The CultCast
This week: 
  • Apple stores are about to get a massive 2.0 overhaul, and we’ve got all the details
  • Why the iPhone 8 may launch super late with no OLED
  • Final Cut Pro X hits a massive milestone
  • Google co-founder makes a flying car, and you’re gonna want one! 
  • We reveal our favorite new gadgets in an all new Under Review 🕺
 
This episode supported by
Blue Apron makes it easy to cook delicious meals at home.  See their upcoming menu and get your first three meals free at BlueApron.com/CultCast.
 
CultCloth will keep your iPhone 7, Apple Watch, Mac and iPad sparkling clean, and for a limited time you can use code CULTCAST to score a free CleanCloth with any order at CultCloth.co.
 
We also want to give Kevin MacLeod at incompetech.com a  thanks for the great music you hear on today's show.
 
On the show this week
 
SVP of retail Angela Ahrendts reveals redesigned Apple stores
2017’s ‘iPhone Edition’ to arrive late, OLED display uncertain
  • Apple analyst KGI Ming-Chi Kuo is reporting that mass production of the OLED iPhone will likely be pushed back to October/November, instead of the normal August/September timeframe because suppliers are having difficulties producing several of the phone’s cutting edge custom-ordered parts.
  • The moderately reliable Makotakara is reporting that device is also claiming the phone will be delayed, and that the OLED upgrade we’ve been looking forward to isn’t a sure thing yet.
 
Final Cut Pro X hits massive 2 million users milestone
  • At this week’s annual National Association of Broadcasters conference, Apple revealed that it now has 2 million users of its Final Cut Pro X video-editing software, five years after launching the tenth version of the program.
  • At $299 for a license, that’s a cool 600 million dollars.
  • Apple’s rep added that it is taken considerably less time for Apple to jump for 1 million to 2 million users than it did for the company to reach its first million adopters.
 
Here’s how Apple plans to make its stores more magical
  • Angela Ahrendts was hired as Apple’s VP of retail just about 3.5 years ago, and she’s now unveiling her vision for the future of the Apple store.
  • Apple wants to make their stores to be a place where you can engage with your devices and your communities.  A place to meet your friends, like at Starbucks!  says VP of Retail Angela Ahrendts.
  • Apple is bringing new “hands on” sessions to its stores, enlisting artists, Mac experts and celebrities in a bid to make its retail outlets more engaging.
  • The new Today at Apple initiative will launch next month in Apple stores everywhere. The initiative includes free hands-on sessions that will span more than 60 sessions in creative skills, including photography, coding and music creation. Classes will range from basic “how to” lessons to professional-level programs.
  • "Amazon’s investing in stores, Google’s investing in stores. Starbucks has figured it out.  You know, be a gathering place. Meet me at Starbucks.  And I’ve told the teams, I’ll know we’ve done a really really great job if the next generation, if gen Z says, meet me at Apple.  Did you see what’s going on at Apple today?”
 
Google co-founder’s flying car gets internet debut
  • Forget self-driving cars. A startup backed by Google co-founder Larry Page is aiming to reshape transportation by giving us flying cars, and the company finally gave the internet a teaser today.
  • Kitty Hawk posted the first video of its all-electric aircraft today. The vehicle is only designed to fly over water, but the company says you won’t even need a pilot’s license to fly it.
  • The Kitty Hawk Flyer will supposedly go on sale by the end of 2017. Pricing details won’t be revealed until later in the year, but you can get in line to purchase one by signing up for a three-year Kitty Hawk membership for $100.
  • Members also get a $2,000 discount on the Flyer as well as some exclusive access to a flight simulator. We’re assuming that’s so you don’t wreck it on your first flight.
Direct download: CultCast_281_-_Introducing_Apple_Store_2.0.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:33pm PDT

This week: we deconstruct the new iPhone 8 leaks! We’ll tell what we’ve learned.  
 
Plus: Apple starts testing the driverless car they’re totally not working on; and the best iOS apps for all you marijuana connoisseurs. 
 
This episode supported by
Build a beautiful, responsive website quick at Squarespace.com.  Enter offer code CultCast at checkout to get 10% off. Squarespace—Build it Beautiful.
 
CultCloth will keep your iPhone 7, Apple Watch, Mac and iPad sparkling clean, and for a limited time you can use code CULTCAST to score a free CleanCloth with any order at CultCloth.co.
 
We also want to give Kevin MacLeod at incompetech.com a  thanks for the great music you hear on today's show.
 
On the show this week
 
 
This week’s Intro
 
 
Sources confirm some of iPhone 8’s biggest upgrades
  • In its report on the new iPhone 8, Bloomberg corroborates many previous rumors about the next-gen iPhone, but suggests that more “ambitious” features may be scaled back or ditched due to manufacturing problems.
  • According to the report, and as we’ve discussed on the show, Apple is preparing three iPhones for launch. Two will simply be updated versions of the current iPhone, while the high-end model will sport a totally revamped look.
  • Apple is testing a premium version with a screen that covers almost the entire front of the device.  That results in a display slightly larger than that of an iPhone y Pus but with an overall phone size closer to the iPhone 7.
  • The updated lower-end model iPhones will stick with LCD displays and get fewer hardware updates.
  • "One of the latest prototype designs includes symmetrical, slightly curved glass on the front and the back. The curves are similar in shape to those on the front of the iPhone 7. The new OLED screen itself is flat, while the cover glass curves into a steel frame. The design is similar conceptually to the iPhone 4 from 2010”
  • "Apple also tested a more ambitious prototype with the same slightly curved front and steel frame, but a glass back with more dramatic curves on the top and bottom like the original iPhone design from 2007, one of the people said. “
  • "Apple suppliers have so far struggled to reliably produce heavily curved glass in mass quantities, so the company is more likely to ship the version with more subdued curves”
  • "Significant camera changes are also in testing for Apple’s overhauled iPhone. For the back of the phone, Apple is testing versions of the phone with the dual-camera system positioned vertically, instead of horizontally like on the iPhone 7 Plus, which could result in improved photos,”
  • “Apple has … experimented with integrating the iPhone’s fingerprint scanner into the screen of the OLED version, which would be technically challenging, the people said”.  TouchID on the back?
 
‘Leaked’ iPhone 8 drawings reveal surprising design
  • A new photo from leaker Sonny Dickson of what is believed to be iPhone 8 schematics reveals a surprising new design direction.
  • Apple appears to have done away with the smooth curves we’ve come to expect from its smartphones in recent years, opting instead for sharper edges and flat sides. This image suggests the next iPhone will be much like the iPhone 5, only bigger.
  • The shell seen in the photo above carries the same flat sides as the iPhone 5, with what appear to be chamfered edges. Cutouts for two rear-facing cameras get stacked one on top of the other, near the trademark Apple logo and a rear-facing Touch ID button.
  • It looks like the frame shown in the leaked iPhone 8 schematics was designed to hold flat glass, not a curved display like those used by Samsung.
 
 
Apple gets green light to test autonomous cars in California
  • The California DMV updated its website today adding Apple to the list of 30 companies testing self-driving cars in California, including Tesla, Google, VW, Ford, Mercedes Benz and BMW.
  • Don’t get your hopes up on seeing a car made by Apple anytime soon though. A DMV spokesperson informed the Financial Times that Apple is licensed to test three 2015 Lexus RX450h cars with six drivers.
 
6 iPhone apps every stoner needs on 4/20
Direct download: CultCast_280_-_The_iPhone_8_leaks_begin__.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:58pm PDT

This week:
  • Official new Nvidia drivers make your Mac compatible with the best GPUs on the market!
  • A mole gives us our best look yet at what it’s really like to work in an iPhone factory
  • Apple has a secret team working on ‘breakthrough’ diabetes treatment with the Apple Watch
  • The saga of Ron Wayne, the forgotten Apple co-founder who traded his 22 billion dollars of Apple stock for just $800.
 
This episode supported by
VideoBlocks, the affordable, subscription-based stock media site that givesyou unlimited access to premium stock footage. Check it out for free for 7 days at videoblocks.com/cultcast
 
Casper’s American-made mattresses have just the right amount of sink and bounce, and people everywhere love them.  Learn why and get $50 towards any mattress at Casper.com/cultcast.
 
CultCloth will keep your iPhone 7, Apple Watch, Mac and iPad sparkling clean, and for a limited time you can use code CULTCAST to score a free CleanCloth with any order at CultCloth.co.
 
We also want to give Kevin MacLeod at incompetech.com a  thanks for the great music you hear on today's show.
 
On the show this week
 
  • NVIDIA today released new drivers that make its Pascal graphics cards compatible with a Mac.
  • The drivers support all 10 Series GPUs, including the GTX 1050 through GTX 1080 Ti, and the newly-announced GTX Titan Xp.
  • Until now, however, you had to settle for older 9 Series cards.
  • Now the newest cards, from the GTX 950 to the GTX Titan Xp, are supported
 
 
 
 
 
 
  • In Apple lore, Ron Wayne is the man who threw away winning lottery ticket.
  • It’s April 12, 1976: Apple’s third co-founder, a former Atari colleague of Steve Wozniak’s named Ron Wayne, is cashing in his 10% of Apple shares for $800.
  • Hell of a nice guy.
  • Drew Apple’s original logo.
  • Wayne also wrote up the first contract in Apple’s history, solidifying what all three co-founders would do. Wozniak was to be in charge of electrical engineering, Jobs was responsible for marketing, and Wayne would oversee mechanical engineering and documentation.
  • “I was 40 and these kids were in their 20s,” Wayne told Cult of Mac, referring to Wozniak and Steve Jobs. “They were whirlwinds — it was like having a tiger by the tail. If I had stayed with Apple I probably would have wound up the richest man in the cemetery.”
  • “He was a very focused fellow,” Wayne told me. “You never wanted to be between him and where he wanted to go, or you’d find footprints on your forehead. To put it simply, if you had your choice between Steve Jobs and an ice cube, you’d nuzzle up to the ice cube for warmth. But that’s what it took for him to turn Apple into what it became.”
  • When asked about passing on Apple, he said: Just pick yourself up and move on. I didn’t want to waste my tomorrows bemoaning my yesterdays.
  • Today, Ronald Wayne resides in a $150,000 house in Pahrump, Nevada, a unincorporated town about 16 miles west of Las Vegas. Aged 80, he lives on his Social Security checks and money made selling rare coins and stamps over the Internet.
Direct download: CultCast_279_-_Undercover_in_an_iPhone_production_factory.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:43pm PDT

This week:
  • Apple just revealed their future Mac plans… on purpose!  It’s unprecedented, and we’ll unpack it all for you.
  • Apple promises an all-new “rethought” Mac Pro and Apple display.  
  • Why the Mac Pro failed.
  • Apple’s plans to make the Mac “Pro” again.
  • New Pro-level iMacs coming this year.
  • Leander reviews the top-secret new Sonos speaker Erfon’s couldn’t talk about.
  • Erfon reviews a clever  Watch stand that Buster hates but true Mac fans will love!
 
This episode supported by
Build a beautiful, responsive website quick at Squarespace.com.  Enter offer code CultCast at checkout to get 10% off. Squarespace—Build it Beautiful.
 
CultCloth will keep your iPhone 7, Apple Watch, Mac and iPad sparkling clean, and for a limited time you can use code CULTCAST to score a free CleanCloth with any order at CultCloth.co.
 
We also want to give Kevin MacLeod at incompetech.com a  thanks for the great music you hear on today's show.
On the show this week
  

@erfon / @bst3r / @lkahney

Steve Jobs Introduces the very first Mac Pro
 
Apple building all-new, modular Mac Pro and external display
 
Apple brings faster Intel Xeon chips, better GPUs to the Mac Pro
 
2017 iMacs will bring spec bumps to woo power users
 
Apple pushes the reset button on the Mac Pro
 
Sonos’ new Playbase speaker
 
You’ll love this vintage Mac  Watch stand!
 
Meet Eddie, The Eagle

 

 

Direct download: CultCast_278_-_Apple_reveals_their_Mac_plans_on_purpose.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:42pm PDT

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