Sadly, IMO, the U.S. is not producing grads with the skills and work ethic needed for today’s STEM jobs, which is why Apple pursued this strategy in the first place.
As a hiring manager, it’s hard to find anyone from the U.S. who actually treats their job like a job. Entitlement is rampant.
The Leica has 8 elements vs the Nikons 17 (!). Plus Nikon has an AF that moves two groups of elements.
I’m not a lens engineer but I think the modern “big three” primes are just totally over-engineered for crazy edge-to-edge sharpness with very low chromatic aberration, which means LOTS of lens elements. Throw in a silent AF motor and potentially image stabilization too, and you have a Quaker Oatmeal can sized lens.