+, starts at $999 and has a 6.4-inch display.
• A 6.7-inch model, the Galaxy S10 5G, works with 5G networks.

S10 details:

• The S10e has dual rear cameras; the S10 and S10+ have 3, including standard, zoom and wide-angle; while the Galaxy S10 5G adds a fourth, depth-sensing camera as well as an additional depth-sensing camera on the front.
• All models can wirelessly charge another device, such as another phone or compatible accessory, and pack Qualcomm’s new high-end Snapdragon 855 processor.
• An ultrasonic fingerprint reader sits underneath the full-screen display on the S10.
• The camera app will feature an Instagram mode, developed with the Facebook subsidiary, that includes access to its filters and tools as well as easy posting to the social network. It also partnered with Adobe for a custom version of its Premiere Rush video-editing software.
• Pre-orders for all but the 5G model will start Thursday, with the device hitting store shelves March 8. The 5G model will ship in the second quarter, first on Verizon and later in the quarter on other carriers.

In addition to the phones, Samsung introduced a pair of wireless earbuds, known as Galaxy Buds. Those who pre-order the S10 or S10+ will get the $129 earbuds for free.