Best iPhone Games You Can Play Without Wi-Fi or Data: Your

NEW INFO 5 Results from share redemption are posted. Less than .2% redeemed. Very bullish as investors are showing extreme confidence in the future of PLBY.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/playboy-mountain-crest-acquisition-corp-120000721.html
NEW INFO 4 Definitive Agreement to purchase 100% of Lovers brand stores announced 2/1.
https://www.streetinsider.com/Corporate+News/Playboy+%28MCAC%29+Confirms+Deal+to+Acquire+Lovers/17892359.html
NEW INFO 3 I bought more on the dip today. 5081 total. Price rose AH to $12.38 (2.15%)
NEW INFO 2 Here is the full webinar.
https://icrinc.zoom.us/rec/play/9GWKdmOYumjWfZuufW3QXpe_FW_g--qeNbg6PnTjTMbnNTgLmCbWjeRFpQga1iPc-elpGap8dnDv8Zww.yD7DjUwuPmapeEdP?continueMode=true&tk=lEYc4F_FkKlgsmCIs6w0gtGHT2kbgVGbUju3cIRBSjk.DQIAAAAV8NK49xZWdldRM2xNSFNQcTBmcE00UzM3bXh3AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA&uuid=WN_GKWqbHkeSyuWetJmLFkj4g&_x_zm_rtaid=kR45-uuqRE-L65AxLjpbQw.1611967079119.2c054e3d3f8d8e63339273d9175939ed&_x_zm_rhtaid=866
NEW INFO 1 Live merger webinar with PLBY and MCAC on Friday January 29, 2021 at 12:00 NOON EST link below
https://mcacquisition.com/investor-relations/press-release-details/2021/Playboy-Enterprises-Inc.-and-Mountain-Crest-Acquisition-Corp-Participate-in-SPACInsider-ICR-Webinar-on-January-29th-at-12pm-ET/default.aspx
Playboy going public: Porn, Gambling, and Cannabis
!!!WARNING READING AHEAD!!! TL;DR at the end. It will take some time to sort through all the links and read/watch everything, but you should.
In the next couple weeks, Mountain Crest Acquisition Corp is taking Playboy public. The existing ticker MCAC will become PLBY. Special purpose acquisition companies have taken private companies public in recent months with great success. I believe this will be no exception. Notably, Playboy is profitable and has skyrocketing revenue going into a transformational growth phase.
Porn - First and foremost, let's talk about porn. I know what you guys are thinking. “Porno mags are dead. Why would I want to invest in something like that? I can get porn for free online.” Guess what? You are absolutely right. And that’s exactly why Playboy doesn’t do that anymore. That’s right, they eliminated their print division. And yet they somehow STILL make money from porn that people (see: boomers) pay for on their website through PlayboyTV, Playboy Plus, and iPlayboy. Here’s the thing: Playboy has international, multi-generational name recognition from porn. They have content available in 180 countries. It will be the only publicly traded adult entertainment (porn) company. But that is not where this company is going. It will help support them along the way. You can see every Playboy magazine through iPlayboy if you’re interested. NSFW links below:
https://www.playboy.com/
https://www.playboytv.com/
https://www.playboyplus.com/
https://www.iplayboy.com/
Gambling - Some of you might recognize the Playboy brand from gambling trips to places like Las Vegas, Atlantic City, Cancun, London or Macau. They’ve been in the gambling biz for decades through their casinos, clubs, and licensed gaming products. They see the writing on the wall. COVID is accelerating the transition to digital, application based GAMBLING. That’s right. What we are doing on Robinhood with risky options is gambling, and the only reason regulators might give a shit anymore is because we are making too much money. There may be some restrictions put in place, but gambling from your phone on your couch is not going anywhere. More and more states are allowing things like Draftkings, poker, state ‘lottery” apps, hell - even political betting. Michigan and Virginia just ok’d gambling apps. They won’t be the last. This is all from your couch and any 18 year old with a cracked iphone can access it. Wouldn’t it be cool if Playboy was going to do something like that? They’re already working on it. As per CEO Ben Kohn who we will get to later, “...the company’s casino-style digital gaming products with Scientific Games and Microgaming continue to see significant global growth.” Honestly, I stopped researching Scientific Games' sports betting segment when I saw the word ‘omni-channel’. That told me all I needed to know about it’s success.
“Our SG Sports™ platform is an enhanced, omni-channel solution for online, self-service and retail fixed odds sports betting – from soccer to tennis, basketball, football, baseball, hockey, motor sports, racing and more.”
https://www.scientificgames.com/
https://www.microgaming.co.uk/
“This latter segment has become increasingly enticing for Playboy, and it said last week that it is considering new tie-ups that could include gaming operators like PointsBet and 888Holdings.”
https://calvinayre.com/2020/10/05/business/playboys-gaming-ops-could-get-a-boost-from-spac-purchase/
As per their SEC filing:
“Significant consumer engagement and spend with Playboy-branded gaming properties around the world, including with leading partners such as Microgaming, Scientific Games, and Caesar’s Entertainment, steers our investment in digital gaming, sports betting and other digital offerings to further support our commercial strategy to expand consumer spend with minimal marginal cost, and gain consumer data to inform go-to-market plans across categories.”
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgadata/1803914/000110465921005986/tm2034213-12_defm14a.htm#tMDAA1
They are expanding into more areas of gaming/gambling, working with international players in the digital gaming/gambling arena, and a Playboy sportsbook is on the horizon.
https://www.playboy.com/read/the-pleasure-of-playing-with-yourself-mobile-gaming-in-the-covid-era
Cannabis - If you’ve ever read through a Playboy magazine, you know they’ve had a positive relationship with cannabis for many years. As of September 2020, Playboy has made a major shift into the cannabis space. Too good to be true you say? Check their website. Playboy currently sells a range of CBD products. This is a good sign. Federal hemp products, which these most likely are, can be mailed across state lines and most importantly for a company like Playboy, can operate through a traditional banking institution. CBD products are usually the first step towards the cannabis space for large companies. Playboy didn’t make these products themselves meaning they are working with a processor in the cannabis industry. Another good sign for future expansion. What else do they have for sale? Pipes, grinders, ashtrays, rolling trays, joint holders. Hmm. Ok. So it looks like they want to sell some shit. They probably don’t have an active interest in cannabis right? Think again:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/javierhasse/2020/09/24/playboy-gets-serious-about-cannabis-law-reform-advocacy-with-new-partnership-grants/?sh=62f044a65cea
“Taking yet another step into the cannabis space, Playboy will be announcing later on Thursday (September, 2020) that it is launching a cannabis law reform and advocacy campaign in partnership with National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), Last Prisoner Project, Marijuana Policy Project, the Veterans Cannabis Project, and the Eaze Momentum Program.”
“According to information procured exclusively, the three-pronged campaign will focus on calling for federal legalization. The program also includes the creation of a mentorship plan, through which the Playboy Foundation will support entrepreneurs from groups that are underrepresented in the industry.” Remember that CEO Kohn from earlier? He wrote this recently:
https://medium.com/naked-open-letters-from-playboy/congress-must-pass-the-more-act-c867c35239ae
Seems like he really wants weed to be legal? Hmm wonder why? The writing's on the wall my friends. Playboy wants into the cannabis industry, they are making steps towards this end, and we have favorable conditions for legislative progress.
Don’t think branding your own cannabis line is profitable or worthwhile? Tell me why these 41 celebrity millionaires and billionaires are dummies. I’ll wait.
https://www.celebstoner.com/news/celebstoner-news/2019/07/12/top-celebrity-cannabis-brands/
Confirmation: I hear you. “This all seems pretty speculative. It would be wildly profitable if they pull this shift off. But how do we really know?” Watch this whole video:
https://finance.yahoo.com/video/playboy-ceo-telling-story-female-154907068.html
Man - this interview just gets my juices flowing. And highlights one of my favorite reasons for this play. They have so many different business avenues from which a catalyst could appear. I think paying attention, holding shares, and options on these staggered announcements over the next year is the way I am going to go about it. "There's definitely been a shift to direct-to-consumer," he (Kohn) said. "About 50 percent of our revenue today is direct-to-consumer, and that will continue to grow going forward.” “Kohn touted Playboy's portfolio of both digital and consumer products, with casino-style gaming, in particular, serving a crucial role under the company's new business model. Playboy also has its sights on the emerging cannabis market, from CBD products to marijuana products geared toward sexual health and pleasure.” "If THC does become legal in the United States, we have developed certain strains to enhance your sex life that we will launch," Kohn said. https://cheddar.com/media/playboy-goes-public-health-gaming-lifestyle-focus Oh? The CEO actually said it? Ok then. “We have developed certain strains…” They’re already working with growers on strains and genetics? Ok. There are several legal cannabis markets for those products right now, international and stateside. I expect Playboy licensed hemp and THC pre-rolls by EOY. Something like this: https://www.etsy.com/listing/842996758/10-playboy-pre-roll-tubes-limited?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=pre+roll+playboy&ref=sr_gallery-1-2&organic_search_click=1 Maintaining cannabis operations can be costly and a regulatory headache. Playboy’s licensing strategy allows them to pick successful, established partners and sidestep traditional barriers to entry. You know what I like about these new markets? They’re expanding. Worldwide. And they are going to be a bigger deal than they already are with or without Playboy. Who thinks weed and gambling are going away? Too many people like that stuff. These are easy markets. And Playboy is early enough to carve out their spot in each. Fuck it, read this too: https://www.forbes.com/sites/jimosman/2020/10/20/playboy-could-be-the-king-of-spacs-here-are-three-picks/?sh=2e13dcaa3e05
Numbers: You want numbers? I got numbers. As per the company’s most recent SEC filing:
“For the year ended December 31, 2019, and the nine months ended September 30, 2020, Playboy’s historical consolidated revenue was $78.1 million and $101.3 million, respectively, historical consolidated net income (loss) was $(23.6) million and $(4.8) million, respectively, and Adjusted EBITDA was $13.1 million and $21.8 million, respectively.”
“In the nine months ended September 30, 2020, Playboy’s Licensing segment contributed $44.2 million in revenue and $31.1 million in net income.”
“In the ninth months ended September 30, 2020, Playboy’s Direct-to-Consumer segment contributed $40.2 million in revenue and net income of $0.1 million.”
“In the nine months ended September 30, 2020, Playboy’s Digital Subscriptions and Content segment contributed $15.4 million in revenue and net income of $7.4 million.”
They are profitable across all three of their current business segments.
“Playboy’s return to the public markets presents a transformed, streamlined and high-growth business. The Company has over $400 million in cash flows contracted through 2029, sexual wellness products available for sale online and in over 10,000 major retail stores in the US, and a growing variety of clothing and branded lifestyle and digital gaming products.”
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgadata/1803914/000110465921005986/tm2034213-12_defm14a.htm#tSHCF
Growth: Playboy has massive growth in China and massive growth potential in India. “In China, where Playboy has spent more than 25 years building its business, our licensees have an enormous footprint of nearly 2,500 brick and mortar stores and 1,000 ecommerce stores selling high quality, Playboy-branded men’s casual wear, shoes/footwear, sleepwear, swimwear, formal suits, leather & non-leather goods, sweaters, active wear, and accessories. We have achieved significant growth in China licensing revenues over the past several years in partnership with strong licensees and high-quality manufacturers, and we are planning for increased growth through updates to our men’s fashion lines and expansion into adjacent categories in men’s skincare and grooming, sexual wellness, and women’s fashion, a category where recent launches have been well received.” The men’s market in China is about the same size as the entire population of the United States and European Union combined. Playboy is a leading brand in this market. They are expanding into the women’s market too. Did you know CBD toothpaste is huge in China? China loves CBD products and has hemp fields that dwarf those in the US. If Playboy expands their CBD line China it will be huge. Did you know the gambling money in Macau absolutely puts Las Vegas to shame? Technically, it's illegal on the mainland, but in reality, there is a lot of gambling going on in China. https://www.forbes.com/sites/javierhasse/2020/10/19/magic-johnson-and-uncle-buds-cbd-brand-enter-china-via-tmall-partnership/?sh=271776ca411e “In India, Playboy today has a presence through select apparel licensees and hospitality establishments. Consumer research suggests significant growth opportunities in the territory with Playboy’s brand and categories of focus.” “Playboy Enterprises has announced the expansion of its global consumer products business into India as part of a partnership with Jay Jay Iconic Brands, a leading fashion and lifestyle Company in India.” “The Indian market today is dominated by consumers under the age of 35, who represent more than 65 percent of the country’s total population and are driving India’s significant online shopping growth. The Playboy brand’s core values of playfulness and exploration resonate strongly with the expressed desires of today’s younger millennial consumers. For us, Playboy was the perfect fit.” “The Playboy international portfolio has been flourishing for more than 25 years in several South Asian markets such as China and Japan. In particular, it has strategically targeted the millennial and gen-Z audiences across categories such as apparel, footwear, home textiles, eyewear and watches.” https://www.licenseglobal.com/industry-news/playboy-expands-global-footprint-india It looks like they gave COVID the heisman in terms of net damage sustained: “Although Playboy has not suffered any material adverse consequences to date from the COVID-19 pandemic, the business has been impacted both negatively and positively. The remote working and stay-at-home orders resulted in the closure of the London Playboy Club and retail stores of Playboy’s licensees, decreasing licensing revenues in the second quarter, as well as causing supply chain disruption and less efficient product development thereby slowing the launch of new products. However, these negative impacts were offset by an increase in Yandy’s direct-to-consumer sales, which have benefited in part from overall increases in online retail sales so far during the pandemic.” Looks like the positives are long term (Yandy acquisition) and the negatives are temporary (stay-at-home orders).
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgadata/1803914/000110465921006093/tm213766-1_defa14a.htm
This speaks to their ability to maintain a financially solvent company throughout the transition phase to the aforementioned areas. They’d say some fancy shit like “expanded business model to encompass four key revenue streams: Sexual Wellness, Style & Apparel, Gaming & Lifestyle, and Beauty & Grooming.” I hear “we’re just biding our time with these trinkets until those dollar dollar bill y’all markets are fully up and running.” But the truth is these existing revenue streams are profitable, scalable, and rapidly expanding Playboy’s e-commerce segment around the world.
"Even in the face of COVID this year, we've been able to grow EBITDA over 100 percent and revenue over 68 percent, and I expect that to accelerate going into 2021," he said. “Playboy is accelerating its growth in company-owned and branded consumer products in attractive and expanding markets in which it has a proven history of brand affinity and consumer spend.”
Also in the SEC filing, the Time Frame:
“As we detailed in the definitive proxy statement, the SPAC stockholder meeting to vote on the transaction has been set for February 9th, and, subject to stockholder approval and satisfaction of the other closing conditions, we expect to complete the merger and begin trading on NASDAQ under ticker PLBY shortly thereafter,” concluded Kohn.
The Players: Suhail “The Whale” Rizvi (HMFIC), Ben “The Bridge” Kohn (CEO), “lil” Suying Liu & “Big” Dong Liu (Young-gun China gang). I encourage you to look these folks up. The real OG here is Suhail Rizvi. He’s from India originally and Chairman of the Board for the new PLBY company. He was an early investor in Twitter, Square, Facebook and others. His firm, Rizvi Traverse, currently invests in Instacart, Pinterest, Snapchat, Playboy, and SpaceX. Maybe you’ve heard of them. “Rizvi, who owns a sprawling three-home compound in Greenwich, Connecticut, and a 1.65-acre estate in Palm Beach, Florida, near Bill Gates and Michael Bloomberg, moved to Iowa Falls when he was five. His father was a professor of psychology at Iowa. Along with his older brother Ashraf, a hedge fund manager, Rizvi graduated from Wharton business school.” “Suhail Rizvi: the 47-year-old 'unsocial' social media baron: When Twitter goes public in the coming weeks (2013), one of the biggest winners will be a 47-year-old financier who guards his secrecy so zealously that he employs a person to take down his Wikipedia entry and scrub his photos from the internet. In IPO, Twitter seeks to be 'anti-FB'” “Prince Alwaleed bin Talal of Saudi Arabia looks like a big Twitter winner. So do the moneyed clients of Jamie Dimon. But as you’ve-got-to-be-joking wealth washed over Twitter on Thursday — a company that didn’t exist eight years ago was worth $31.7 billion after its first day on the stock market — the non-boldface name of the moment is Suhail R. Rizvi. Mr. Rizvi, 47, runs a private investment company that is the largest outside investor in Twitter with a 15.6 percent stake worth $3.8 billion at the end of trading on Thursday (November, 2013). Using a web of connections in the tech industry and in finance, as well as a hearty dose of good timing, he brought many prominent names in at the ground floor, including the Saudi prince and some of JPMorgan’s wealthiest clients.” https://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/08/technology/at-twitter-working-behind-the-scenes-toward-a-billion-dollar-payday.html Y’all like that Arab money? How about a dude that can call up Saudi Princes and convince them to spend? Funniest shit about I read about him: “Rizvi was able to buy only $100 million in Facebook shortly before its IPO, thus limiting his returns, according to people with knowledge of the matter.” Poor guy :(
He should be fine with the 16 million PLBY shares he's going to have though :)
Shuhail also has experience in the entertainment industry. He’s invested in companies like SESAC, ICM, and Summit Entertainment. He’s got Hollywood connections to blast this stuff post-merger. And he’s at least partially responsible for that whole Twilight thing. I’m team Edward btw.
I really like what Suhail has done so far. He’s lurked in the shadows while Kohn is consolidating the company, trimming the fat, making Playboy profitable, and aiming the ship at modern growing markets.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-twitter-ipo-rizvi-insight/insight-little-known-hollywood-investor-poised-to-score-with-twitter-ipo-idUSBRE9920VW20131003
Ben “The Bridge” Kohn is an interesting guy. He’s the connection between Rizvi Traverse and Playboy. He’s both CEO of Playboy and was previously Managing Partner at Rizvi Traverse. Ben seems to be the voice of the Playboy-Rizvi partnership, which makes sense with Suhail’s privacy concerns. Kohn said this:
“Today is a very big day for all of us at Playboy and for all our partners globally. I stepped into the CEO role at Playboy in 2017 because I saw the biggest opportunity of my career. Playboy is a brand and platform that could not be replicated today. It has massive global reach, with more than $3B of global consumer spend and products sold in over 180 countries. Our mission – to create a culture where all people can pursue pleasure – is rooted in our 67-year history and creates a clear focus for our business and role we play in people’s lives, providing them with the products, services and experiences that create a lifestyle of pleasure. We are taking this step into the public markets because the committed capital will enable us to accelerate our product development and go-to-market strategies and to more rapidly build our direct to consumer capabilities,” said Ben Kohn, CEO of Playboy.
“Playboy today is a highly profitable commerce business with a total addressable market projected in the trillions of dollars,” Mr. Kohn continued, “We are actively selling into the Sexual Wellness consumer category, projected to be approximately $400 billion in size by 2024, where our recently launched intimacy products have rolled out to more than 10,000 stores at major US retailers in the United States. Combined with our owned & operated ecommerce Sexual Wellness initiatives, the category will contribute more than 40% of our revenue this year. In our Apparel and Beauty categories, our collaborations with high-end fashion brands including Missguided and PacSun are projected to achieve over $50M in retail sales across the US and UK this year, our leading men’s apparel lines in China expanded to nearly 2500 brick and mortar stores and almost 1000 digital stores, and our new men’s and women’s fragrance line recently launched in Europe. In Gaming, our casino-style digital gaming products with Scientific Games and Microgaming continue to see significant global growth. Our product strategy is informed by years of consumer data as we actively expand from a purely licensing model into owning and operating key high-growth product lines focused on driving profitability and consumer lifetime value. We are thrilled about the future of Playboy. Our foundation has been set to drive further growth and margin, and with the committed capital from this transaction and our more than $180M in NOLs, we will take advantage of the opportunity in front of us, building to our goal of $100M of adjusted EBITDA in 2025.”
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20201001005404/en/Playboy-to-Become-a-Public-Company
Also, according to their Form 4s, “Big” Dong Liu and “lil” Suying Liu just loaded up with shares last week. These guys are brothers and seem like the Chinese market connection. They are only 32 & 35 years old. I don’t even know what that means, but it's provocative.
https://www.secform4.com/insider-trading/1832415.htm
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/mountain-crest-acquisition-corp-ii-002600994.html
Y’all like that China money?
“Mr. Liu has been the Chief Financial Officer of Dongguan Zhishang Photoelectric Technology Co., Ltd., a regional designer, manufacturer and distributor of LED lights serving commercial customers throughout Southern China since November 2016, at which time he led a syndicate of investments into the firm. Mr. Liu has since overseen the financials of Dongguan Zhishang as well as provided strategic guidance to its board of directors, advising on operational efficiency and cash flow performance. From March 2010 to October 2016, Mr. Liu was the Head of Finance at Feidiao Electrical Group Co., Ltd., a leading Chinese manufacturer of electrical outlets headquartered in Shanghai and with businesses in the greater China region as well as Europe.”
Dr. Suying Liu, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Mountain Crest Acquisition Corp., commented, “Playboy is a unique and compelling investment opportunity, with one of the world’s largest and most recognized brands, its proven consumer affinity and spend, and its enormous future growth potential in its four product segments and new and existing geographic regions. I am thrilled to be partnering with Ben and his exceptional team to bring his vision to fruition.”
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20201001005404/en/Playboy-to-Become-a-Public-Company
These guys are good. They have a proven track record of success across multiple industries. Connections and money run deep with all of these guys. I don’t think they’re in the game to lose.
I was going to write a couple more paragraphs about why you should have a look at this but really the best thing you can do is read this SEC filing from a couple days ago. It explains the situation in far better detail. Specifically, look to page 137 and read through their strategy. Also, look at their ownership percentages and compensation plans including the stock options and their prices. The financials look great, revenue is up 90% Q3, and it looks like a bright future.
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgadata/1803914/000110465921005986/tm2034213-12_defm14a.htm#tSHCF
I’m hesitant to attach this because his position seems short term, but I’m going to with a warning because he does hit on some good points (two are below his link) and he’s got a sizable position in this thing (500k+ on margin, I think). I don’t know this guy but he did look at the same publicly available info and make roughly the same prediction, albeit without the in depth gambling or cannabis mention. You can also search reddit for ‘MCAC’ and very few relevant results come up and none of them even come close to really looking at this thing.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1gOvAd6lebs452hFlWWbxVjQ3VMsjGBkbJeXRwDwIJfM/edit?usp=sharing
“Also, before you people start making claims that Playboy is a “boomer” company, STOP RIGHT THERE. This is not a good argument. Simply put. The only thing that matters is Playboy’s name recognition, not their archaic business model which doesn’t even exist anymore as they have completely repurposed their business.”
“Imagine not buying $MCAC at a 400M valuation lol. Streetwear department is worth 1B alone imo.”
Considering the ridiculous Chinese growth as a lifestyle brand, he’s not wrong.
Current Cultural Significance and Meme Value: A year ago I wouldn’t have included this section but the events from the last several weeks (even going back to tsla) have proven that a company’s ability to meme and/or gain social network popularity can have an effect. Tik-tok, Snapchat, Twitch, Reddit, Youtube, Facebook, Twitter. They all have Playboy stuff on them. Kids in middle and highschool know what Playboy is but will likely never see or touch one of the magazines in person. They’ll have a Playboy hoodie though. Crazy huh? A lot like GME, PLBY would hugely benefit from meme-value stock interest to drive engagement towards their new business model while also building strategic coffers. This interest may not directly and/or significantly move the stock price but can generate significant interest from larger players who will.
Bull Case: The year is 2025. Playboy is now the world leader pleasure brand. They began by offering Playboy licensed gaming products, including gambling products, direct to consumers through existing names. By 2022, demand has skyrocketed and Playboy has designed and released their own gambling platforms. In 2025, they are also a leading cannabis brand in the United States and Canada with proprietary strains and products geared towards sexual wellness. Cannabis was legalized in the US in 2023 when President Biden got glaucoma but had success with cannabis treatment. He personally pushes for cannabis legalization as he steps out of office after his first term. Playboy has also grown their brand in China and India to multi-billion per year markets. The stock goes up from 11ish to 100ish and everyone makes big gains buying somewhere along the way.
Bear Case: The United States does a complete 180 on marijuana and gambling. President Biden overdoses on marijuana in the Lincoln bedroom when his FDs go tits up and he loses a ton of money in his sports book app after the Fighting Blue Hens narrowly lose the National Championship to Bama. Playboy is unable to expand their cannabis and gambling brands but still does well with their worldwide lifestyle brand. They gain and lose some interest in China and India but the markets are too large to ignore them completely. The stock goes up from 11ish to 13ish and everyone makes 15-20% gains.
TL;DR: Successful technology/e-commerce investment firm took over Playboy to turn it into a porn, online gambling/gaming, sports book, cannabis company, worldwide lifestyle brand that promotes sexual wellness, vetern access, women-ownership, minority-ownership, and “pleasure for all”. Does a successful online team reinventing an antiquated physical copy giant sound familiar? No options yet, shares only for now. $11.38 per share at time of writing. My guess? $20 by the end of February. $50 by EOY. This is not financial advice. I am not qualified to give financial advice. I’m just sayin’ I would personally use a Playboy sports book app while smoking a Playboy strain specific joint and it would be cool if they did that. Do your own research. You’d probably want to start here:
WARNING - POTENTIALLY NSFW - SEXY MODELS AHEAD - no actual nudity though
https://s26.q4cdn.com/895475556/files/doc_presentations/Playboy-Craig-Hallum-Conference-Investor-Presentation-11_17_20-compressed.pdf
Or here:
https://www.mcacquisition.com/investor-relations/default.aspx
Jimmy Chill: “Get into any SPAC at $10 or $11 and you are going to make money.”
STL;DR: Buy MCAC. MCAC > PLBY couple weeks. Rocketship. Moon.
Position: 5000 shares. I will buy short, medium, and long-dated calls once available.

You Are The Real MVP - Why Genshin Impact Is The Real Game of the Year in 2020: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLxgyp0pnMQ
Hi all, I see there is a lot of anger and anxiety toward Genshin Impact due to the wide audience it brought to the table, as well as a lot of misconceptions about the gacha gaming industry. I am 40 years old and have been gaming for over 30 years. I have 300+ DAYS /played in World of Warcraft and recently, over 1000 hours in Path of Exile with popular build guides with hundreds of replies. I also have played just about every major hit of every era on every platform. I really want to tell you who Mihoyo really is, how the gacha gaming industry works, and what Genshin Impact's future looks like.
Mihoyo's History
In 2011, three college students from Shanghai Jiao Tong University (comparable to Cornell in America) released their first game, FlyMe2TheMoon. When they graduated in 2013, they used their own money to make the first Honkai game (released as Zombiegal Kawaii overseas). This game allowed players to farm gold coins to buy all weapons and gear, only spend real money to speed up progress and came with glorious two players co-op way ahead of other mobile games at the time. At end of the day, players just didn't pay money for it. When they took it to investors, they were laughed at and ridiculed by everyone. Nobody is going to pay money for this silly anime stuff! You guys don't know how to monetize a game! Both of these games are still available on App Store, feel free to download them to check them out!
In 2014, on the verge of bankruptcy, the team learned monetization model from Puzzles & Dragons, the first-ever mobile game to break a billion dollars, and released Honkai 2 with the same art style and gameplay. The biggest change was moving to the gacha model. The game became a top-10 grossing title in China, released to overseas market as Guns GirlZ - Mirage Cabin and Guns Girl - Honkai Gakuen. Mihoyo the company was born. Today, Mihoyo has over 1000 employees and pays them more money than titans like Tencent and Netease, and runs their office in the ultra-expensive heart of Shanghai business district. Despite Genshin Impact's smashing global success and player's thirst for more content, they gave many of their employees a full 8 days break, standard with the 10/01 Chinese national holiday, for the historic job they did with the global launch. They understand it is a marathon, not a sprint.
For Mihoyo, the most important metric for their title will always be LIFETIME REVENUE, and they do not abandon their titles. All of them are still available. Honkai 2 is still getting content updates six years after release, even if the game itself is nothing more than a piece of history for them at this point. Honkai Impact 3 hit an all-time high revenue month this year, still makes a few hundred million dollars a year in China/Japan, three years after release, and Mihoyo took every dollar they made and spent an unprecedented 100 million dollars on a mobile game we know as Genshin Impact. You can count on Mihoyo to treat its most ambitious title ever with love and care, but you must remember they will always prioritize LIFETIME REVENUE over any other metric, which is what successful companies do because it is the only way to make the product best in class.
Fate Grand Order - Genshin Impact's TRUE inspiration
In 2015, Fate Grand Order was released as a turn-based mobile JRPG, the first six months it scored just $100 million dollars, and was on the verge of sinking into irrelevance. Five years later, the game grossed 4 billion dollars and became the most successful PVE game on any platform since GTA 5. How did it happen?
Many say it is the fate IP, but the truth is fate's IP is nothing special in a sea of big IPs trying to make a splash in mobile and failed miserably, just ask Nintendo how their two Mario games performed, or Square about their countless Final Fantasy mobile games. 80% of the billion-dollar games on mobile are actually brand new IP's.
The biggest challenge for every PVE game-as-a-service is monetization. PVP games like League of Legends and Fortnite do not need huge content updates to stay fresh and can maintain much higher daily active user counts to sell cosmetics, make $5 per player, and still hit a monster year. Monetizing PVE games is much harder. Players simply run out of things to do and quit the game, no matter how quickly you can produce content. Games like Path of Exile and Warframe struggle to break 100 million a year in revenue.
PVP gacha games like Summoners War and AFK Arena can rely on whales dueling each other to force meta changes, and they grew into billion-dollar franchises in their own right. But Fate Grand Order had a different idea in mind, what if you design amazing characters that are truly desirable, and price them at a low gacha rate so it takes thousands of dollars for rich players to max out their box by pulling multiple copies? You are never going to have the player base of a Candy Crush, let's try to maximize our revenue ceiling from whales instead, and make players emotionally attach to their characters because they are so well designed. The rest was history.
While there are indeed many generous gacha games like Granblue Fantasy, Azur Lane, Dragalia Lost, etc, none of them are in Fate Grand Order's tier if you look at their annual numbers, not even in the same ballpark. Other multi-billion dollar franchises like Puzzles and Dragons, Monster Strike also follow the same concept of greatly increasing the limit of what a whale can spend on a PVE game to max out a character. And yes, we are talking about providing strong benefits for getting multiple copies of the same character.
The numbers have proved time and time again, that maximizing whale spending in a PVE game is far more revenue than maximizing the number of monthly card players.
Genshin Impact's Target Audience
Any product that tries to be everything for everyone is doomed to fail. Mihoyo has very clear audiences in mind:

• Players who love anime graphic and ARPG, there is simply no AAA game out there in this genre. Tales series, Xenoblade, etc. are all low budget, low sales games. Granblue Relink is single platform and dead on arrival. There is no dominant franchise at all.
• Players who love Zelda's open-world exploration and environment interaction, but hate the difficult puzzles and survival/weapon durability/ammo aspect, and want constant content updates. Hey, a co-op mode with a real RPG system sounds amazing!
• Mobile players who want more than a simple game like Fate Grand Order. They want to do dailies during commute and don't mind doing harder content on PC/console. The game needs to look good on a big screen at home. They don't want to learn/maintain two different PVE games given how time-consuming these games are.
• Players who retired from MMORPG/ARPG's due to real-life commitments. Many of us who played World of Warcraft have kids now, and the outdated graphics, 20 buttons skill bar, the social requirements for raids . . . it is just too much to keep up. We want a simpler game that looks good and takes far less time to learn and play.

And let's just say they hit it out of the park with the greatest launch in gaming history. Never before a game hit PC/PS4/iOS/Android with cross-play on day one in 100 countries, 13 text language and 4 fully voiced languages, never before a game hit top 5 grossing in China/Japan/US/Korea at the same time, I don't even recall a marketing campaign did so well across so many drastically different regions and cultures. The AAA graphics, sound, incredible polish, you don't need me to tell you why this game is amazing. But from the competition's standpoint, the launch itself was like watching a bronze player climb to grandmaster overnight, and the game's biggest strength. Far bigger companies, franchises, do not dare to even think about launching a game at this scale. Mihoyo released the failed Honkai 1 overseas when the company was on the verge of collapsing, they always punched way above their weight when it comes to global releases.
Make no mistakes about it, this was never meant to be a single-player AAA game or a direct Diablo 3 / Path of Exile / Warframe competitor. It was meant to be a game that converts PC/console players to gacha gamers, by casting a wider net than any mobile game ever. They only need a small percentage of PC and console players to change their behaviors. The rest of them can play for free or leave and it won't hurt them at all. The monthly card is designed as a super good deal (look, WAY cheaper than World of Warcraft $15 per month) to get PC/console players to spend for the first time ever, breaks down their "why pay for a free game" defense. Once they pay once, the pity 5 star is always just a few dozen more pulls away, let me buy another pack! Before you know it, monthly cards are converted to dolphins, dolphins are converted to whales. It is by far the strongest business model for a PVE game today, and people who are new to the genre won't know what hit them.
Genshin Impact has an excellent chance to end Fate Grand Order's reign as the #1 most successful PVE game on any platform since 2016, by the virtue of being on every platform, and the same version across all regions.
LIFETIME REVENUE = Active Player Base * Spend Per Player * Longevity
For every game as a service, balancing these three variables is an incredibly difficult task. Can Mihoyo increase the rate on an event (like Cy Games gala events), put up a Diluc banner, and greatly increase spend per player? Yes, but they will provide less reason for people to pull on other days and lose out on long term revenue.
Likewise, the resin limitation is to prevent even whales from maxing out their characters and moving onto other games, that is why they have a hard limit on resin refill. Player progression is meticulously controlled to ensure content can keep up. A huge part of internal testing is to test how quickly a player of each spending level can go through content. Two-day, three-day, seven-day, and thirty-day player retention are critical metrics to F2P mobile games, you will always lose a huge number of players during these transitional phases. These are tried and true methods in gacha gaming to preserve the maximum number of players over the long haul. It is basically a much more advanced progression control than say, World of Warcraft's weekly raid lock outs. You have to FORCE your players to take breaks, or you will lose them way faster than you can churn out new content.
All four dailies, spend resins, and open-world exploration for crafting/ascension materials, a couple of chests/quest you missed, that is a health 60 minutes of gameplay. Gacha games provide resources for the next pull on every daily, every quest, every event. Getting a five star is a better feeling than getting any item drop in MMORPG/ARPG. Gacha games have a much stronger hold on its players because of this addiction, you are always very close to the next pull! Genshin Impact takes it a step further to actually encourage you to do single pulls over ten pulls. Over time resources will inevitably be loosened up as more contents are released, and daily quests and slowed down progression is there to keep you playing.
Behind the scenes, there is an ultra-complex data model that works tirelessly to balance all three variables. Looking at Mihoyo's track record with Honkai Impact 3, they know what they are doing to maximize LIFETIME REVENUE. With every gacha game like this, the developer has a price point they need to hit on a five star, then based on the competition they usually adjust the price significantly higher than what they consider to be acceptable. Whether it is gacha rate or stamina, once you reduce the price, you can never, ever increase it again. Start high and drop it when you need to is a much better strategy, and players think you listened to their feedback, win-win! If the daily active user doesn't drop while you keep the price high, why lower the price? The developer and player are always in a tug of war, with the developer testing player's limit on what is acceptable. It is just like how Apple kept iPhone with 2GB of memory and tiny screen size for a very long time because they are looking at the overall LIFETIME REVENUE, not because they didn't know their product needed these features.
Genshin Impact is priced at a premium because it has no competition, just like how Apple iPhones were priced at an ultra-premium when it first came out. Over time, prices will drop, resources will come easier, but until there is a real competitor, they do not need to care what lesser gacha games do. Do you think KeQing should be priced the same as a gacha character with PS1 graphics?
Genshin Impact's Future
100 million dollars estimate from Sensor Tower in two weeks does not include PC, PS4 and Chinese Android. Chinese Android revenue has been 1.8 times of China iOS for Honkai 3, many in the Chinese gaming industry speculate the true global revenue number of Genshin Impact is easily double of what Sensor Tower shows. Mihoyo is a private company and it fired one of the employees who bragged about the 09/15 China PC numbers, which was 10 million dollars, so we will never know the exact figures unless they go public. Don't expect Mihoyo to ever share revenue/player base numbers, that is just not how they operate.
There is no way the game can continue the 100 million dollars a week pace, that is 5 billion dollars a year, so for haters out there, you will see a massive decline in the player base between content updates, you will see the game falling out of top 10 grossing, you will get your "I told you so" moments when the weekly revenue drops by 50-70%. It is perfectly normal for gacha games between banners, and what Gensin Impact is doing is completely unsustainable. This is called filtering out users and building a stable player base.
However, even with the inevitable massive decline, this is a game destined to be a multi-billion dollar franchise. I personally give it a very conservative estimate of two billion dollars in three years. It will easily outperform the likes of BOTW, Cyberpunk 2077, etc. by the end of the first year in terms of the player base, hours played, and revenue. It will take money away from all other gacha games and force other developers to step up their game. It will take money away from long-standing multi-billion dollar PC PVE franchises like Dungeon Fighter Online, and to a lesser degree, MMORPG's like FF14. It will encourage companies to play with bigger budgets and provide PC/console releases for bigger mobile releases like Diablo Immortal, instead of relying on emulators. It will even change the monetization model for western F2P games. Iksar, lead designer of Hearthstone has been playing Genshin Impact since release. Imagine if Hearthstone didn't allow you to craft cards, and provided benefits to getting multiple copies of the same card. It is way too late for Hearthstone to change now, maybe there is still time to change Diablo Immortal's monetization model, I believe they will need either gacha or real-money auction house to be competitive.
But will Genshin Impact shake up the AAA industry? My personal opinion is no. Japanese developers do not have the technology to make mobile games at this level, you just need to look at the top 20 grossing Japanse mobile games. Western developers do not have the artwork to make characters so attractive, I mean just look at Baldur's Gate 3 and Cyberpunk 2077 characters, will whales spend $1000 on them? Whales spend enough money in gacha to pick up girls in real life many times over, many of them are ultra-rich and live a lavish lifestyle, just showing anime assets is not enough to win them over.
In all of my years playing Western games I have never been attached to a female character as I did with Artoria aka King Arthur of Fate Grand Order, I played the game for six months even if I don't really like turn-based JRPGs, and always enjoyed listening to her "Excalibur". Mihoyo is coming very close with some of Genshin Impact's character designs. I am not sure if Western culture is capable of creating the type of characters that can connect with players on an emotional level. Lara Croft is definitely not it. I believe Western gaming's general pursuit of realism and grittiness hurts them when it comes to creating an idealistic world and dreamy characters. Top western games tend to expose the harshness of real-world to players, instead of offering an escape. In many ways, Mihoyo's mastery of anime is closer to a Japanese company than Chinese company, it is not something you can just hire a couple of artists for. Likewise, the western market will always be 15-20% of the overall revenue for gacha games at best, it is difficult for western companies to justify making them with a AAA budget.
It is also incredibly hard to make a cross-platform PVE game on PC, Console, and Mobile look this good. It is not something you get from just licensing Unity. There are maybe a handful of companies out there capable of dropping 100 million dollars on a game like this, but until their main cash cow die, which studio dares to take this kind of risk? The tier 2-3 companies are simply not capable of spending 100 million dollars even if they went all in. I don't see a real competitor in two years, not even from Tencent and Netease, the bar is that high.
How You Should Approach It As A Player
If you are not a fan of gacha games, no problem! The best way is to play it like a free AAA game with unlimited free DLC's. With the amount of money this game makes, in a few years it will have more content than any other open-world game, and the developer will also be more generous over time as end game contents become more abundant. As their tools mature, the amount of time it takes to release contents across all platforms at the same time will shrink significantly, there will also be more events they can queue up. Every F2P player can get at least one five star character without rerolling if they complete most of the quests and use up their gifted currencies. I expect 100% F2P players will get at least 4 five-stars per year, 3 from pity, 1 from luck. I believe F2P with limited resources is a lot more fun and only spend money to support the developer. I am still 100% F2P on Genshin Impact as of today, because getting 20 pulls from the monthly card is not that exciting. I will wait for a one-time-only deal later in the game's life cycle.
For players who want to be a bit more involved, you can buy a monthly card, do your dailies, enjoy new content, enjoy the thrills of pulls, and pity 5 stars. Once Mihoyo gets a stable end game loop out there, they will definitely loosen up on resins. Just don't expect to play it like a Path of Exile season start. Save currencies and pity timer for a banner you want. Take it slow! Gacha games are designed to be played over many years, alongside other games. Take your Cyberpunk 2077 break, take your Call of Duty break, but in the end, there is simply no anime ARPG competition on any platform, and if you are into this kind of game, you will be back.

stocks doesn't allow images to be embedded in posts, so I had to include images as imgur hyperlinks
Positions: None. Sold off all of my positions for an all-in yolo. I had 100 contracts of 1/2022 $20c that I sold off after the earnings jump for like 70% profit. Rest assured, I will be coming back and picking up shares and LEAPS. I would wait for a dip before getting in. Zynga has had a solid post-earnings runup and some investors may be looking to take profit soon.
ZNGA is a long term play and I am craving some sweet sweet compounding gains from a couple of SPACs. I will be back.
proof
SEC Intern: This is absolutely financial advice. If you are wanting to contract an unemployed 22 year old, please reach out to me. I'm down bad.
TLDR: Video games good. Mobile gaming is overlooked and under hyped. Long ZNGA. Premiums are cheap, LEAPS are free money. PT: $15+
Remember Farmville? The Facebook video game responsible for your parents divorce because your dad forgot to login and water mommy's corn and gourds? Words with friends, Farmville, Draw Something, and every app you ever downloaded on your first iPod Touch back in '09 was created by Zynga. These guys are the king of microtransactions, ad placement, and app downloads .
Zynga just reported earnings and shares jumped up 7% because the market liked what it saw. Zynga reported record revenue (+52% YoY), record users, record bookings (+61% YoY), record everything. This stock actually only goes up
5 year chart of stock
Mobile gaming market: Everyone knows gaming is a hot sector. (I'm looking at you CRSR gang). What if I told you that mobile gaming makes up 45% of the gaming market? Everyone has a phone, 6 year olds are even walking around with iPads these days
Gaming market breakdown
Why Zynga?/ MOAT Zynga has been developing apps for over a decade. These guys have brand loyalty, they keep up with the trends and they know what gets downloads. I actually sat in an earnings call for the first time in my entire 3 day trading career and listened to what the company had to say about their future. Taken from the transcript here are some things that stood out to me:
Brand loyalty
• One of Zynga's core competitive advantages is our ability to create forever franchises that are highly engaging and can predictably deliver sustainable growth over long periods of time. A great example of this is Words With Friends. In 2020, the franchise delivered its best-ever annual revenue and bookings performance in more than 11 years since its launch in 2009.
New titles • Coming up next from our new game pipeline, are Puzzle Combat and Farmville 3. Both titles have been progressing well in soft launch and are on track to release worldwide in the first half of 2021. We also expect our first Star Wars game to enter soft launch in early summer with the potential to release by the end of the year.
Top Downloads/ Expanding into Asia
• A key driver of this performance was our growth in Asia, where we continue to enhance our ability to self publish titles including Toon Blast, which was the most downloaded game in Japan on Android in 2020... Over the coming years, we see more opportunities to expand into international markets as we execute on our growth strategies
• And so far, in Q1, two of our new hyper-casual titles, High Heels and Blob Runner 3D have already reached the No. 1 and No. 2 top downloaded U.S. game positions on Android and iOS.
• With our acquisition of Rollic, we ended 2020 with three of the top 50 downloaded U.S. iPhone games.
Data and Analytics
• At the core of Zynga's live services platform is our first-party data network which captures key insights about how our players are interacting with our games. We use this data to deliver highly engaging interactive experiences for our players optimize our user acquisition and determine how best to monetize our games, including advertising.
TLDR of that shit: Zynga has popular games, a loyal brand following, and an expansive machine for ad revenue. These guys advertise their other apps, in their own apps. Its like a virus, but one that makes you money
Astrology:
I eat crayons, I don't paint with them. But the highly educated people at TradingView seem to think the stars predict good time ahead. I trust them with my savings.
TradingView for Zynga
Risks:
Any DD that is posted without a risk/deterrent section is just a masturbation tool for whoever posted. I encourage people in the comments to post questions/risks they might see. The biggest risks I see are either a broad market pull back like our perma-bear doomsayers are predicting. The collapse of the US dollar etc. Or just a slow down in growth due to the world opening up from covid eventually. If you have any other ideas, please let me know.

Unfortunately, I had an accident with my Pixel that forced me to use my work iPhone. This is an iPhone 12 Pro Max so top of the heap in the iPhone world. These are some thoughts I have while using it. I have been using it for about three months now regularly as my daily driver. I will toss out the first month as my angst with the phone gave me a negative view on everything about it.
First up look and feel
I love a big phone but the 12 pro max is just way too much. The design makes it completely aggravating to use. While it is a stunning phone to look at the niceties end there. It has sharp sides all around with zero decent ways position to hold it. This thing hurts to hold. It's also super slick. While again feels nice touch wise it won't stay in hand for anything. A lot of this is negated by a case but being an already massive phone a case just makes it so much worse. I am a fairly large person and it feels like a three hand phone. It feels like it needs some sort of stand or grip at all times. People will say that's an easy fix just get a smaller iPhone. Wrong! While most of the features and internals are there in all iPhones the max stands heads and shoulders above all other iPhones. First, a much bigger battery. I have a friend with the smaller pro that gets less than a day battery wise. Mine will chug along all day and into the next. Second, much bigger camera sensors and a little more camera tech. It has a higher aperture on telephoto, more zoom on all settings, and sensor-shift stabilization. For me, Apple should have put the same stuff sans battery size in the smaller pro.
Useability
This is probably the biggest flaw when it comes to using an iPhone. I am leaving notifications out because that is a whole rage I will get into next. As far as simplicity goes if you were just making calls and text it's easy as every other phone out there and before it. for anything else, things get a little muddy. First, the biggest thing I notice is everything seems to take an extra swipe or click to finish. Simple stuff like switching Wifi or Bluetooth just feels like it takes so much more work than when I was using my Pixel. Other stuff like customization is non-existent. While yes there are widgets everything is still locked into a grid pattern. Folders help a bit but you quickly run out of room to play in the locked grid. Even with the widgets, it feels boring. Widgets while they look good are very limited. You cant resize or shape them and I miss having more than just one feature on some like my Google calendar or Google drive. They are just so basic right now. I still can't do things in apps without going into the app as my Pixel can. One I use all the time is the Gmail app icon swiping away notifications without leaving the home screen. Like I said just more input to do basic stuff.
Notifications
These just suck. There is no getting around how bad notifications suck on an iPhone. Now I know why people who have iPhones either never respond or find me in person to comment. There are two flavors of notification issues to me. First is the non-existent so subtle ones I don't notice them till it's too late. second are the one's I see but don't respond because I have to work too hard to. I want my important to be up top. Apple just files them in one on top of the other so it becomes daunting going through them. Second I one them to be sorted accordingly. For some dumb reason, it sorts them how it wants. For example, messages are not with all the other messages. Read the first to message notifications better keep going down it likes to tuck another down below one of the game's notifications. Want to go nuts with a false notification bubble even on core apps like settings? iOS loves that also. Oh, BTW you can not clear notifications from the app icon. Why is there no clear all for all my notifications? No idea there just isn't.
Camera
Okay, Apple you finally beat the Pixel here, or did you? so yes the iPhone camera is quite simply amazing in most situations and oust my Pixel in a lot of areas. If you widdle it down though you soon realize how insane Google has become when it comes to the camera software. Yes, the iPhone does better but I really think it is because of a brute force attack on Apple's part. It has better newer sensors and more of them. Of course, it should be better but here is the jaw-dropping point. I have gone back to exact spots and taking close photos with the iPhone and shown them side by side and the average person notices nothing and sometimes gravitates to the Pixel because the color looks more natural. We are talking a two-year-old plane jane one sensor phone versus the best of the best tech-wise and Google is still right there. Now for the parts, Apple has a Pixel beat. The number of sensors, no matter how much wizardry Google comes up with they just can not simulate the other sensors with software. Zoom same thing they just can't match what Apple is doing with actual zoom on the iPhone at this point. One thing Google does seem to stomp Apple on consistently is portrait shoots. No matter how simple the image Apple just can not seem to get the blur to work well on the Pro. There are artifacts in just about every photo on both but Apple has the more glaring artifacts in this case. The other thing I notice is while Apple does take in more light the night images typically look overprocessed on the iPhone. It is like they have the exposure turned up to 11 in most cases and in light-dark situations, it can't really make up its mind. Now in all dark or lit night scenes, the iPhone just has bigger better sensors so most of the image data is real not processed like the Google phones. This makes night sight iPhone images better in many cases especially the focus on back and foreground objects. You just have to tone the pictures down after the fact a little bit.
Apps
Everyone knows about iMessage. Personally, I don't use it. I do too much switching and don't want to be trapped in message pergatory. It got turned off at set up. I wish Google could get their messaging on iPhones because personally, I was starting to like it a lot. I never had any issues with sending and receiving anything with people on iPhones other than when they send me iMessage native stickers and likes. As far as other apps are concerned everything I had on Android is on iPhone and vice versa. I will say that it is weird that some Google apps seem to work a little better and others don't. The biggest issue I have is Drive. I use the scan feature a lot and it is not available on the iOS version. App integration is lacking on iOS as certain links ect. don't work the same as with Android. I am sure if I used the Apple native apps this would not be the case. The worst showing Google has is the Home app. Home on iOS works so much better than on Android. All my devices show and statuses show as well. On the Pixel, speakers would be playing but home would show nothing in the app until you went to the device. On iOS, speakers and TV show playing all the time.
Connected devices
All devices I had on Android work the same on iPhone. No difference here. The only issue is switching Bluetooth devices takes a little extra step to me on the Pro. I don't know how to explain it just takes a little more finagling.
Battery
The iPhone is better but why wouldn't be. It has a bigger battery so it lasts longer. Not some unworldly amount of battery life but good. Usually a full day or more with heavy use. Pixel was a full day most days except for when gaming. The iPhone seems to kill things more often. Stuff like google photos won't upload at all unless you are in the app. The weather widget doesn't update in real-time. so it seems to be fairly aggressive on what it kills to save juice.
Glitches and other wonkiness
To say the iPhone is perfect is living in a dream world. It has its fair share of glitches. Before the last update it would lock on certain apps and you would have to lock unlock and close it to get out. Another issue was random resets mainly in games. Both of those have gone away but there are other weird items. swipe down for notifications does not react to you sometimes only dragging down a millimeter and going back up. The double-tap on the back still has random activations. Native mail app just don't download something else. Wireless animation is funky sometimes. Notification sound does not play at times or cuts halfway. Some photos have a weird yellow tint so you have to take multiples. Notification dots won't go away even if cleared. This happens on their settings icon of all things. Gestures don't react according to what you want at times.
Thing's I miss sorely
Notification functions. Media functions on the lock screen. Full assistant Siri is still trash. Copy-paste from the app in card view. App integration. Swipe back gesture. App drawer. Apples it is not a drawer if I have to swipe four screens to get to it. Customization of colors, font, icons, and home screens. Speed of sharing anything from photos to files.

Hey everyone. I've incorporated the feedback from Pixonic (August 2020, October 2020, December 2020, and January 2021). My goal is to try to get Pixonic to respond directly to this thread periodically (3-4 times a year). This will be linked to the weekly suggestions thread by the auto-moderator. Be sure to use the "Pixonic Suggestion" flair so I can easily sort through all the suggestions!
Ideas & Feature Requests
This thread is a place where you can discuss your ideas for the game or request features you would like to see in coming versions of the game.
This sub appreciates any contributions you can make to existing ideas, but we suggest you do not post your idea before reviewing previous Pixonic ideas / suggestions threads. It is highly likely another Commander already submitted the same idea!
Please be aware that posting a ruled out idea may result in your thread being removed altogether and posting an idea already suggested might result in your thread being closed with a reference back to this thread.
A few tips to submitting an idea or suggestion:
Title: Choose a good title - be very specific. Instead of naming your thread "suggestion", "idea", try something like "Hawks are Over Powered." This will help other users find and contribute to your thread, and drive more discussion around the topic.
Point: Use clear, concise points or explanations, concept art or screenshots where applicable. General, unspecific, high-level ideas are great, but the Pixonic team can't do much without the proper information!
"I think Hawks are way too powerful in the game because of their high firepower. Players running multiple Hawks make the game frustrating and boring for me."
Suggestion: Give constructive and helpful suggestions that are realistic. Why will the idea work?
"Decrease the Hawks firepower so it only impacts Titans and does not cut through bots' defenses. This will allow other bots to effectively counter Hawks and bring better balane to the game."
For all, keep in mind Pixonic is a business. I realize many of us have little experience in owning a gaming company, but try to consider how Pixonic would make a profit or be successful in the business model when giving a suggestion. Pixonic wants players spending money AND playing a lot--so how does your suggestion support that?
Threads will be removed if it includes profanity and / or insults. Comments like "make everything for free" or "XXX (i.e. Matchmaking, the game, targeting, etc.) sucks--solution: make the game better, or un-nerf everything" will just be deleted. This also isn't the place to report bugs or to rant.
Given the nature of the game the developers and producers cannot always say what is coming in the next version or what is being worked on. Also, please don't expect a response to every thread or idea. The best ideas will be discussed frequently by the Community and will surface to the top in that manner (or through up/down votes). Do not spam your thread or ideas just because no one is responding!

• Response (December 2020)
• Response (January 2021)

Frequently Requested Ideas
Below are ideas submitted by users for Pixonic to consider. It does not imply they are being worked on. Please do a search before starting new feature requests, especially if they are listed below.
These ideas and suggestions are either acknowledged and are being worked on, or have been ruled out by the dev team for the time being. Posting these ideas may result in your thread being removed without notice.
Frequently Requested:

• Battle Modes
  • Titan skirmish (Status: in Dec 2020 Max, WR Producer stated: " We agree that it would be a lot of fun. We'll try to introduce Titan Skirmishes next year, but it won't be a priority – there's so much to do.")
  • Additions to custom matches (Status: in Dec 2020 Max, WR Producer stated: "The general idea of Custom Matches is not to provide an additional game mode, but to give you a playground where you can test your builds to understand if they are suitable for real combat. In Max's opinion, current functionality of Custom Matches fits just well in this concept." Detailed comments in original post)
  • Beacon hold time should be considered for HP (Status: in Dec 2020 Max, WR Producer stated: " We already have some ideas on how to expand the honor reward list (e.g. rewarding players for applying Suppression or Lock-down effects). The idea with beacon hold time sounds like a nice addition to our plans. ")
  • Faction vs. Faction skirmish
• Boosters
  • Pause booster timer while waiting for match (Status: in August 2020 the Pixonic producer stated they agreed with this concept and were looking into it; in Dec 2020 Max, the WR Producer stated: "We had plans for a complete rework of Boosters. Unfortunately, we had to cut those plans off to release Drones and prepare for Remastered. We believe we'll have time to work on Boosters in 2021.")
  • Faster reload times (Status: in Dec 2020 Max, WR Producer stated: "Thing is, there is a technical tie between reload animation and reload time. It's one of those legacy mechanics that've been haunting the game for years already. Until we refactor the entire block, it's impossible for us to change the reload speed on most of the weapons. But in general idea is good, though we see it as a Passive Module rather than a Booster.")
• Bots
  • Raijin increased resistance instead of damage
  • Add 3 Passive modules to each bot
  • Allow energy shields to recharge at all times
  • Nuclear Fission Snipers
  • Egyptian Themed Bots
  • Medusa
  • Arbiter Shield Concept
  • Overhead view (like Nightingale) for Invader and Mercury)
  • Altitude control of flying bots
• Community Features
  • Allow friends in-game or via other platforms (i.e. Discord) (Status: in Dec 2020, Max WR Producer stated: " We call it "Platform Merge iteration 2" and it's on the list for 2021."; in January 2021 Max WR Producer stated: "For technical reasons, we don't want to add integrations with other platforms as far as the friends system is concerned. In fact, we'd also like to get rid if the existing integration and make all friends features completely native to the game. There will be a rework of the friends system this year. Stay tuned!"; In Jan 2021 Pix stated ability to invite friends direclty is coming soon)
  • Pixonic sponsored WR Tournament (Status: Oct 2020 Pix CM said it was coming; in Dec 2020 Max WR Producer stated: "We have a couple of competitive features prepared for the next year. We'll tell you more in our New Year videos."; In Jan 2021 Pix stated tournaments will be introduced into each season)
  • Clan Wars
  • Cross-Platform (Status: In Dec 2020, Max WR Producer stated: "This is basically a cross-platform account, like PixAccount. The idea has been around for a couple of years already. It should be implemented on the scale of the whole company, not only War Robots project, of course. But yes, it's something we definitely want to have in the future.")
  • Incorporate lore into rewards or abilities, etc. (Status: In Jan 2021, Max WR Producer stated: "It's a great idea and it might work! *Promises to talk to the game design department about it*")
  • Story / campaign mode
• Drones (Status: October 2020 Pixonic CM announced Drones were being overhauled)
  • Remove random chip / slot generator
  • Preset hangar to save time in battle
• Hangars
  • Allow useage of bots across hangars in battles (or same bot for multiple hangars)
  • Hangar presets
  • Upgrade / build multiple bots or weapons at a time (possibly benefit of having multiple hangars)
  • Limit number of sambe bots you cna use in active hangar
  • Allow us to see other players' drone hangars (Status: In Jan 2021, Max WR Producer stated: " Yes, one day. We have some improvement plans for Drones, including UI. Hopefully, our UI team will find a way to show more info on drones in hangar.")
  • Allow 7 bots per hangar but only use 5 (like Drones)
• In-Game Communication / Clan Management
  • Improved chat and in-game features
  • Active/Live “Online Status” examples: colored icons, on/off indicator, etc.
  • Current League Icon next to all clan members
  • Indicate last online date
  • Clan voice chat
  • Global Chat
  • Report button for players violating the game's ToS or hacking, etc. (Status: according to the Pixonic producer in Aug 2020, a report button is supposed be included in a future release--no further details were given; confirmed by Pix CM in Oct 2020)
• Maps
  • List maps in Alphabetical order in pull down menu (Status: In Jan 2021, Max WR Producer stated: "With only 13 maps in the game, it isn't difficult to find what you are looking for. However, if it can be done fast, we will try to squeeze it into the production plan.")
  • New map concepts
• Matchmaking / Leagues (Status: This is how the MM works; they constantly do minor tweaks; this is my response on death squads)
  • Modified league points
  • Add additional league (Status: In Jan 2021, Max WR producer stated: "We are considering this idea right now, but rather a new league between Masters and Champions."; In Jan 2021 Pix stated a rework to Legendary leagues is coming soon)
• Performance / Technical Features
  • Targeting system rework / improvement (Status: Targeting seems to be part of the base code and allows other features in the game to operate, such as stealth, meaning there are multiple dependencies. Pixonic did minor tweaks to targeting to address shooting Ao Mings in the air from the ground and vice versa, but according to Pixonic CM in Oct 2020 a major rework will not be considered until after Pixonic migrates to new servers in 2021; In Jan 2021 Pix stated improvement to targeting system will be worked with expected release in Aug 2021).
  • Lag (Status: According to Pixonic the 6.4 update should address lag along with server overhaul)
  • Limit character length and types of characters in user names (Status: In Jan 2021, Max WR producer stated: "Yes, we'll need to do that sooner or later.")
  • Font size for iPhone users
  • Drones menu rework
  • Purchase confirmation button
  • Add commas to numerical figures
  • Allow weapons and modules to be viewed together at the same time for each bot
  • Allow custom search-organization for hangars and inventory
• Pilots
  • Reduce the gold cost
  • Reduce the randomness of skills
  • Titan pilots
  • Universal pilot skills
  • Legendary Pilots for Fujin and Raijin
  • Legendary Pilots for all Bots
• Rewards / Events / Operations / Chests
  • Remove 2,500 components from Tier 1 prizes in Events
  • More gold-based deal offers
  • Overdrive weekend that reduces or eliminates costs for component conversion in WS
  • Daily Log In Rewards
  • Choose type of crate progression (Status: In jan 2021, Max WR Producer stated: "The league chests need a rework, that's for sure. We have some plans for an overhaul or even an alternative feature in 2021.")
  • Honor based gold system
  • Pt-Gold-Silver Forge system
  • Announce odds of winning prizes from chests, events, etc.
• Titans
  • New Titan Oasis
  • New Titan Odin
  • Nodens should be able to see stealthed allied bots for healing
  • Add Nodens heal targeting button
  • Make Titans available in custom games
  • Motherboards (like microchips for bots)
  • Additional abilities
• Weapons / Equipment
  • Corrosion Rockets
  • Aegis shield purchase (like Ancile)
  • Antimatter Rail Gun
  • Weapons Inventory Page
  • DoT Shotguns
  • Reload Accelerator Module

​
Ruled Out (for now):

• Reload button (Status: Been requested numerous times over the years. Pixonic had a reload button in a test server in ~2016 but removed it without explanation and has not indicated it will be implemented at all in the future).
• Donating (or trading) any resources to (with) other players or accounts (Status: a type of resource donation system used to be in the game but it was abused by players who created multiple accounts and clan-hopped to exploit it. It does not look like any trading system will be implemented in the future).
• Stats (Status: In Dec 2020 Max, WR Producer stated: "We agree that there are players who love in-depth statistics. However, War Robots is a "midcore" game and we predict that the feature will not be popular enough among our players.")
  • Legends League stats (bots / weapons)
  • Stats of each bot at the end of the battle
  • Specific bot in your hangar stats for last 50 games
  • Advanced stats tab
• E-Sports, community leagues, official API ecosystem (Status: in Dec 2020, Max WR Producer stated: " Nope. That would require too much work and resources.")
• Battle Pass for Operations (points / currency rewards) (Status: in January 2021, Max WR Producer stated: "We are fine with how Operations work in War Robots right now.")
• Allow training hangars to test out bots before buying them (Status: In Jan 2021, Max WR Producer stated: "It's a nice idea in general and we had it on the roadmap for 2021. However, after the final evaluation, the feature's business value/effort proportion proved to be too unfavorable to include it into the plan. You can still test out some of the new content using Hangar X.")
• Allow factions to add boosts / skills / features to bots and hangars (Status: in Jan 2021, Max WR Producer stated: "It's a very interesting concept, yet as War Robots meta is not built around the lore, it will lead to power players choosing factions that suit the current meta, while the lore factor will be neglected. So the faction power bonus is unlikely to appear in the game. However, we will work on including more lore-based features in War Robots and our other games.")
• New MM formula (Status: In Jan 2021, Max WR Producer stated: "First of all, big thanks to the author of the original post. You did a great job with the calculations and data! *applause*. The concept of the Hangar Power matchmaking is great. It provides those sought after equal matches in most of the cases... on one condition — all players play fair. Right at the point when someone decides to abuse the system, it all falls apart. We struggled with it really bad before we introduced Leagues. (Yes, tankers are also a problem, but we can at least spot them and suspend or ban their accounts.). Your idea with the high-tier robots contributing more to the HPS is a good one. And still, it doesn't provide a guaranteed solution to the problem. Between Tier 1 (Destrier) and Tier 4 (Ao Jun) there is also Tier 2 and Tier 3. That's where it gets painfully difficult to balance the system so that high-level players aren't able to disintegrate mid-levels with just one bot. We had some attempts at a similar algorithm with the Design and Analytics teams in 2019. During several months of tests we couldn't come up with a solid version, that we ourselves wouldn't be able to abuse as players.")
• Synchronize platform releases (Status: In Jan 2021, Max WR Producer stated: "It's not possible due to our internal releasing procedures.")
• Give Pt or Gold for selling Titans / Bots / Weapons that used Pt or gold to purchase them (Status: In Jan 2021, Max WR Producer stated: "No. With the current economy of the game, the availability of resources directly affects the availability of the content. At this point, we don't want to make the powerful content more available.")

tl;dr: The best value mid-range phones in 2020 are as follows. Retail prices noted in local currency.

• OnePlus Nord (Best value Android worldwide; £379, U.K.)
• Google Pixel 4a (Best value Android in U.S.; $349, U.S.)
• iPhone SE (Best value iOS; $399, U.S.)

 

Introduction

With the 2020 holiday shopping season about to head into its peak and the big Go Beyond update coming to Pokemon Go, I thought it might be a good idea to share what I've learned from phone shopping this year. Additionally, the latest 0.193 update officially ends support for iOS 11 and Android 5, so there may be people looking for replacement phones.
This post was inspired by a couple of great submissions made in 2017 and 2018. I am not the original author of those posts, nor am I particularly well-versed on the latest tech, but I'll try my best here. Also, full disclosure: I have not played around with any of these devices, and everything discussed here comes from viewing phone specs, "professional" review articles/videos, and my own personal interpretations.
Here's how the post is organized:

• tl;dr (too long; didn't read) - up at the top
• Introduction - you're here
• Considerations for Playing Pokemon Go - I describe the main metrics I'll use to compare phones and give an example based on personal experience
• Phone Makers & Highlighted Models - The bulk of the post, where I talk about phone brands and point out notable models, usually a high-end flagship and a mid-tier option.
• Conclusions - closing thoughts
• Glossary - A few phone tech terms that might be helpful to readers

All prices listed in this post are the base model starting retail prices in the indicated currency, usually U.S. Dollar (USD), sometimes Pound Sterling (GBP) or Euro (EUR), as viewed from someone in the U.S. (included links might not always work outside the U.S.). Many phones will likely go on sale over the next few days/weeks, so keep that in mind when shopping. I've also explicitly included the country of origin for each company, as that can sometimes have an impact on the compatibility of the phones in certain other countries' networks (cough cough Verizon).
 
 

Considerations for Playing Pokemon Go

Battery: For many players, this is probably the most important factor when playing the game. A good battery means you can get through a full Community Day without needing to bring a power bank with you. Capacity is given in units of milliamp-hours (mAh), and the average value for a modern phone is about 3000-4000 mAh. That mAh number isn't everything, though, as screen specs and power drawing from other hardware components can affect how long a full charge lasts.
 
RAM: A phone's random access memory (RAM) is the amount of local memory that a phone can quickly work with. This is what dictates how many active apps you can have open at once (i.e. when you need to reload an app when switching between Pokemon Go and Discord/Telegram/WhatsApp/Messengeetc.). I highly recommend a minimum of 4GB of RAM for an Android phone, as the operating system (OS) can sometimes take up to 1.5 GB on its own.
 
Processor: All phones use a system on a chip (SoC) that roughly determines how well it runs apps/processes/tasks. Most Android phones use Qualcomm Snapdragon SoCs, which are separated by overall performace tier (600 and lower for budget, 700 for mid-range, 800 for flagship), generation, and incremental upgrades. For playing Pokemon Go, you should really go for a Snapdragon 600 series at the very least.
 
Non-considerations: This post is about picking a phone to play Pokemon Go. Thus, I've left out regularly discussing phone aspects that don't matter as much for gameplay such as cameras, charging speeds, 5G compatibility, and extra special features, though I might have one-off mentions if they help define a model. I occasionally mention display refresh rates, but it's not comprehensive. If any of these features are important for you when picking a phone, be sure to do your own research before buying!
 
An Example: I've used a 2017 Motorola Z2 Play with 3000 mAh battery, 3GB RAM, and a Snapdragon 626 for the past 2.5 years playing heavily (current Trainer stats: 136 million XP, 163,000 Pokemon caught, no Go+). Over roughly the same time, my girlfriend has used a 2017 Google Pixel 2 with 2700 mAh battery, 4GB RAM, and a Snapdragon 835 chip to play. Before we got these phones, we had used an iPhone 5s and 5, respectively, to play since launch.
During pre-pandemic 3 hour Community Days, I could comfortably play the whole time on a single full phone charge while my girlfriend would need to plug in around the last hour; the increased battery capacity and lower-end chip meant that my Z2 Play would last longer than her Pixel 2. However, my Z2 Play (purchased for about $380) is still waiting around for a promised Android 9 update but now also has MAJOR RAM issues; so much so that Pokemon Go frequently crashes presumably due to the system running out of RAM. Meanwhile, her Pixel 2 (purchased for about $800) is still going strong on Android 10 and can easily last another year or two even with the last device software update coming in December 2020.
 
Feel free to keep this example and the previous considerations in mind as we go through each major phone brand alphabetically below.
 
 

Apple

Apple is an American company that's no longer "just" a luxury brand. It now sells a wide range of phones, including some budget-friendly options. There's nearly an iPhone at every hundred-dollar increment from $399 to $1099 (in the U.S.; prices can be considerably higher in other countries).
Performance-wise, iOS offers probably the smoothest Pokemon Go experience. Thanks to Apple's vertical integration, all parts of an iPhone (OS, software, hardware) are optimized for one another, allowing iPhones to have great performance even when their raw numbers don't look so impressive. Thus, it's not always useful to compare iPhone spec numbers to those of Android phones. Apple also offers the longest software support period for their devices from any phone maker (around 5 years!), so you'll continue to get OS and security updates for quite a while.
One important note is that when you buy an Apple device, you're buying into the Apple ecosystem. They want to force you to only use their devices by making interfacing with Apple products easy and with other devices sometimes near impossible. Keep that in mind before you jump in!
This year's highlights include:

• iPhone 12 Pro Max ($1099) - This year's top of the line iPhone model. It has a larger battery (3687 mAh), bigger screen, and better camera features than any of the other iPhone 12 models. Though it only has 6GB of RAM, Apple is able to make that go a long way. Go for this if you want the latest and greatest iPhone device, but check out the other iPhone 12 models if you want to shave off a few hundred dollars for pretty much the same experience (mostly losing camera features).
  
• iPhone SE (2020) ($399) - If you want that smooth iOS Pokemon Go experience but don't want to break the bank, this is the choice for you. It's the cheapest iPhone Apple's ever released, yet has the same chip as last year's iPhone 11. The SE has a seemingly tiny 3GB of RAM, but again, Apple is able to stretch that out. The biggest downside, however, is that its battery capacity is low (1821 mAh - the smallest of all phones in this post), so you'll definitely have to bring a portable charger to make it through a full Community Day. Some reviewers go as far as to recommend the iPhone 11 as the "cheap iPhone option" instead because of the anemic battery on the SE.
  

 

Asus

Typically more known as a computer manufacturer, Asus is a Taiwanese company with a few entries in the phone market. In certain countries, however, they lack a traditional storefront (physical or even online), meaning that in order to buy their phones, you have to go through a third party seller.
Here's a model that really stuck out:

• ROG Phone 3 ($999) - A phone that's specifically designed for gaming. Like, competitive first-person shooter gaming. With a 6000 mAh battery (the biggest of all the phones in this post), minimum 12GB RAM, Snapdragon 865+, and a flurry of other features, this phone is overkill if your primary purpose is playing Pokemon Go. In the U.S., it appears to be mostly compatible with AT&T and T-Mobile networks, but not Verizon.

 

Google

Rather than continuing to creep into the high-end market, Google's Pixel phones are cementing themselves as decisively mid-range. As the maker of the Android OS, Google is an American tech giant able to optimize their phones for a smooth experience similar to Apple with iOS, but to a slightly lesser extent. They offer 3 years of guaranteed OS and security updates, which is above average for Android phones.
The best feature you get for the money is the camera. Pixel phones have a legendary camera for their price, which is nice, but not super relevant for Pokemon Go. Overall, however, they're solid products that run apps very well.
This year's highlights include:

• Pixel 5 ($699) - Very respectable specs (4000 mAh battery, 8GB RAM, Snapdragon 765G) for the price of an upper mid-range phone. They're not spectacular, however, as its chipset in particular isn't the higher-end Snapdragon 865. But most users probably won't notice the loss in sheer, raw power.
  
• Pixel 4a ($349) - One of the two phones topping the lists of best budget phone of 2020, the Pixel 4a is even cheaper than its main competitors. Its internals are very clearly a step down (3140 mAh, 6GB RAM, Snapdragon 730G) from the Pixel 5, but should still be more than enough for any Trainer, especially at this price point. Oh, and it has a headphone jack!
  

 

HTC

A Taiwanese company that once led innovation in the smartphone market. Heck they were the first ones to make Android phones! They've steadily been declining over the past decade, and have mostly shifted their focus to VR hardware. One other notable fact is that HTC played a big role in helping Google create their first Pixel phones.
Today, HTC does still make phones, but they're typically hard to find. None are officially being sold in the U.S., so you'd have to go through third-party sellers. The phones they have are usually mid-range, but I haven't seen any favorable tech reviews, so I'll just move on.
 

Huawei

This Chinese maker is one of the top phone sellers in the world, trading blows with Samsung and Apple. There was some recent controversy with this company over certain U.S. policy decisions that affected sales, though it remains to be seen whether that will continue in the future. Until there's a resolution, I can't exactly recommend any Huawei phones to a Western audience (plus tech reviewers don't always cover them).
 

Lenovo

Another company that's better known for making computers. This Chinese brand actually owns Motorola (in fact, they tell you to just buy a Motorola phone if you're in the U.S.), but also has a few models that carry the Lenovo name. As far as I can tell, none of these Lenovo phones are specifically available in the U.S., though there are international unlocked versions out there.
Here's one that's worth pointing out:

• Legion Duel ($1049) - A very similar gaming phone to the Asus ROG Phone 3. The biggest trade-off is a smaller battery capacity (5000 mAh), though it charges faster. Definitely overkill for playing Pokemon Go, but if you have other mobile gaming aspirations and want a fast charging phone, then consider this one.

 

LG

LG is a South Korean electronics company that has declined a bit in terms of phone market share, but still offers some innovative choices. These days, their phones aren't highly ranked in reviews, but there's still one entry that I thought was worth mentioning.

• V60 ThinQ/Dual Screen ($799 to $949) - Do you want (the option of using) two full-sized screens? If so, then this might be the phone for you. With a 5000 mAh battery, 8 GB RAM, and a Snapdragon 865 chip, it's got the specs to power everything you want to do on those dual screens. The price that you'll have to pay for this phone varies based on your network carrier in the U.S., so don't get too attached until you do your homework.

 

Motorola

Once a huge name in cell phone sales, Motorola is an American company that has declined throughout the smartphone era. However, it continues to make decent phones, some of which have been highly praised. Most of its offerings are budget phones, with many different options to choose from, so this is definitely a maker that you should consider if you're on a tight budget and live in the U.S.
A relatively inconsequential but beloved feature of Motorola phones are the Moto actions. If you've ever used a Motorola phone, you'll know - chop your phone in midair to activate the flashlight, twist your phone along its long axis to open up the camera, etc. Small detail, but a lot of fun to play with.
Here are a couple of options from this maker:

• Moto Edge+ ($999) - Motorola's first flagship phone in a few years, and it's a Verizon exclusive. 5000 mAh battery, 12GB RAM, Snapdragon 865, and a 90 Hz refresh rate make for an impressive device. Some downsides, though: lots of bloatware, not great vibration motor, bad fingerprint reader, and a screen that curves over the edges.
  
• Moto G Power ($249) - If you're in the U.S. and need something cheaper than a mid-range phone, consider the Moto G Power. With 5000 mAh battery, 4GB RAM, and a Snapdragon 655, this should suffice for your PoGo needs. Its claim to fame is definitely that battery, as the RAM and SoC aren't too impressive. It's compatible with most major U.S. carriers and you should be able to grab it with some discount. Also, I wouldn't recommend any Android phones with lower RAM or chip specs than this if you want to play Pokemon Go on it for more than a year.
  

 

Nokia

Nokia used to rule the world in phone sales, but now this company from Finland is just another (small) fish in the sea. Late in adapting to the smartphone revolution, Nokia is trying to make up for lost time by offering its own selection of Android phones. Unfortunately, none of their phones top any "best phone of 2020" lists, so I won't be calling out any specific models here. If you're in the market for truly budget phones in the U.S., however, Nokia (like Motorola) might be a good brand to look into. Just make sure the specs are good enough to sustain Pokemon Go in the long run.
 

OnePlus

This up-and-coming Chinese phone maker got its start making "flagship-killer" phones that packed in a ton of features while charging less than top makers. The specs in OnePlus phones are awesome for the price that you pay. You also get Oxygen OS, which is a reskinned Android OS for OnePlus that is sleek and often praised by reviewers.
There are some notable potential obstacles in buying a OnePlus phone in the U.S., however. Some highly-praised models simply aren't released in the U.S., while others have support with only some networks (mostly T-Mobile, OnePlus's official U.S. partner). If you do manage to make it work, however, you'll soon find out exactly why tech reviewers absolutely love OnePlus.
This year's highlights include:

• OnePlus 8T ($749) - If you want all of the flagship features at a price that just barely puts it into the high-end category, the OnePlus 8T is the way to go. With 4500 mAh battery, 12GB RAM, Snapdragon 865, 120 Hz refresh rate, and warp charging, it's got great specs at an unbelievable price (to demonstrate, sneak a peek at the Samsung Note 20 Ultra!).
  
• OnePlus Nord (£379) - This is the phone that I wish I could have bought. It's the other phone (besides the Google Pixel 4a) that tops the lists of best budget phones of 2020. 4115 mAh battery, 8GB RAM, Snapdragon 765G. It has the specs of a Google Pixel 5 for hundreds less (£379 GBP = $505 USD vs. Pixel 5's $699 USD). You also get a 90 Hz refresh rate for smoother animations. The downside? It's not sold in the U.S., and it's missing support for a few frequency bands that U.S. carriers use for their networks, so it probably won't work super well even if you do import one (especially on Verizon). There are pared-down Nord variants coming to the U.S. in the near future, but it's just not the same.
  
• OnePlus 7T T-Mobile version ($349) - If you really wanted the Nord, are stuck in the U.S., but are a T-Mobile customer, you might be in luck! With 3800 mAh battery, 8GB RAM, and a Snapdragon 855+ (compared to the 765G on the Nord, the 855+ is last year's model, but for a higher class of phones), you get roughly the same specs as the Nord for an even lower price! But again, it's only for T-Mobile customers.
  

 

Oppo

One of the largest phone makers in the world, thanks to its huge success in its home country of China. Most of its models aren't readily available in the west, and one of its most critically acclaimed phones, the Oppo Find X2 Pro, was undercut by the OnePlus 8T by hundreds of dollars. Oppo has some good budget and mid-range options, but apparently they're exceptionally hard to find outside of China or India, so I won't highlight any here.
 

Samsung

Samsung is a giant in the world of smartphone sales, often topping the list of most phones sold. The South Korean company offers a plethora of different phone models, and I can't pretend to comprehend how many different models they sell.
A strange quirk is that the internal SoC in some models differs based on which region you buy from. Samsung is able to make their own chips, the Exynos brand, for less but performance sometimes lags behind that of the more common Qualcomm Snapdragon.
This year's highlights include:

• Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra ($1299) - Considered the best of the best, this is the phone that has all of the top features put together. 4500 mAh battery, 12GB RAM, Snapdragon 865+ (Americas, East Asia), 120 Hz refresh rate, and warp and wireless charging. This is the phone with that fancy pen stylus, whose latency has apparently been vastly improved. The battery life is supposedly boosted by the adaptive refresh rate of the phone, which will be lowered when apps don't need higher rates. But... just look at that price! I cri.
  
• Samsung Galaxy S20 FE ($699) - Priced as an upper mid-range phone, this one delivers one of the best values at this price point. A 4500 mAh battery, 6GB RAM, and a Snapdragon 865 chip makes this a very competitive phone. If you're able to get it on sale, that's even better! The main issue, however, is that even when discounted, it's still a bit expensive for people on a tight phone budget. But at least it's more widely available than similarly spec'd Xiaomi phones.
  
• Samsung Galaxy A51 ($399) - This is Samsung's most relevant competitor to the best value mid-range phones. It has a 4000 mAh battery, 4GB RAM, and an Exynos 9611 chip, which is comparable in specs, though you may want to consider getting more RAM. Overall, it's a good phone, but it doesn't outshine its mid-range competitors like the Pixel 4a or Nord by offering a better price or better specs.
  

 

Sony

People might be surprised to hear that this massive Japanese tech conglomerate that's responsible for the Playstation and hundreds of consumer electronics also makes phones. Sony phones make up an almost invisible market share of phones sold, but according to tech enthusiasts, the phones are great thanks to the unconventional features that they include.
Here's probably their the best model this year:

• Xperia 5 ii ($949) - Sony's Xperia series has a few tricks up their sleeves. On paper, the phone looks alright: 4000 mAh battery, 8GB RAM, Snapdragon 865 chip, 120 Hz refresh rate. But the first thing people will notice is that this phone has a wonky aspect ratio - it's much, much taller than it is wide. It does this to be a more comfortable one-handed device, as well as achieving a more cinematic aspect ratio in landscape mode. You also get manual-level camera controls directly imported from Sony's professional camera lineup. Oh, and you get a 3.5 mm headphone jack, which is nearly impossible to find on phones at this price point.

 

Vivo

Another Chinese phone maker whose products are mostly locked to mainland China, as far as I can tell. I haven't seen any specific models raved about by reviewers, so I'll again move on.
 

Xiaomi

Another huge player in the market of phone sales, this Chinese company has been excelling in the developing markets of China and India. Western consumers are also starting to notice what this maker has to offer, both at the low and high end. However, U.S. consumers will likely be unable to use these phones to the full potential, as many of Xiaomi's huge suite of phones aren't fully supported in the U.S.
Nevertheless, here are a few models that really stand out:

• Xiaomi Mi 10 ($649) - On paper, you get a lot more than you'd expect from this phone based on its price. A 4780 mAh battery, 8GB RAM, and a Snapdragon 865 gives it flagship-level specs at a upper mid-range price. However, you might have trouble finding a place to buy it, and it might not work with certain networks (definitely not on Verizon in the U.S.). You may also want to consider the Xiaomi Poco F2, which only has 6GB RAM, but can be found for even cheaper in certain markets.
  
• Black Shark 3 Pro ($899) - Xiaomi's gaming phone entry that has a very unique look. It has physical shoulder buttons that pop up when gaming in landscape orientation and liquid cooling(!). 5000 mAh battery, Snapdragon 865, 12GB of RAM, and a 90 Hz refresh rate all give it top-notch specs. But again, good luck getting it to work if you're in the U.S.
  
• Poco X3 (£199) - On paper, this phone's stats do not match its asking price. 5160 mAh battery, 6GB RAM, Snapdragon 732G, and 120 Hz refresh rate all starting at £199 GBP/€229 EU$250 USD. It's the best ultra affordable phone in 2020, but has some caveats. It's not fully compatible with U.S. networks and has ads built right into the OS (though I hear there is a way to disable this). If you can deal with these, then check this bad boy out.
  

 
 

Conclusions

There's a myriad of options when buying a phone these days. Here, I've gone over some notable current examples from many of the major phone brands globally, but this is by no means a comprehensive treatment. In fact, this post is heavily biased towards the U.S. (this is Reddit, after all).
In my opinion, mid-range phones offer the best value for your money when buying a brand new phone. Budget options (under $200) really aren't suited for playing Pokemon Go for an appreciable amount of time, and you'll get more frequent slowdowns and crashes with each new game update. On the flip side, the specs on flagship phones are overkill for a game like PoGo and the huge price tags are daunting. You could always buy a flagship from a year or two ago for a deep discount (in fact, this is what many people recommend instead of buying a new, mid-range phone model), but you'll get that many years fewer in guaranteed OS and security updates.
Doing the research for this post has given me some interesting insight into phones, brands, and networks. There's often some amazing choices out there that you've never heard about simply because it's not marketed in your country. Also, Verizon may be America's #1 network, but it absolutely sucks if you like a phone that isn't made by an American, European, or South Korean company.
Lastly, to revisit my earlier example, I ended up purchasing a Google Pixel 4a for myself a few days ago to replace my Moto Z2 Play. I'm really looking forward to it and absolutely cannot wait to go catching and grind towards level 50 on my new device!
I hope this post has been helpful!
 
 

Glossary

• Budget/Mid-range/Flagship - These are the main smartphone categories that describe price and performance. Roughly speaking, a budget phone is anything under $300 USD, a mid-range is between $300 and $700, and a flagship (or high-end) is anything over $700. Flagship phones are the devices that makers cram all of the best features into.
  
• Display Refresh Rate - The rate at which the screen updates - think frames-per-second. A higher number means a seemingly smoother animation. Most people won't notice a difference, but tech enthusiasts love higher rates. 60 Hz is typical, 90 Hz is the next step up, and some go as high as 120 Hz or 144 Hz.
  
• SoC (System on a chip) - The primary processor that ties many of the components (CPU, graphics, GPS) of a smartphone together. Most Android phones use a Snapdragon SoC, while a few makers like Samsung, Huawei, and Apple create their own. There are different tiers and generations, and is often the primary indication for the performance of a phone.
  
• RAM (random access memory) - The local memory that a phone can quickly work with. This is what dictates how many active apps you can have open at once (i.e. what determines whether you need to reload apps when switching between Pokemon Go and Discord/Telegram/WhatsApp/Messengeetc.).
  
• milliamp-hour - Typical units for battery capacity. Literally, it represents how much current can be drawn from the battery per hour and technically simplifies to units of charge (Amp = Coulombs/Sec
  
• Trade-in - A business practice where you basically sell a retailer your old phone in order to get a discount on their product. Your trade-in doesn't need to be from the same maker, they'll take it regardless. The amount of cash you'll get in return is directly tied to the model and condition of your old phone; most old phones won't award any money, but it's more environmentally friendly than throwing it in the trash.
  
• 5G - The new, 5th generation standard in cellular data networking. It's an upgrade to 4G LTE, promising faster speeds, but the infrastructure isn't quite there yet. Many phone brands are coming out with 5G-compatible phones, but it's not really worth it yet, as 5G is incredibly short-range and there aren't enough receivers even in major cities.
  

 
 
P.S. For some reason, I'm not able to find/select the [Gear] flair for this post. Halp.

Section One: Assets and Debt
Retirement Balance: $25,000; I didn’t start contributing until last year. I got out of grad school end of 2017, and once I got my first job I focused on saving up a good emergency fund since I live in such a HCOL city.
Savings account balance: $25,000; $20K emergency fund, $5K for car down payment (I’ll be making this purchase soon)
Checking account balance: $1,300; I try to only keep bill money in there + $500 buffer, payday is in a few days so this is low
HSA balance: $3,600; Since I chose the HSA plan at work, my company fills it up to the deductible every year. This is my money to keep, and this has been racking up after a few years of low medical expenses. It came in handy when I had to have surgery this year, I was able to pay exclusively from this account.
Credit card debt: none, I pay balances off each month
Student loan debt: $20,000; This is all from undergrad tuition: my living expenses were paid by working and some help from my parents, my grad school was paid with fellowships. Payments have been suspended during COVID. My original plan was to pay it off this year, but COVID and everything else has made me rethink that. Instead, I’ve decided to put money toward moving (with rent prices down I was able to move to a much nicer place for only a little more) and putting a hefty down payment on a reasonably priced car. With help of my bonus and tax refund I can definitely clear my debt in 2021, but I’ll wait until we know more about what Biden plans to do about student debt.
​
Section Two: Income
Income Progression:
• During college: $10K-13K a year; this was through various part time jobs in retail + working at a lab at my university later in college. It wasn’t much but it paid for my living expenses. I’m really glad I worked in college, although I wish maybe I had worked a little less so I could have more of a social life. Regardless it set me up to be a lot more independent than most of my peers
• Grad school: $30K a year stipend; Right after college I went straight into grad school to get a PhD in biomedical science. Programs in this field usually cover tuition and provide a stipend since you’re working in the lab of your advisor. Tip for anyone looking at getting a PhD in this field: if a school offers you admission but won’t cover tuition and stipend through research or teaching assistantships, DON’T DO IT. It’s a red flag, plus you’re better off minimizing debt if you want to stay in academia.
• First job in biotech: $97K salary + up to 10% bonus; Once I graduated, I got a job at a biotech company on the peninsula. I didn’t negotiate because I didn’t know that I had any leverage to since I was just coming out of school. Turns out negotiating really isn’t part of the company culture and people really are paid the same market rate for the same work within the company so it wouldn’t have mattered anyway. Typically get a 5% cost of living raise every year.
• Promotion early this year: $123K salary + up to 10% bonus; this was something that was expected, my boss and I had been in discussions about my work
• Unexpected raise: $135K salary + up to 10% bonus; Recently got an unexpected pay raise, I suspect this was pre-emptive since I’ve recently picked up extra work that makes me more marketable. I probably would have asked for this eventually, but they beat me to it. My company works really hard to make sure people feel well-compensated and appreciated, which really helps when the workload gets stressful.
​
Main Job Monthly Take Home:
Deductions:
• Roth 401K: $1,125 a month (10% gross salary)
• Medical/dental: covered 100% by work.
Monthly take home after deductions: $6,300
​
Section Three: Expenses
Rent: $2,900; I live alone in a one bedroom apartment with my cat. Moved from a studio this summer, I would never had been able to get a place this nice (nice building, remodeled kitchen+bathroom) without the COVID rent drops.
Renters insurance: $15
Savings contribution: $1000 a month at least. Right now that goes towards a car down payment. After that, it’ll be split to extra debt repayment (to pay student loan faster) and short terms savings like for vacations.
Student loan: $300 a month (suspended due to COVID)
Donations: $175 a month; Split amongst food banks, KQED, ACLU, and planned parenthood. Every time I get a raise I pick up a new donation. I also gave about $2K this year in ad hoc donations.
Electric: ~$35 a month. Steam heat (radiator) is free in my building so this doesn’t fluctuate in winter.
Wifi: ~$35 a month
Cellphone: $110; includes iphone payment that ends in a year
Subscriptions: $50; Netflix, hulu, amazon prime, hbo max (I really should cut on of these)
Car insurance: $100; Two years ago I gave my car back to my family for my brother to use after I moved to SF, but I still came back and drove it enough for me to need to keep my own insurance on it just in case. When I buy the new car it’ll get transferred to that one.
​
Day One (Monday)
8:00 a.m. — My alarm goes off, and I’m technically awake but still so tired. I cuddle with the cat and catch up on youtube for a while before I get up and make some tea.
9:00 a.m. — I settle in the start the day: mostly just triaging emails and dealing with some small tasks so I can get them off the list. I’ve been working from home since March; I work in data analysis, so my computer is my lab. For the most part it’s been pretty successful, but sometimes I fall for the lure to work in my pajamas. After about an hour of work I quickly shower and get ready for my first meeting.
12:00 p.m. — My meetings are done so I heat up lunch- today its pasta leftovers from last night, along with a coke. I spend the break watching a West Wing episode, I’ve been bingeing recently and I’m almost done!
2:30 p.m. — I hit a lull in work, so I get my bags and mask and walk to the grocery store. The best part of working from home is being able to go do errands on off hours, especially now that we’re all trying to avoid crowds. I listen to podcasts on the way over: this time I’m catching up on the Wall Street Journal Money Briefing.
2:45 p.m. — I buy my groceries for the week: ingredients for chopped salads, a few snacks, and a few frozen meals. Since I have a lot of leftover pasta to eat, I don’t need as many things as I usually do, so I use the opportunity to stock up on a few staples. You have to think ahead when you have to carry everything home every week! $48.76
3:30 p.m. — I get home an put everything away. I eat a lacey cookie and make sparkling water out of my sodastream while I settle back into work. Right now I’m doing all the prep for a big analysis coming up soon, so it’s a lighter week. Once that data comes in, I’ll be working like crazy.
6:00 p.m. — Done for the day! I decompress and play silly games on my phone, then get up to make dinner while I watch more West Wing on my iPad. Tonight’s dinner is chopped salad with romaine, cucumber, tomato, green apple, bacon, blue cheese, avocado, and balsamic dressing. I only need part of the green apple for the salad so I slice the rest to eat on the side. I also crack open a shandy to have with dinner.
8:00 p.m. — My period is coming and I have a hankering for sweets. I warm up a slice of pancake bread I got today and try a little bit of the peppermint bark liqueur I found this weekend. This combo is everything!
9:30 p.m. — I’m trying to go to bed earlier so I turn off the TV, settle into pajamas, and read before bed while cuddling with the cat. Right now I’m reading Dying: A memoir by Cory Taylor. I turn out the lights at 10 and listen to the Dear Hank & John podcast on a sleep timer.
Day One total: $48.76
​
Day Two (Tuesday)
7:30 a.m. — Even though I went to bed relatively early I still wake up exhausted. I hit the snooze button a few times before getting up, making tea, and getting ready.
11:00 a.m. — Done with morning meetings so I take an early lunch, more leftover pasta. I also clean up around the house for a little while, it’s hard for me to concentrate in a messy environment.
2:00 p.m. — Feeling sluggish so I make another cup of tea before my last meeting.
3:30 p.m. — My meeting is over, so I take a minute to take care of some life admin before I get back to work. I write out my rent check, drop it off in the office downstairs, and send my mom a link to an immersion blender since she wants to know what I want for Christmas. I see Naturalizer is having a 50% off sale on boots so I buy 2 pairs. My boots wore out last season and I still haven’t replaced them. I also set up a monthly donation for the Oakland food bank (see monthly expenses). I recently got a raise and want to up my donations. Since I already give to SF food bank I thought I’d spread the love. $107.43
6:00 p.m. — The last thing I need to do for work today requires running some code for a while, so I start that before making dinner. Tonight it’s another chopped salad and some sparkling water. I eat while watching more West Wing.
8:00 p.m. — Pre-period cravings are kicking my ass (or at least that’s my excuse). I have another slice of pancake bread and some tea while browsing NPR’s 2020 book concierge and tagging books on my libby account. I also text my boyfriend for a while and we make plans to hang out later this week (standard COVID note: he also lives alone/WFH and we live in walking distance to each other, so we consider ourselves one bubble).
10:30 p.m. — I get ready for bed and read more of my book. Light’s out by 11.
Day Two total: 107.43
​
Day Three (Wednesday)
7:30 a.m. — My alarm goes off, and the cat jumps into bed immediately for cuddles. We hang out for a few minutes then I get up, make tea, and start getting ready for the day.
9:00 a.m. — I start work, this morning it’s a bunch of code to review. Queue staring at my screens for three hours.
12:00 p.m. — Lunchtime! More leftover pasta, I’m getting bored of these leftovers but I don’t want to waste food. I have that and some more sparkling water.
1:00 p.m. — I recently got a new ipad, and I need to drop off the old one at Fedex to get the trade-in credit. I walk over to drop it off and enjoy the fresh air. On the way back I order a peppermint mocha from Starbucks on the mobile app. I try to order from the million independent coffee shops near my house most of the year, but the holiday drinks bring me back to Starbucks every time. During the walk I listen to podcast about Biden's cabinet picks with some interesting discussion about foreign policy. I don't know enough to have a strong opinion yet, but I would like to learn more! $5.50
4:00 p.m. — I just spent a good chunk of my afternoon talking with so many people just to make a small update to code. So frustrating! I'm tempted to make a drink to have while I finish work, but I resist and just have more sparkling water.
4:30 p.m. — I get a call from the medical center I got a procedure from last month. They said they sent me a statement, but they somehow not only got my street number wrong but also the zip code. I pay the $140 bill using money in my HSA (that's money put in by my company, so I don't count as an expense).
6:00 p.m. — I just spend way too much time ironing out another issue, I’ve earned my drink. I crack open a beer and make another chopped salad for dinner. Tonight I’m drinking a Baked Hawaii pastry stout from Temascal brewing. It’s absolutely delicious, but halfway through drinking the can I realize it’s 11% ABV!! Tonight just got interesting.
9:00 p.m. — Turns out drunk at home me isn’t that interesting: I spend the night watching West Wing and texting a friend. I’m in bed by 11ish.
Day three total: $5.50
​
Day Four (Thursday)
7:30 a.m. — I get up and make tea like I always do. I decide to actually get ready properly with makeup and jewelry today so that’s new.
9:00 a.m. — Start work, this morning I’m working on an internal presentation.
11:00 a.m. — I prep an apple and peanut butter for a snack.
12:00 p.m. — I heat up the last of leftover pasta for lunch. Good, I’m really getting sick of it.
1:00 p.m. — I sit down for my meeting. I present the first half, then spend second half munching on a few sour jellybeans I had left from last week.
3:00 p.m. — I make more tea and move to the couch to finish up my workday. I also customize my imperfect produce order for next week. I don't actually get a ton of produce from them, but I really like some of their meat and dairy options. I get apples, oranges, kiwi, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, avocados, bread, salmon, chicken breast, bacon, snack cheese, and some peppermint chocolate covered pretzels. That, plus my hello fresh coming next week, will be most of my food a few weeks. Those will get charged to my account next week when they’re delivered. I try to spend $250 a month of groceries, but craft beer and fun cheese sometimes make me go over.
5:30 p.m. — I’m sick of working, so I get changed out of sweats into decent clothes and walk over to my boyfriend’s place. I stop by the market on the way over to buy tea and a can of water chestnuts (the only other thing I need for meals next week). $7.58
6:00 p.m. — I get to my boyfriend’s place just as the food delivery arrives, I get chicken tikka masala, rice, and garlic naan. I only eat half so the rest is saved for leftovers. We split a stone espresso stout and talk. Since vaccine schedules look so good and cancellation policies are great, it makes sense to consider booking a trip to Hawaii for late summer. We agree to think about it and pull the trigger before Christmas. $25 for Indian food
7:00 p.m. — I’m not a fan of the stout so I open up a cider. We settle in and watch TV
9:45 p.m. — Technically we're under a 10pm curfew, although I can't really figure out what that means this time. I'm tired anyway, so I say goodbye to my boyfriend and walk home. No one is out, so I walk home with my mask off. Something about being in nice clothes and without a mask on hits harder than it probably should. I miss normal city life so much. Just as I think that a big-ass raccoon pops up walking on the next block, which ironically never happened to me in normal city life even though it totally sounds like it would. Luckily the raccoon is more scared of me than I am of it, and I make it home in one piece.
10:30 p.m. — I make a cup of decaf tea and settle into bed. I decide to start a new book Survivor Song, I find zombie-ish apocalyptic books oddly comforting right now (finished Severance by Ling Ma a few weeks ago). This one is about a rabies-like disease, really glad that raccoon ran away earlier.
3:00 a.m. — Oops, got so engrossed with the book I stay up incredibly late to read the whole thing in one sitting. I reset my alarm to 9. WFH for my company has its perks!
Day four total: $32.58
​
Day Five (Friday)
10:30 a.m. — I accidentally sleep through the alarm and wake up in a panic. It isn't the end of the world, but I still go straight to my laptop while still in pajamas and start work. There was a mini crisis early this morning that luckily I wouldn't have been much help in, but I spend the rest of the morning dealing with that and various other fires.
12:00 p.m. — I shower and get dressed. Lunch today is frozen lamb vindaloo for lunch and a coke to try and perk me up.
1:00 p.m. — I’m still predictably exhausted, so I make some tea and try to power through a task before a meeting.
3:00 p.m. —More tea and a lacey cookie before meeting.
6:00 p.m. —I still have more work to do but I'm drained, so I call it a night. I heat up last night's Indian food, grab some more sparkling water and catch up on youtube to decompress.
8:00 p.m. —I clean up a little round the house while I watch the new Grey’s Anatomy. I can’t believe I’m still watching this show.
11:00 p.m. — Watched more West Wing while curled up on the couch. I head to bed; I want to get up at a decent time.
Day five total: $0
​
Day Six (Saturday)
8:00 a.m. — My alarm goes off. I stay in bed browsing the internet on my iPad.
9:00 a.m. — I get up, make some tea and prep breakfast. Today I try the pumpkin chocolate chip pancakes from Damn Delicious. My resolution this year was to make 50 new recipes and I’m on track to make it! These pancakes are fantastic, I’ll definitely make them again. I pack up the leftovers to bring to my boyfriend’s house later.
10:00 a.m. — I settle in on the couch and spend the rest of the morning playing games on my ipad and listening to podcasts.
12:30 p.m. — I jump in the shower and get ready. I’m training for when we’re back in real society again, so I actually do my hair and makeup today. Today I play with eyeshadow and do a purple smokey eye. My boyfriend texts to say that he already ate lunch so I heat up frozen lamb vindaloo for lunch.
1:30 p.m. — Time to head to my boyfriend’s house. I pack up my overnight bag and the pancakes, put my boots on, and head out. I drop my stuff off at my boyfriend’s house and we head out to walk around the city. We started doing this when the pandemic started, it’s a great way to spend the afternoon. On the walk I finally see the parrots of Telegraph hill, although we aren’t at telegraph hill. They’re really cute, but so loud, I’m glad I don’t live closer to them!
3:00 p.m. —We stop by a place to get Irish coffee but the line is massive (this is the last weekend of outdoor dining, so everyone is out). I don't want to wait in line, so we keep walking to find somewhere else to go.
3:30 p.m. — We see a Mexican restaurant and decide to stop for snacks and drinks. As a bonus the tables are really spaced out and there aren’t a ton of people seated. We want to help businesses out and enjoy a last weekend being able to eat outside, but it seems counterproductive to eat at a crowded place. We get 2 margaritas each and split some appetizers, making sure to tip extra. $51.26
5:30 p.m. — As we walk back towards my boyfriend’s apartment, we see that the cocktail bar he really wanted to try has a ton of tables available. We pick a table far away from the others and have 2 more cocktails each. I also get some garlic shrimp noodles. We each tip extra here too. $66.71
7:00 p.m. — We trudge up the hill and head to my boyfriend’s apartment. I buy some snacks and a la croix at a corner store on the way. $7.00
7:15 p.m. — We spend the rest of evening watching TV and sobering up. We end up going to bed pretty early, around 10.
Day six total: $124.97
​
Day Seven (Sunday)
9:00 a.m. — I wake up and laze around in bed for a while. After I get up we eat the leftover pancakes and I help my boyfriend with some chores that require 2 people (there are a few disadvantages to living alone).
11:00 a.m. — I gather my things and walk home. Once I’m there I drop off my things, and head straight back out to grab a few items. I’m out of body wash so I walk to Walgreens to buy that and a soda. On the way home I realize I don’t have any food for today (Hello Fresh is coming tomorrow), so I pop into the deli and get a sandwich and some chips. The sandwiches are huge so it’s enough food for lunch and dinner. $27.20
3:00 p.m. — The rest of day is spent alternating between cleaning and hanging out on the couch. I look at my email to see that Aerie is doing 10 for $35 on underwear, so I fill up my cart with 10 pairs + a swimsuit and sweater. I haven’t bought any clothes this year, but now things are starting to wear out so I need to replace things all at once. $89.47
7:00 p.m. — I toast up the other half of my sandwich. I spend the rest of the evening reading and watching TV, I’m in bed by 11.
Day seven total: $116.67
​
Total for week: $435.91
Grocery + Dining Out: $239.01
Fun + Entertainment: $0
Home + Health: $10
Clothes + Beauty: $196.90
Transportation: $0
Lastly, reflect on your diary: This definitely was a more expensive week than normal. I’ve been delaying buying clothing for a long time, so I finally have started to catch up. I tend to do that after I get a raise. This was also the last week of outdoor dining for SF so I used this as an excuse to eat out more, I feel so bad for all the workers about to get laid off again.
​
Have a happy and safe holidays everyone!
(Edited because I found a few typos I missed when I proofread, so embarrassing! TA me from 4 years ago would be so ashamed haha)