I was surprised to see the headlines about this. These stories are saying he's never "officially" come out, but isn't it pretty common knowledge?
Among MacRumors readers, probably yes. Among the average population, probably no. On the other hand, the percentage of people who care has shrunk a lot over the years.
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The term is sexual orientation. It's not a preference.
It's a preference. In the sense of "you can get what you want, but you can't want what you want". We all have some preference, but no choice in which preference we have.