Send us a text!This week: it’s our list of the best—and most disappointing—Apple tech of 2018! And stay tuned for all our most favorite news, movies, food, gear, video games, and drug paraphernalia of the year. This one gets real weird... This episode supported by Opsgenie empowers Dev & Ops teams to plan for service disruptions and stay in control during incidents. It also gives teams the power to respond quickly and efficiently to unplanned issues. Visit Opsgenie.com to sign up to get a FREE company account and add up to 5 team members. Whether it’s planning a date night or scheduling a business trip, Fin’s army of virtual assistants can do the tasks you don’t have time to do. Try itself for free at fin.com/cultcast. CultCloth will keep your iPhone X, Apple Watch, Mac and iPad sparkling clean, and for a limited time use code CULTCAST at checkout to score a free CleanCloth with any order at CultCloth.co. Thanks to Kevin McLeod for the music you hear on today’s episode.   On the show this week @erfon / @bst3r Ranking all the major hardware Apple released in 2018 [Year in Review] https://www.cultofmac.com/596754/ranking-2018-apple-hardware/ Our favorite What We’re Intos of 2018! MoviePass Annihilation Super Mario Odyssey Captain Jean-luc Picard will helm a new Star Trek series   Boosted Board Mini X Finger Bang Pizza Dillas Pack Rafts  

Send us a text!This week: In December of 1994, Apple began allowing PC manufacturs to license their OS, building their own versions of the “Mac”, and it almost destroyed them. Leander Kahney was a young reporter on the scene in those days, and regales us with the tale. Plus, we have a very special announcement we'd like to make, about a very special annoumcement we're going ot be making next week. And if you stay tuned, and you definitely should, we're going to wrap up with our favorite movies of 2018, and it’s a long list. This episode supported by Opsgenie empowers Dev & Ops teams to plan for service disruptions and stay in control during incidents. It also gives teams the power to respond quickly and efficiently to unplanned issues. Visit Opsgenie.com to sign up to get a FREE company account and add up to 5 team members. Easily create a beautiful website all by yourself, at Squarespace.com/cultcast. Use offer code CultCast at checkout to get 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain. CultCloth will keep your iPhone X, Apple Watch, Mac and iPad sparkling clean, and for a limited time use code CULTCAST at checkout to score a free CleanCloth with any order at CultCloth.co. Thanks to Kevin McLeod for the music you hear on today’s episode. On the show this week @erfon / @lkahney / @lewiswallace / @bst3r Apple Music Connect is shutting down, suffering Same Fate as iTunes Ping - lewis https://www.macrumors.com/2018/12/13/apple-music-connect-shutting-down/ Apple today announced that its Apple Music Connect social platform for artists is in the process of shutting down, suffering the same fate as Ping, the company's previous social network for music removed from iTunes in October 2012. The only band that ever posted anything was ColdPlay. Apple Sending Unsolicited Notifications for New Carpool Karaoke Episodes and Apple Music Echo Support -erfon https://www.macrumors.com/2018/12/18/apple-unsolicited-notifications/ Apple has recently been sending out unsolicited notifications to iOS users, promoting Carpool Karaoke episodes and the availability of Apple Music on Amazon Echo devices. Apple doesn't appear to be sending these push notifications to all users, so it's not clear what criteria the company is using to determine who to send content to Why did Apple just send me a notification about an all new carpool karaoke, something I've never watched and have absolutely no interest in? Today in Apple history: Apple signs ‘clone Mac’ deal https://www.cultofmac.com/458490/clone-mac-era-tiah/ This week, in 1994: Apple Computer inks a licensing deal with Power Computing, allowing the company to produce Macintosh-compatible computers. With falling market share, and longtime rival Microsoft steaming ahead thanks to its software-licensing strategy, Apple executives think the only way to compete is for Apple to hand over its operating system for third-party Macs. The “clone Mac” era turned out to be a disaster for Apple. Rather than spurring Mac sales, it just meant cheaper “Macs.” As a result, Apple took a massive hit in the amount it earned per unit. Apple CFO Fred Anderson later worked out that the strategy actually cost the company money. The $50 fee Apple got for every clone Mac sold didn’t come close to recouping the money lost from people choosing to buy third-party Macs instead of more-expensive o

Send us a text!This week: it’s all our favorite gadgets of 2018! Well, not all, but lots of them. We didn’t have time to get through them all but we tried real hard. Plus: Apple is finally gearing up to overhaul the AMD GPUs in their Mac lineup; and the legit way to purchase a base iMac Pro for just $3800. This episode supported by Opsgenie empowers Dev & Ops teams to plan for service disruptions and stay in control during incidents. It also gives teams the power to respond quickly and efficiently to unplanned issues. Visit Opsgenie.com to sign up to get a FREE company account and add up to 5 team members. CultCloth will keep your iPhone X, Apple Watch, Mac and iPad sparkling clean, and for a limited time use code CULTCAST at checkout to score a free CleanCloth with any order at CultCloth.co. Thanks to Kevin McLeod for the music you hear on today’s episode. On the show this week: @erfon / @lkahney / @lewiswallace   Mojave update hints at new AMD Vega GPUs coming to Mac https://www.cultofmac.com/595740/mojave-new-amd-vega-gpu-mac/ Apple’s most recent macOS Mojave update suggests we’ll soon see new AMD Vega GPUs coming to the Mac. Apple just updated the GPUs in the Macbook Pro with Vega 16 and Vega 20 options, and now they look to be planning similar upgrades for other Macs in its lineup. Sonos Beam Sonos One Simply Safe security system See Sense Icon 2 bike lights Nintendo Switch Cal Digit TS3 Plus Thunderbolt 3 dock Apple Pencil 2 Apple Watch 4 "Refurbished" iMac Pro on eBay

Send us a text! This week: Apple’s new online store includes a 10% discount on ALL products, but there’s a catch…. Plus: redesigned AirPods are on the way; Tim Cook promises more Apple censorship; and we wrap up with our favorite shows of 2018!   This episode supported by   Easily create a beautiful website all by yourself, at Squarespace.com/cultcast. Use offer code CultCast at checkout to get 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain.   Opsgenie empowers Dev & Ops teams to plan for service disruptions and stay in control during incidents.  It also gives teams the power to respond quickly and efficiently to unplanned issues. Visit Opsgenie.com to sign up to get a FREE company account and add up to 5 team members.   Audible is the home of over 150,000 audio books from practically every genre in existence, and right now you can get 3 books a month for just $6.95 a month, half off the normal price.  And your books are yours to keep even if you decide not to keep your Audible subscription.  Get started at audible.com/cultcast.   CultCloth will keep your iPhone X, Apple Watch, Mac and iPad sparkling clean, and for a limited time use code CULTCAST at checkout to score a free CleanCloth with any order at CultCloth.co.   Thanks to Kevin McLeod for the music you hear on today’s episode.   On the show this week @erfon / @lkahney / @lewiswallace     Plot twist: Erfon's 2018 MacBook Pro story update takes a unexpected turn... Apple store adds 10% discount for vets and military https://www.cultofmac.com/594072/apple-discounts-for-vets-military/ I think this may be one of the biggest stories of the year, but no one seems to be talking about it. Apple revealed this week that it has launched a new website that gives a 10% discount to vets and active military members that the company says is an expression of its gratitude for service. It's just like the education store, but it provides a flat discount of 10% across ALL products. This is the biggest, most broad discount, possibly ever. When I first heard about this, I didn't think much of it.  But then I found out that, just like the education store, the military and vets site doesn’t ask for verification so it’s all based on the honor system.  You just click into it, and poof, all prices drop 10%... Base iPhone 10s Max, usually $1100, is $989 (only sim-free iPhones are discounted) Base 11" iPad Pro, normally $799, is $719.  256GB is down to $854 from $949.   Updated AirPods will supposedly land in early 2019 https://www.cultofmac.com/593894/updated-airpods-are-supposedly-

Send us a text!This week: we’ll tell you how iPhone’s Smart HDR takes pics better than cameras costing thousands, and how a proper Apple Camera positively unstoppable.  Plus: the Supreme court may force Apple to allow competing app stores; proposed tariffs on the iPhone could send prices sky high; and Apple says the XR is one of their best selling iPhones ever.     This episode supported by   Opsgenie empowers Dev & Ops teams to plan for service disruptions and stay in control during incidents.  It also gives teams the power to respond quickly and efficiently to unplanned issues. Visit Opsgenie.com to sign up to get a FREE company account and add up to 5 team members.   A business is only as strong as its people, and every hire matters… go to LinkedIn.com/cultcast and get a $50 credit toward your first job post.   Whether it’s planning a date night or scheduling a business trip, Fin’s army of virtual assistants can do the tasks you don’t have time to do. Try itself for free at fin.com/cultcast.   CultCloth will keep your iPhone X, Apple Watch, Mac and iPad sparkling clean, and for a limited time use code CULTCAST at checkout to score a free CleanCloth with any order at CultCloth.co.   Thanks to Kevin McLeodfor the music you hear on today’s episode.   On the show this week @erfon / @lkahney / @lewiswallace / @bst3r   Reminder: Apple's $29 iPhone battery replacement program ends December 31 https://appleinsider.com/articles/18/11/28/reminder-apples-29-iphone-battery-replacement-program-ends-december-31 Apple has been running a reduced cost battery replacement program in response to customer complaints about battery gate, but this offer ends on December 31, 2018. After that, replacing an iPhone battery will cost you $49 for the iPhone 8 and older, or $69 for the iPhone X, iPhone XS family, and iPhone XR The price until Dec. 31st is just $29.   App Store antitrust suit might make Supreme Court https://www.cultofmac.com/592676/app-store-monopoly/ Apple’s legal team could soon be headed to the U.S. Supreme Court to face an anti-trust case being levied against the company. U.S. Supreme Court justices heard an hour of arguments for an anti-trust lawsuit against Appletoday. The nine justices appeared to be open to letting the lawsuit move up to the highest court in the U.S. and it could bring huge changes to the App Store if Apple loses. Apple is being accused of breaking federal antitrust laws by monopolizing the way applications are installed on the iPhone. Plaintiffs in the lawsuit claim that Apple’s 30% cut on all sales in the App Store are causing consumers to overpay. Lead plaintiff Robert Pepper of Chicago argued that Apple’s App Store monopoly leads to inflated prices because developers have to account for Apple’s 30% fee. The plaintiffs want Apple to open up iOS so apps can be installed from sources other than the App Store.

Send us a text!This week: Did you know about Apple’s super secret 90-day return and exchange policy?  We’ll tell you what it is, and how to use it if you’re unhappy with your Apple purchase, but outside of your 14-day return window.  Plus: quest to trade up-the story of three MacBook Pro owners trying to get Apple trade in their newly purchased 2018 MacBook Pros for models with the brand new—smoking fast—Vega 20 GPUs.     And finally, and most importantly:  🦃 🦃 YAAA’AALL!  It’s our most and least favorite Thanksgiving meal picks.  Happy Thanksgiving everyone, we love ya.   This episode supported by   The experts at Casper work tirelessly to make a quality sleep surface that cradles your natural geometry in all the right places.  And for a limited time, you can save 10% off any Casper purchase.   Opsgenie empowers Dev & Ops teams to plan for service disruptions and stay in control during incidents.  It also gives teams the power to respond quickly and efficiently to unplanned issues. Visit Opsgenie.com to sign up to get a FREE company account and add up to 5 team members.   Gantri offers over 30 unique 3D-printed lights created by independent designers from all over the world, and unlike typical 3D-printed things you see, Gantri’s 3D-printed lights superbly nightlights and beautiful to behold.  Check them out in AR at gantri.com/cultcast, and use code CultCast at checkout for $20 off.   CultCloth will keep your iPhone X, Apple Watch, Mac and iPad sparkling clean, and for a limited time use code CULTCAST at checkout to score a free CleanCloth with any order at CultCloth.co.   Thanks to Kevin McLeodfor the music you hear on today’s episode.   On the show this week @erfon / @lkahney / @lewiswallace   Apple reportedly cuts both iPhone XR and XS orders https://www.cultofmac.com/591352/apple-reportedly-cuts-both-iphone-xr-and-xs-orders/ According to the Wall Street Journal, Apple has reduced its orders for both the iPhone XS and iPhone XR. Apple’s stock is not at $177 as of this writing, down from an October high of $232!  That’s a drop of almost 25% But it’s not just Apple stock that’s dropping, the DOW is also way down. Amazon is down 25% too.  $1500 down from $2000.   Is Vega 20 Worth it for 15" MacBook Pro? Benchmarks & Thermals https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJVciTqsUAo&t=49s In Max Yuryev’s tests, the new Vega 20 GPU was 25-35% faster than the 560X GPU in various benchmarks. We’re waiting for Final Cut Pro tests, but I get they’ll be even faster there. In Dave 2D’s premier render tests, the Vega 20 is almost twice as fast as the 560X

Send us a text!This week:  How to get the best Black Friday deals most shoppers miss! The New MacBook Pro GPUs are a huge upgrade for a meager cost Erfon's quest to get Apple to upgrade his two-month-old MBP! We have to talk about iPhone XR.  Everyone thinks it’s failing but the only thing tanking is Apple’s stock. And we’ll wrap up with a Steve Jobs story so mundane, the internet is fascinated with it   This episode supported by   Easily create a beautiful website all by yourself, at Squarespace.com/cultcast. Use offer code CultCast at checkout to get 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain.   The National Security Agency plays a big part in protecting our country from cyber-attacks, and if you work in computer science, networking, programming or electrical engineering, YOU can help keep our country safe.  Learn more about careers at the National Security Agency today at IntelligenceCareers.gov/NSA   Opsgenie empowers Dev & Ops teams to plan for service disruptions and stay in control during incidents.  It also gives teams the power to respond quickly and efficiently to unplanned issues. Visit Opsgenie.com to sign up to get a FREE company account and add up to 5 team members.   The Cult of Mac watch store has the best straps in the biz!  Check out the huge Black Friday Day sale with savings up to 40% at http://store.cultofmac.com.   CultCloth will keep your iPhone X, Apple Watch, Mac and iPad sparkling clean, and for a limited time use code CULTCAST at checkout to score a free CleanCloth with any order at CultCloth.co.   Thanks to Kevin McLeodfor the music you hear on today’s episode.   On the show this week @erfon / @lkahney / @lewiswallace / @bst3r   Apple adds beefy Radeon Pro Vega graphics to MacBook Pro https://www.cultofmac.com/590380/macbook-pro-radeon-pro-vega-graphics/ Apple’s done it.  A mere 4 months, almost to the day. The 15-inch MacBook Pro got a big performance boost this morning with the new option to add Radeon Pro Vega graphics to the top-of-the-line model. New Radeon Pro Vega graphics cards with up to 60% faster performance in GPU intensive tasks, like VIDEO EDITING, are now available as new options. The Vega 16 is only a $250 upgrade. Vega 20 is a $350 upgrade. Apple quietly mentioned the update after its October 30th event where it revealed the new MacBook Air and iPad Pro. A maxed out 15-inch MacBook Pro is a whopping $7,049 I’m attempting to get Apple take back my machine and let me pay to upgrade to the new one. I think everyone who’s purchased a 2018 MBP should have the same option.   The best Black Friday deals in tech [Live blog]

Send us a text!This week: we love the new iPad Pro, but it has one glaring problem Apple needs to fix!  We discuss.  Plus: what the reviewers are saying about the new MacBook Air; the totally ridiculous iPad accessory we kind of really want; and two weeks with iPhone XR—we’ll tell you how it’s better and worse than iPhone XS and Tennis Match.   This episode supported by   The National Security Agency plays a big part in protecting our country from cyber-attacks, and if you work in computer science, networking, programming or electrical engineering, YOU can help keep our country safe.  Learn more about careers at the National Security Agency today at IntelligenceCareers.gov/NSA   Gantri offers over 30 unique 3D-printed lights created by independent designers from all over the world, and unlike typical 3D-printed things you see, Gantri’s 3D-printed lights superbly nightlights and beautiful to behold.  Check them out in AR at gantri.com/cultcast, and use code CultCast at checkout for $20 off.   CultCloth will keep your iPhone X, Apple Watch, Mac and iPad sparkling clean, and for a limited time use code CULTCAST at checkout to score a free CleanCloth with any order at CultCloth.co.   Opsgenie empowers Dev & Ops teams to plan for service disruptions and stay in control during incidents.  It also gives teams the power to respond quickly and efficiently to unplanned issues. Visit Opsgenie.com to sign up to get a FREE company account and add up to 5 team members.   Thanks to Kevin McLeodfor the music you hear on today’s episode.     On the show this week @erfon / @lkahney / @lewiswallace     2018 iPad Pro review roundup: The best tablet money can buy https://www.cultofmac.com/588070/2018-ipad-pro-review-roundup/ Everyone is drooling all over the new iPad Pro Verge “Nothing is ever slow, and it always feels like there’s more headroom to work with. We were able to import several minutes of 4K footage into Adobe Premiere Rush, edit them, and export without breaking a sweat.” Pocket lint The new iPad Pro is “pretty much a laptop in terms of performance thanks to the new 7nm processor,”  “Side-by-side with an iPad Pro 10.5 we have noticed a considerable difference in app loading times, certainly on processor intense apps like iMovie, Affinity Photo, Procreate, and games like Fortnite or Asphalt 9: Legends.” Wired “No apps or games I’ve used have been able to make the Pro break a sweat at all and benchmark numbers have been impressive,” adds Jeffrey van Camp of Wired. “By every measure I can think of, these are the best, most powerful, most capable iPads I’ve ever used. “It would be a total waste of $999 (or more) to use the iPad Pro 12.9 just for bingeing Netflix, but damn does this screen look good,” Wired also noted the new Liquid Retina screens are “gorgeous and packed with pixels.” “Color is vibrant and precise enough for Photoshopping and minute color tweaking if needed.” Verge Nilay Patel on lack of storage support:  Like every

Send us a text!This week: Apple’s More in the Making hardware keynote was an action-packed ride stuffed with one hardware update after another!  We’ll tell you what we like (and what we don’t) about Apple’s newest product updates.  Plus: Apple quietly offers a big screw you to 2018 MacBook Pro owners… prepare for a rant.   This episode supported by   Easily create a beautiful website all by yourself, at Squarespace.com/cultcast. Use offer code CultCast at checkout to get 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain.   Whether it’s planning a date night or scheduling a business trip, Fin’s army of virtual assistants can do the tasks you don’t have time to do. Try itself for free at fin.com/cultcast.   CultCloth will keep your iPhone X, Apple Watch, Mac and iPad sparkling clean, and for a limited time use code CULTCAST at checkout to score a free CleanCloth with any order at CultCloth.co.   Thanks to Kevin McLeodfor the music you hear on today’s episode.   On the show this week @erfon / @lkahney / @lewiswallace   Everything you need to know about Apple’s Q4 2018 earnings call https://www.cultofmac.com/587580/everything-you-need-to-know-about-apples-q4-2018-earnings-call/   USB-C for iPad Pro: Everything you need to know https://www.cultofmac.com/586972/ipad-pro-usb-c/   All the ways the 2018 iPad Pro blows away its predecessors https://www.cultofmac.com/586822/2018-ipad-pro-comparison-2017/   iPad Pro Super sexy new design. Already sold out for 1-2 weeks! Thinner, and even smaller.  12.9” now the size of a sheet of paper. No headphone jack... Big performance increases, big price increases. Start price is now about 20% higher. 11-inch models start at $799 (Wi-Fi) and $949 (Wi-Fi + Cellular), while 12.9-inch models start at $999 iPad Pro comes with Apple's next-generation Neural Engine for advanced machine learning  This is the first gadget besides iPhone that will include FaceID.   Powered by the new A12X Bionic chip A12X Bionic has eight cores (four performance cores and four efficiency cores) and per Apple provide up to 35 percent faster single-core performance.  Seven-core GPU to deliver up to twice the graphics performance.  They say it’s now as powerful as an Xbox One S console. USB-C connector is replacing the Lightning connector, Allows iPad to charge your iphone What can connect to the iPad?  USB Hubs?  Hard Drives?  Printers?  Even Apple said they weren’t sure when The

Send us a text!This week: with iPhone XR finally here, we’ll tell you 10 reasons why it’s the best iPhone you can get.  Plus: how iOS 12.1 solves beautygate; new Macs leak ahead of Apple’s big October hardware event; Ming Chi Kuo says new iPad Minis, AirPods, and the AirPower mat are on the way; and we wrap up with our favorite new gadgets in an all-new Under Review 💪🏼   This episode supported by   The National Security Agency plays a big part in protecting our country from cyber-attacks, and if you work in computer science, networking, programming or electrical engineering, YOU can help keep our country safe.  Learn more about careers at the National Security Agency today at IntelligenceCareers.gov/NSA   CultCloth will keep your iPhone X, Apple Watch, Mac and iPad sparkling clean, and for a limited time use code CULTCAST at checkout to score a free CleanCloth with any order at CultCloth.co.   Thanks to Kevin McLeodfor the music you hear on today’s episode.   On the show this week @erfon / @lkahney / @lewiswallace   iOS 12.1 will improve selfies on iPhone XS and XR https://www.cultofmac.com/584796/ios-12-1-improve-selfies-iphone-xs-xr/ You may remember that people were complaining that the iPhone XS/MAX cam were making them look too good.  Ugly people everywhere were very offended and prefer to remain ugly in their photos. Issue was causing people to have “unnaturally” smooth skin times and reduces blemishes.  Sometimes it did look unatural, but that’s always what HDR has done. Nilay Patel spoke to Apple about the problem and here’s what they told him the issue was actually a bug “iOS 12.1 will fix a bug in its Smart HDR camera system that resulted in smoother-looking photos taken by the front camera on the iPhone XS and XR,” What causes the Beautygate issue, Patel explains, is the Smart HDR system choosing the wrong base frame for HDR processing when a selfie is snapped. Rather than choosing a frame with a short shutter speed to preserve detail, it is choosing a frame with a longer shutter speed.  “This should all be fixed in iOS 12.1, which will pick the sharpest base frame for the HDR merge when taking selfies,”   New Macs spill in online database https://www.cultofmac.com/585172/online-database-suggests-new-macs-are-on-the-way/ The Eurasian Economic Competition database may have just confirmed more than one Mac will be unveiled at Apple’s upcoming more in the making hardware event The online database has been updated with three new filings for desktop computers running macOS 10.14. These most likely refer to rumored upgrades of the iMac, Mac mini, and the new lower cost MacBook Air replacement Ming Chi Kuo has been talking about for the last 6 months.   The iPad mini might not be dead after all https://www.cultofmac.com/584918/the-ipad-mini-might-not-be-dead-after-all/ The