GOBBLE GOBBLE YAAALL! This week: iPads are going OLED! More HUGE legislation is coming out of the EU, Sonos is taking on Apple and Tim Cook talks about his succession plan. And we wrap up another all-new Under Review!

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This week‘s stories:

iPad Air and iPad mini with OLED screens pegged for 2026 release

• Add iPad Air and iPad mini to the list of Apple tablets getting OLED screens. At least, that’s what an unconfirmed report coming out of Asia says. And the mini will supposedly get a boost in display size.

EU’s proposed right to repair law incentivizes repairs, bans parts pairing

• The European Parliament has voted to approve a strong Right to Repair proposal. It aims to make consumer electronic goods more repairable, with companies required to prioritize repairability over replacement.
• The EU’s draft law prevents parts pairing. Apple notoriously uses this software block to discourage iPhone users from getting their devices repaired by third-party shops.

Enter to win a super-protective iPad case from Zugu [Cult of Mac Giveaway]

• We teamed up with Zugu to give five lucky winners the chance to win one of these fantastic iPad cases, which come with a great adjustable kickstand and a built-in Apple Pencil holder.

MacRumors: Sonos to Launch $400+ Headphones and Set-Top Box, Competing with Apple Devices

• Popular speaker company Sonos is planning to enter several new product markets that will see it competing with Apple devices, according to a new report from Bloomberg.

Apple CEO Succession Plans 'Very Detailed', Says Tim Cook

• In a 45-minute interview for the BBC Sounds podcast Dua Lipa: At Your Service hosted by singer Dua Lipa, Cook admitted that he does not know how long he will remain at Apple.
• Tim said, “I would say that my job is to prepare several people for the ability to succeed, and I really want the person to come from within Apple, the next CEO. So that's my role: That there's several for the board to pick from.”

Under Review:

• The Apple II Age: How The Computer Became Personal by Laine Nooney
• 100W Right Angle USB C to USB C Cable, 2 Pack by SOOPII
• X-Air Duffel by Waterfield

This week, performance showdown! It's the 14 Vs. the 16-inch M3 Max MacBook Pros - can the 14-inch keep up?! Plus: is 8 GB of memory enough for the base MacBook Pro; new features coming to iOS 17.2, iOS 18 and RCS finally coming to iMessage; and the huge iPad Air coming early next year!

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Factor is America’s #1 Ready-To-Eat Meal Kit, and can help you fuel up fast with ready-to-eat meals delivered straight to your door. Head to factormeals.com/cultcast50 and use code cultcast50 to get 50% off your first box.

Notion combines your notes, documents, and task or project management into one space that’s simple and beautifully designed, with the power of AI built right inside. Try Notion AI for free when you go to notion.com/cultcast.

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.

Cult of Mac's watch store is full of beautiful straps that cost way less than Apple's. See the full curated collection at store.cultofmac.com

CultCloth will keep your Mac Studio, Studio Display, iPhone 15 Pro, guitars, glasses and lenses sparkling clean! For a limited time use code CULTCAST at checkout to score a two free CarryCloths with any order $20+ at CultCloth.co

This week‘s stories:

14" vs 16" M3 Max MacBook Pro: Major OVERHEATING Issues!
M3 MacBook Pro 8GB vs 16GB RAM - How BAD is base model?

• YouTube videos by MaxTech

New features coming in iOS 17.2

• iOS 17.2 adds a Translate Action button shortcut, the Journal app and spatial video recording from the camera.
• Spatial video playing on Meta Quest

Enter to win a super-protective iPad case from Zugu [Cult of Mac giveaway]

• The prize in this week’s giveaway is every iPad owner’s dream: an iPad case from Zugu with a built-in Apple Pencil holder. We teamed up with Zugu to give five lucky winners the chance to win one of these fantastic iPad cases.

Shocker: Apple commits to RCS for better texting with Android users

• In what is apparently an enormous change of direction, Apple reportedly plans to add support for Rich Communication Services (RCS) to the iPhone Messages app in 2024. This will enable iPhones and Androids to communicate more securely.

​​iPhone 16 Likely to Get Exclusive AI Features in iOS 18

• Apple at WWDC 2024 will reveal a turbo-charged version of Siri powered by large language models (LLMs) that will debut in iOS 18, but some new cutting-edge generative AI features could be exclusive to iPhone 16 models.

12.9-inch iPad Air could launch in early 2024

• Apple could overhaul its tablet lineup in 2024, delivering the first 12.9-inch iPad Air and upgrading iPad Pro models to OLED displays and the company’s fast new M3 chip.

Shop a refurbished Mac Studio

• Some M1 Ultra Mac Studios are available for steep discounts on the Apple Refurbished Store — while supplies last!

This week: we’re looking at the cold hard truth of M3/Pro/Max MacBook Pros vs M2 and M1 generation — and there are some surprises. We also have rumors for iOS 18 and Apple is prepping a cutting-edge battery technology that will power your devices by 2025!

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.

Cult of Mac's watch store is full of beautiful straps that cost way less than Apple's. See the full curated collection at store.cultofmac.com

CultCloth will keep your Mac Studio, Studio Display, iPhone 15 Pro, guitars, glasses and lenses sparkling clean! For a limited time use code CULTCAST at checkout to score a two free CarryCloths with any order $20+ at CultCloth.co

This week‘s stories:

Apple’s new M3 iMac and MacBook Pros hit store shelves

• Apple’s new M3 iMac and MacBook Pros are now officially on sale in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe and select other countries. If you live in one of those locations, you can pick up the latest iMac or M3-powered MacBook Pro from your nearest Apple Store.
• The new M3 Max MacBook Pro will go on sale later in November.

All M3 MacBook pros reviewed: Same cars, better engines

• Geekbench 6 benchmark results for the new MacBook Pro models already leaked last week. The results showed that the M3 chip is up to 20% faster than the M2 chip, the M3 Pro is up to 6% faster than the M2 Pro, and the M3 Max is up to 50% faster than the M2 Max and roughly on par with the M2 Ultra chip.

MacRumors: Apple Silicon Buyer's Guide: Which Chip Should You Choose?

• Choosing a new Mac often involves consideration of the many Apple silicon chips now on offer, so our comprehensive guide covers their generations, variations, and performance benchmarks to help you decide which is best for you.

Apple pauses iOS 18 and macOS 15 development to root out bugs

• After reaching Milestone 1, Apple developers reportedly stopped adding new features to Milestone 2 for a week because the code had too many bugs.

Apple gets ready to make much better batteries

• Apple is developing greatly improved batteries for its future devices, according to a new report. It appears the iPhone-maker wants to create a custom process in-house and own it — rather than outsourcing — just like it did with Apple silicon chips.

This one simple change would make every USB-C cable better

• Simple labeling is a big help when you need a certain cable for, say, fast data transfer, but none of your cables comes right out and IDs itself as the right one for the specific job. Does it support fast data transfer? How about fast charging?

This week: the pros and cons - it's our reactions to the new M3 MacBook Pros and iMac! Plus: a long-rumored health feature will finally debut in the next Apple Watch, and we find out the winner of last week's Scary Fast event predictions!

This episode supported by:

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This week‘s stories:

Apple M3, M3 Pro and M3 Max boost Mac performance up to 50%

• The M2 was a fairly modest improvement over the original version, but the M3 brings more of a boost. Much of that come from a switch from a 5nm production process to a 3nm one. Shrinking the chip’s components allows them to work faster while generating less waste heat.

3 new M3 MacBook Pro models promise blazing speed

• The basic new MacBook Pro is a 14-inch model with the M3 chip. “Perfect for aspiring creatives, students, and entrepreneurs, it now starts at $1,599,” Apple said.
• Orders start Monday for all the new laptops, with shipping starting November 7, Apple said. The base M3 MacBook Pro at $1,599 ($1,499 for education). M3 Pro starts at $1,999 ($1,849 for education). M3 Max starts at $2,499 ($2,299 for education).

Good riddance: 13-inch MacBook Pro discontinued

• Apple has discontinued the 13-inch MacBook Pro. It was the last MacBook in the company’s lineup with a Touch Bar, a thin, customizable OLED strip at the top of the keyboard that replaced the usual row of function keys.

M1 vs. M3 24-inch iMac comparison: What’s changed?

• The biggest upgrade between the 2021 and 2023 24-inch iMac is the switch to the faster M3 chip. Apple claims its newest iMac delivers 2x faster performance.

Fail: No USB-C update for Magic Mouse or Keyboard

• With the latest iPhones dropping the Lightning port in favor of USB-C, there was speculation (and hope) that Apple would release new versions of the Magic Mouse, Trackpad and Keyboard that also reject the Lightning port. Nope.

How Apple’s ‘Scary Fast’ event was shot on iPhone [Updated]

• Apple shared a big surprise at the end of the scary fast event - the entire presentation was recorded using an iPhone. This is the first time Apple has used only one of its handsets to film an entire product launch event.

Next-gen Apple Watch could offer limited blood pressure monitoring

• The 2024 edition of Apple Watch might finally include a feature that been a bit of a holy grail for the wearable: blood pressure monitoring. But a new report says the feature will be limited at first.

The CultCast “Scary Fast” Predictions results

• Results from the prediction game we played on the show last week!