This week: Apple’s Showtime event is just around the corner, and this is the first event ever that focuses purely on services. Is Apple’s streaming TV service going to suck? We’ll tell you what we expect! Plus: Leander unveils the details on his new Tim Cook book, out April 16th!

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@erfon / @lewiswallace / @lkahney

Apple reveals WWDC 2019 set for June 3 – 7

• This morning, Apple revealed that it will host WWDC 2019 in San Jose, California, from June 3 to 7.
• Registered developers can apply for tickets now through March 20 at 5 p.m. Pacific on the WWDC website. Tickets cost $1,599 per person and are issued through a random selection process.
• iOS 13, macOS 10.15, watchOS 6 and tvOS 13 are all expected to be previewed during the WWDC 2019 keynote

It’s show time! Apple confirms March 25 event at Steve Jobs Theater

• Apple will hold its next special event on Monday, March 25, in the Steve Jobs Theater in Cupertino.

What to expect from Apple’s ‘show time’ event on March 25

• The first Apple event of 2019 is nearly here. Tim Cook and friends are set to take the stage at the Steve Jobs Theater on March 25 to unveil the company’s newest goodies, only instead of unveiling some shiny new gadgets you can buy, Apple is supposedly going to bust out some services you can subscribe to.
• Apple’s “It’s show time” event is expected to be the first one ever where services and software play the starring roles.

TV streaming service

• Instead of trying to be just like Netflix, Apple’s new TV service is expected to pull in content from other sources like Hulu, Showtime and HBO.
• As for Apple’s own TV shows, don’t expect them to be available at launch. The company allegedly will show a few previews at the event, giving us our first glimpse of the TV series it’s been working on. Some of the shows likely will come out later in the year, but Apple has so many projects in the works that most won’t come out until later.

Apple News service

• Details about what, exactly, the new news service will look like remai murky. Rumors indicate it will cost about $9.99 per month, giving readers access to unlimited articles from sites that usually put their content behind a paywall. The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Washington Post and other publishers have all been approached to join the service. Some of those companies reportedly chafed at Apple’s proposed 50/50 revenue split

Magazine Service

• Apple bought texture last year, a service that let users browse hundreds of magazine in digital format for $10 a month.
• Developer Steve Troughton-Smith has uncovered evidence of the new magazine service built in to the Apple News app. So we know that’s coming too.

Apple rushes to add HBO and Showtime to streaming service

• According to Bloombooger, Apple is hammering out the final details of agreements to add movies and TV shows from HBO, Showtime, Starz and others
• The negotiations allegedly would result in these shows appearing side-by-side with Apple’s own content, with the Showtime etc. getting a share of watchers’ subscription fees.
• Apparently 3rd party content is badly needed for the streaming app as Apple’s content is still in development and won’t be ready till the end of the year.

Apple News magazine service details revealed by latest macOS beta

• After digging into the latest macOS 10.14.4 beta, developer Steve Troughton-Smith found some new references that confirm the magazine subscription service is on the way. Even better, Apple’s code provides some new details about it that we didn’t know. Leander’s gotta talk about The Tim Cook Boo

Pre-Order Leander's new book!
https://amzn.to/2XXTWLO

This week: Samsung has been sending Apple foldable screens… is a folding iPhone on the horizon? Plus: Apple may have quietly fixed MacBook Pro’s ‘stage light’ flaw; Apple prepping products that will “blow you away”; and Tim Cook receives a brand new nick name from none other than Donald J. Trump, and his reaction is legendary.

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@erfon / @lewiswallace / @lkahney

Samsung sends foldable screen samples to Apple

• Samsung was one of the first out of the gate with a folding smartphone. Now it is trying to entice its competitors, including Apple, to join the foldable future.
• Samsung, which debuted the Galaxy Fold at its “Unpacked” event on Feb. 20, has reportedly sent some foldable display panel samples to Cupertino in hopes of attracting Apple as a client.
• Plastic screens the the ones Samsung is producing won’t the only option forever. Corning is working on flexible glass panels that could be used in future phones.
• There are currently two folding phones on the market, and the prices of both are reeediculous
• The Galaxy Fold is currently the cheapest at $1,980. Huawei’s Mate X $2,600

Apple may have quietly fixed MacBook Pro’s ‘stage light’ flaw

• Apple’s latest MacBook Pro lineup may be immune to the “stage light” flaw that iFixit claims all MacBook Pros made after 2016 are susceptible.
• The “stage light” flaw, which others have dubbed “Flexgate,” is caused by the MacBook Pro’s delicate display cables wearing out over time. The cables wrap around the machine’s logic board and bend every time the lid is opened and closed.
• When the cable starts to have issues, it creates a weird stage light effect on your MacBook’s screen, and the repair is $600 dollars.
• Well it seems like the problem may have been quietly addressed in 2018 MBPs.
• On 2018 models, iFixit is reporting that Apple has increased the length of the display cable so it doesn’t come into contact with the logic board.
• HOPEFULLY, this resolves the issue. But we’ll know in the next 9 months as it seems the display cables start having issues right at the year mark. Right when your warranty expires.

Apple ‘rolling the dice’ on its upcoming products

• Apple CEO Tim Cook is very upbeat about where his company is going. He told investors today that upcoming products will “blow you away.”
• Cook also indicated that these aren’t going to be just more of the same. Apple is branching out.
• Cook said he’d “never been more optimistic” about Apple’s future.
• Ol’ TC also says they’ve made lowering the cost of the latest MacBook Air a goal.

Apple publishes its 13th annual Supplier Responsibility Progress Report

• The report shows encouraging progress in making supply chain better for workers and the environment.
• Apple has almost completely eradicated child labor bonded labor. Only one incidence of child labor was found. A 15-year old faked some ID to get a job. And there were only two cases of bonded labor affecting 287 employees. Bonded labor is where workers pay factories or recruiters to secure a job. Just six years ago Apple found tens of thousands of cases of bonded labor.
• Apple really stated to crack down on bonded and child labor in 2013, when it axed a supplier for 74 underage labor violations. That year, Apple found about 170 cases of child labor at 11 facilities. Bonded labor was also a big problem: that year Apple made suppliers pay back more than $6.4 million to affected workers — which is equivalent to about 22,000 entry-level Foxconn employees.
• The majority labor violations were related to working hours and paying of wages and benefits. But overtime is a tricky situation, because a lot of workers report that they want to work maximum overtime.
• Improving labor practices has been a priority for Cook, and he seems to be delivering. Apple has got a lot of criticism for its offshore supply chain, which was rife with abuse, but this latest report shows that Apple is really making progress in reform — although, of course, this is all self-reported, so we have to take Apple's word for it. Plus, really big reforms like unionizing workers seem a long way away.
• On the environmental front, Apple’s making big progress too. It announced that all of its final assembly plants for iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, AirPods and HomePod are now certified Zero Waste to Landfill, which is pretty cool.
• Greenhouse gas emissions were reduced by more than 466,000 annualized metric tons — the equivalent of taking 100,000 cars off the road for one year.
• 30 suppliers have made commitments to 100 percent renewable energy for Apple production — up from a handful earlier last year. This is a big deal. Apple’s already 100 percent green energy worldwide, but the supply chain, which accounts for 3/4 of its cartoon footprint is lagging. Apple’s committees to helping the supply chain also move to 100 percent green energy, and getting 30 more suppliers onboard is another big step.

The president just called the CEO of Apple ‘Tim Apple’

• At an American Workforce Policy Advisory Board meeting today, the President Donald Trump pretty unmistakably called Tim Cook “Tim Apple.”
• "We’re going to be opening up the labor forces because we have to. We have so many companies coming in,” Trump says. “People like Tim — you’re expanding all over and doing things that I really wanted you to do right from the beginning. I used to say, ‘Tim, you gotta start doing it here,’ and you really have you’ve really put a big investment in our country. We really appreciate it very much, Tim Apple."

This week: Apple axes another 190 employees from their self-driving car division—is the Apple car dead? Plus: sleep tracking is coming to the Apple Watch; Apple is “rethinking” their high prices; and we wrap with the story of Apple's first legendary CEO, and you won’t believe who it was...

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On the show this week

@erfon / @lewiswallace / @lkahney

16-inch MacBook Pro - 8 things Apple BETTER get right!

Apple axes 190 employees from self-driving car division

• Apple’s self-driving car project may be nearing the end of the road.
• Project Titan was reportedly greenlit toward the end of 2014. Apple hired hundreds of engineers setting out to design and build its own self-driving car. Numerous roadblocks hit the struggling project and the company reportedly changed the focus toward just making the underlying autonomous driving technology instead of a complete car.
• After rumors surfaced last month that the company slashed its workforce for Project Titan, Apple confirmed today that 190 employees in Santa Clara and Sunnyvale have been released from the self-driving car project.
• Details of Apple’s self-driving car project were just posted by the company last week. Apple’s cars needed a driver to take over about once every 1.1 miles. By comparison, Google’s Waymo division only had a disengagement every 11,017 miles.
• It’s unclear what the future holds for Apple’s automotive ambitions from here. Tim Cook has said self-driving cars is the mother of all AI problems. With iPhone sales dropping though, the company appears to be tightening its focus by jettisoning projects that aren’t as promising.

Apple developing its own sleep-tracking tech for Apple Watch

• Apple Watch could soon add sleep-tracking tech that makes it an even more capable health monitor.
• Apple has been testing the new sleep-tracking technology at secret sites around Cupertino, a new report claims. And if it lives up to its promise, it could ship as part of the Apple Watch by 2020.
• The Health app for iOS has included sleep-tracking since 2014. However, it simply pulls in information from the Clock app’s alarm function, although third-party devices and apps can bolster the data.
• Apple acquired Finnish company Beddit, which makes a sleep-tracking sensor strip, in May 2017. At the end of last year, a new Beddit sleep monitor launched. This was the first version since Apple acquired the company.

Apple ‘very aware’ of concerns over iPhone’s high prices

• “It’s something we’re very aware of,” Williams said during a question and answer session at Elon University on February 22. “We do not want to be an elitist company … We want to be an egalitarian company, and we’ve got a lot of work going on in developing markets.”
• Apple COO Jeff Williams says the company is “very aware” of concerns over the rising cost of the iPhone and Mac computers.
• Apple CEO Tim Cook has already admitted that the company will “rethink” its prices, particularly those for the iPhone
• Williams goes on to say: “The stories that come out about the cost of our products [have been] the bane of my existence from the beginning of time, including our early days,” he said. “Analysts don’t really understand the cost of what we do and how much care we put into making our products.”
• Williams described how Apple has built its very own physiology lab, with 40 licensed nurses, and enlisted over 10,000 study participants to develop some of Apple Watch’s most important features.

Today in Apple history: Massive layoffs clear out Apple’s ‘bozo explosion’

• February 25, 1981: Apple CEO Michael Scott oversees a mass firing of employees, then holds a massive party.
• At the time, Apple was growing incredibly quickly. With almost 2,000 people on the payroll, Scott thought the company had simply grown too big, too fast. The expansion led to what he called a “bozo explosion,” with Apple employing people he did not consider A-players.
• The event went on to be know as Black Wedneday.
• Former Apple programmer Andy Hertzfeld remembers it as bizarre event: “Black Wednesday was one of a number of shakeups which took place at Apple when things were going great. Sales were doubling almost every month, so that was a little unusual I would say.”
• “I used to say that when being CEO at Apple wasn’t fun anymore, I’d quit,” he tells a crowd of Apple staffers. “But now I’ve changed my mind — when being CEO isn’t fun anymore, I’ll just fire people until it is fun again.” For many people at Apple, the day is the worst in company history — and an early sign that the fun startup culture of the early days are gone forever.

This week: a totally new 16” MacBook Pro; a new 6K cinema display; new Mac Pro; new AirPods; new iPads and iPhones; even a new iPod Touch… according to a new report, Apple’s about to make huge updates to their ENTIRE product line.

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@erfon / @lewiswallace / @lkahney

Here’s what Apple’s (apparently) got in store for 2019

• Ming-Chi Kuo’s new research report runs down some of his hardware expectations for the coming year, and my nips have been at 105% of capacity since reading it.
• We’re talking redesigned MacBook Pro, iPads, a new Apple cinema display, AirPods, even a new iPOD... this could be a year to remember.
• Kuo predicts 2019 will see the release of Apple’s biggest MacBook since 2012. The new MacBook Pro will boast a screen between 16 inches and 16.5 inches in size. This would be the largest MacBook notebook screen since the end of the 17-inch models seven years ago.
• It will be a total redesign!
• Kuo says the 13” will possibly get an option for 32GB of RAM.
• Dave Lee theory - the new design will have to address thermal issues.
• Current MBP design is too thin for modern chips. It can’t keep them cool, like with the current i9 throttling. Now intel has a new 9th-gen 8 core chip, and there’s no way the current design could handle it.

Apple Said to Release 31.6-Inch 6K Display With Mini LED-Like Backlight Design in 2019

• Apple will release a 31.6-inch 6K display with a Mini LED-like backlight design in 2019, according to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo
• Apple left the display market back in 2016 with the discontinuation of the outdated Thunderbolt Display. Apple did, however, say they were working on a new screen alongside the new Mac Pro

AirPower and New AirPods Said to Ship in First Half of 2019, New iPod Touch With Faster Processor Also Expected

• Apple's long-awaited AirPower wireless charging mat and a new version of AirPods with wireless charging support and upgraded Bluetooth connectivity will start shipping in the first half of 2019,
• Kuo also expects a new iPod touch with a faster processor to launch in 2019.

Two New iPad Pro Models, 10.2-Inch iPad, and iPad Mini 5 Said to Launch in 2019

• According to Kuo, Apple plans to release two new iPad Pro models, a 10.2-inch iPad, and a refreshed iPad mini, each equipped with an upgraded processor, later this year.
• The 9.7-inch iPad is getting upgraded to 10.2 inches. No news on if it’s going full screen with FaceID.

Don’t expect a major redesign for this year’s iPad mini 5

• The iPad mini hasn’t gotten a sequel since 2015. However, if you’re expecting this year’s rumored refresh to be a massive leap forward, you might want to think again.
• At least, that’s based on an alleged CAD render shared by noted leaker Steve Hemmerstoffer, a.k.a. @OnLeaks. While he hasn’t shared the image, he suggests that there are no external major design changes — and only a spec bump update.

Apple may finally give fans a first look at its revamped Mac Pro at WWDC 2019

• Apple may finally give fans a first look at its revamped Mac Pro at WWDC 2019.
• Bloomberg is reporting that Apple has “internally weighed” the possibility of previewing the new Mac Pro alongside updates to macOS and iOS at this year’s WWDC, which is expected to take place between June 3 and June 7 in San Jose.
• Apple has also put together a "Pro Workflow Team" to tailor the Mac Pro and other Apple products to its professional users.
• The timing seems right. Speaking about the Mac Pro in 2017, Phil Schiller said this:
• • With regards to the Mac Pro, we are in the process of what we call "completely rethinking the Mac Pro." We’re working on it. We have a team working hard on it right now, and we want to architect it so that we can keep it fresh with regular improvements, and we’re committed to making it our highest-end, high-throughput desktop system, designed for our demanding pro customers.
  • As part of doing a new Mac Pro — it is, by definition, a modular system — we will be doing a pro display as well. Now you won’t see any of those products this year; we’re in the process of that. We think it’s really important to create something great for our pro customers who want a Mac Pro modular system, and that’ll take longer than this year to do.

Next Mac Pro may use stackable design for ultimate customization

Samsung Galaxy Fold is the first foldable smart phone

6 ways Samsung just leapfrogged Apple

This week: it's all but confirmed--Apple's holding a March media event to make some special announcements. We'll tell you what we know. Plus: Apple's all-time best-selling products may surprise you; and is it worth buying a 2018 MacBook Pro, or should you wait? We'll tell you what we think.

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On the show this week

@erfon / @lewiswallace / @lkahney

7 Painful Truths about the 2018 MacBook Pro

Hollywood stars tapped to attend Apple’s March event

• Some of the biggest names in Hollywood are coming to Silicon Valley for Apple’s first big event of 2019.
• Apple is rumored to be planning a late March keynote where a slew of new services will be unveiled. To help with its pitch to customers, Apple has asked some of the stars from its original TV shows to join the festivities.
• Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon, Jennifer Garner and director JJ Abrams have reportedly been invited by Apple to attend its March 25 event. All four of them have at least one project in development at Apple. Witherspoon’s production company actually had two shows picked up by the company.
• Apple’s TV streaming service will reportedly offer original content for free. There are dozens of shows in various stages of development right now. The service will also sell subscriptions to other channels like Starz, Showtime and maybe even HBO.
• Initially all of Apple’s content will be free, but they plan to launch a paid tier of content by this summer.
• The March event will also see Apple unveil its news subscription service too. Publishers are reportedly still negotiating revenue split deals for that service. Apple was allegedly asking for a 50/50 split on revenues. Customers would pay $10 per month for unlimited access to articles from some of the biggest names in news.
• With the event more than a month away there are still tons of details that could change.

AirPods are Apple’s second-fastest selling new product of all time

• Apple’s AirPods are the company’s second best-selling new product of all time, a new report by Above Avalon analyst Neil Cybart suggests.
• Cybart estimates that Apple is on track to sell 40 million pairs of AirPods in 2019. That represents almost 90 percent year-over-year growth.
• “There are already at least 25 million people wearing AirPods. This total will likely exceed 50 million people later this year. These are massive sales and adoption figures for a two-year old product that has never received an update and rarely goes on sale for less than its $159 selling price.”
• The most popular Apple product out of the gate?

This week: The 2018 MacBook Pro is a beautiful machine, but it has some odd and painful flaws! Then: Quit or canned? Why is Angela Ahrendts leaving Apple? Plus: The saga of Gil Amelio, the CEO that saved Apple.

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On the show this week

@erfon / @lewiswallace / @lkahney

7 Painful Truths about the 2018 MacBook Pro

Quit or canned? Why is Angela Ahrendts leaving Apple? [Opinion]

• When Apple fires an executive, the company is rarely straightforward about the situation. Apple never puts out a press release stating plainly that the executive was canned. So Tuesday’s unexpected announcement that Angela Ahrendts, Apple’s head of retail, is leaving in April led many to suspect she was fired.
• Most of the news stories about Ahrendts’ departure point out that it’s happening during the first-ever iPhone sales slump; The subtext is that she’s underperforming and has to go.
• Ryan Jones, an app developer with a popular Apple-centric Twitter feed, argues that Apple fired Ahrendts. His reasons: the timing of the announcement, coded language in the press release, and a claim that she was just four months from vesting stock.
• “Angela turned Apple Stores into a frustrating mess,” he wrote. “Service and buying are both slow and maddening.”
• No ‘gardening leave’ for Angela Ahrendts
• As noted by John Gruber, Vogue Business reporter Suzy Menke, who profiled Ahrendts just last week in a positive piece, quoted Ahrendts on Instagram saying the departing Apple leader misses her grown-up kids, who live in London. Ahrendts was based in the U.K. capital while CEO of Burberry and clearly misses the city

The saga of Gil Amelio: the CEO that saved Apple

• Gil Amelio was Apple’s CEO for only 500 days, and in that time he rescued Apple from the brink of destruction.
• February 2, 1996: With disappointing Mac sales, the disastrous “clone Mac” strategy, and a failed Sun Microsystems merger to his name, Apple CEO Michael Spindler is asked to resign by the Apple board.
• Apple needs needs a miracle. In the last 4 years, they’ve lost over $230 million dollars.
• They turn to resurrection artist Gil Amelio, without whose leadership, Apple would probably not exist today.

Microsoft is bringing Xbox Live to Android and iOS

• Microsoft is gearing up to release a software development kit (SDK) that will allow Android and iOS developers to integrate Xbox Live features into their games.
• The SDK will be officially confirmed by Microsoft next month, will also be available to Nintendo Switch developers.
• Microsoft’s SDK comes after Epic Games broke boundaries with cross-platform play inside Fortnite.
• The battle royale behemoth is the first title that allows players on all systems — including Xbox, Switch, mobile, and now even PlayStation — to play together. It also allows users to log in to a single account and sync progress between different devices.

This week: a new report details what next for Apple’s 2019 AND 2020 iPhones… Plus: Apple plans Netflix-for-games subscription service (with Alex E Heath!); it’s not just you, everyone got way more spam calls in 2018; and we talk a new wireless charging brick for iPhone, a smart outlet with HomeKit support, and the super smart HomeKit thermostat you’ve never heard of, in all-new Under Review.

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On the show this week

@erfon / @lewiswallace / @lkahney

Here’s how crazy spam calls went in 2018

• A new report from call identification and blocking company HIYA shows just how bad these spam calls have gotten.
• Released today, the “State of the Phone Call” report is based on data from 11 billion calls analyzed monthly. The report includes breakdowns of the types of calls made or received, how often phone calls were answered, and the average duration.
• The biggest takeaway from the report: an out of control trend in robocalls, citing a 46% increase in 2018 for a total of 26.3 billion in the year.

Apple Is Planning 3-D Cameras for New iPhones in AR Push 

• 2020
• • Apple plans to launch iPhones with a more-powerful 3D camera. These will give a significant boost in augmented reality capability
  • Other features will include a third, more advanced camera, and a more powerful chip
• 2019
• • Gurman confirms Apple is working on updates to the XR and XS, but only the XS Max will include 3 cameras…<l/i>
  • All models will include an upgraded Apple processor and use an updated Face ID sensor
• Other tidbits
• • Apple is testing USB C on iPhone, indicating they may eventually lose lightning
  • "Apple’s next operating system update, iOS 13, will include a dark mode option for easier nighttime viewing and improvements to CarPlay, the company’s in-vehicle software. There will also be iPad-specific upgrades like a new home screen, the ability to tab through multiple versions of a single app like pages in a web browser, and improve-ments to file management. The company will also integrate two new services, including a magazine subscription service and its original video content efforts, via iOS updates this year."

Apple plans Netflix-for-games subscription service

• Accordingly execrable Alex E Heath, Apple allegedly wants to tap into the booming gaming industry to boost its growing Services business. The company is reportedly planning to create a new subscription service for games
• This is Alex E Heath’s first big Apple scoop, and he he’s claiming he’s got five sources confirming this story.
• We have the exclusive interview.

Erfon goes hands-on with the Mysa smart thermostat

iPhone XS Max vs Hollywood Movie Cameras Red & Arri

Under Review!

Mysa smart thermostat for electric heaters

Mophie Charge Stream Power Station

Connect Sense Smart Outlet 2

This week: why iPhone’s 3D touch is probably dead; new reports say AirPods packed with health sensors are coming in 2019; the MacBook Pro “stage light” flaw affects all models built after 2016, and could cost you $600 to fix; and the wild saga of Moviepass… continues!

This episode supported by

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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  / @lewiswallace

Erfon goes hands-on with the Rodecaster Pro, a unique new jack-of-all trades podcast mixer unlike any other

3D Touch is probably dead

• iPhone’s ability to tell how hard someone is pressing on the display won‘t be a part of the 2019 models, according to multiple sources.
• It will apparently be a victim of Apple’s attempts to lower the price tag of future models.
• A recent Wall Street Journal article compiled several rumors about the next iPhone said Apple is considering trimming functions from its 2019 iPhones to cut costs That includes the force-touch module.
• And last year, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo predicted that no iPhone coming in 2019 will have this feature.
• His assertion was then echoed months later by an analyst from Barclays.

Health-tracking AirPods rumored for first half of 2019

• Updated AirPods are supposedly on their way in the first half of 2019, according to a new report from Digitimes. They may have some impressive new features, too — including new health-monitoring functions that are “expected to receive enthusiastic market responses.”
• If Apple does include health-tracking features in its near AirPods, it will be interesting to see what they are capable of. A previous patent filed by Apple with the United States Patent and Trademark Office covers wireless earbuds with build-in sensors for performing heart rate monitoring and taking body temperature measurements. AirPods have been a huge hit for Apple.
• Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo thinks Apple sold 16 million AirPods units in 2017, the first full year they were available. He also predicts sales will grow to more than 100 million by 2021, and suggested suggested a full-on redesign could take place in 2020.

MacBook Pro ‘stage light’ flaw could hit you with a $600 repair

• According to iFixit, every MacBook Pro since 2016 has a design flaw that will inevitably require an expensive repair
• The problem supposedly lies in “delicate” ribbon cables that connect the screen with the display controller inside the main body of the laptop. Opening and closing the clamshell causes these to wear out and begin to tear.
• Taylor Dixon from iFixit explains it this way:
• • “The current generation of MacBook Pro laptops (2016–present) uses flexible ribbon cables to connect the display to a display controller board beneath the Touch Bar. These cables wrap over the board, where they’re secured by a pair of spring-loaded covers — and they’re subjected to the stress of bending with every opening and closure of the laptop. Within a seemingly short time, those cables are starting to fatigue and tear.”
• The first to fail is usually the backlight cable causing the “stage light” effect at the bottom of the screen
• Apparently the new MacBook Air has the same design and may be prone to the same problem
• These thin ribbon cables are part of the screen. When they wear out the only way to fix the issue is to replace the entire display, “effectively turning a $6 problem into a $600 disaster,” according to Dixon.
• A petition on Change.org by Louis Rossmann asks Apple “to launch an extended warranty program addressed to this issue as soon as possible.” For a lot of folks the problem seems to appear just when the year warranty runs out...

Sign the petition! Ask Apple to extend the warranty for the Macbook Pro "stage light" flaw

MoviePass Explores Reintroducing Unlimited Plan as It Tries a Relaunch

• Moviepass believes it has finally found a business model that will allow it to improve its service and continue to operate.
• This month, they've introduced a new series of plans, which vary in price depending on location.
• Next week, Itum said MoviePass plans to reintroduce some sort of unlimited program that would enable users to see as many movies as they wanted each month. He did not reveal pricing for that plan.

This week: the Wall Street Journal leaks details about iPhone 11; Apple's new Smart Cases come with wireless charging; Nike unveils the self-lacing Back-To-The-Future shoes you’ve always wanted; and we pitch you our favorite apps, movies, cook books, and exotic alcohols in an all-new What We’re Into!

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On the show this week

@erfon / @lewiswallace

WSJ: High-end ‘iPhone 11’ will feature triple rear camera, XR successor gets dual lenses

• The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Apple’s iPhone 2019 lineup will feature three models, including 2 OLED and 1 LCD. They’re basically just upgrading the XS, Tennis Match, and XR.
• But get this, the high-end iPhone 11, probably called the iPhone 11 Max, will feature a triple rear camera system. Triple!
• The iPhone 5.8-inch iPhone 11 will stick with a dual lens system.
• The successor to the iPhone XR will have an LCD screen panel, and will be upgraded to a dual-camera system.
• The report says that Apple may drop the LCD option in 2020, moving to an OLED only lineup late next year. It also alludes to the removal of the pressure sensitive component that enables 3D Touch, in order to reduce components costs. It doesn’t say that 3D Touch is certainly going away necessarily as the feature may be achieved through other hardware changes.

Apple unleashes new Smart Battery Cases for iPhone XS, XS Max and XR

• Apple’s new Smart Battery Cases are now available iPhone XS, XS Max and XR
• Along with adding some extra protection to your device, Apple’s new cases promise to deliver 37 hours more hours of talk time, Internet use up to 20 hours
• The cases also support wireless charging.
• Only cost a mere $129!
• And it seems that the XS case will work with the iPhone X, but it does block some of the mics and speakers since it’s not made to fit the X

Nike kills shoelaces with new iPhone-controlled sneakers

• The back to the future shoes you’ve always wanted are finally a reality.
• Nike’s new Adapt BB self-lacing shoes pack wireless connectivity, and a custom motor and gear train, to give athletes a perfect fit without having to fuss with retying their laces.
• The Adapt BB shoes can be tightened and loosened using the buttons on the side of the shoe or via an app (both iOS and Android). This could be really valuable to basketball players, whose feet can expand half a size during the rigors of a game.
• Getting a taste of the future won’t come cheap. Nike will charge $350 for a pair of Adapt BBs when they launch next month.

Netflix hikes prices for U.S. subscribers

• Netflix has confirmed another price hike for subscribers in the United States — its biggest increase since it launched 12 years ago.
• The most affordable Netflix plan, which was priced at $8 a month, now costs $9 a month. The most popular plan has risen from $11 a month to $13 a month. The premium plan that offers 4K content is has gone from $14 a month to $16 a month.
• The new prices will be applied to new Netflix subscribers immediately, while existing customers will see the increase during the next three months
• It costs a lost of money to make that content. Netflix spent a staggering $3 billion last year, and expects to do so again in 2019. In an effort to cut down on its borrowing, it will charge more for its service.

Our Under Review Picks

Tik Tok is the wild west of social media

They’re making a sequel to last year’s Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle reboot

• Variety reports that Danny Glover is joining the cast of the Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle sequel in a role that is being kept under wraps, much like the still-secret storyline.
• Charcutería: The Soul of Spain
• This news is on the heels that Danny Devito is onboard
• The original cast, director, and script writers are also all on board

They’re making Ghostbusters 3. It will continue the story from Ghostbuster’s 2

• The movie will be directed by Jason Reitman, who is the filmmaker son of Ivan Reitman, who directed and produced the original 1984 comedic hit "Ghostbusters" with Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray and Harold Ramis.
• In an interview with EW.com, Reitman said he would divert from director Paul Feig's 2016 reboot of "Ghostbusters" that featured an all-women cast that included Melissa McCarthy, Kate McKinnon, Kristen Wiig and Leslie Jones. Reitman will go back to the original universe his father created in the present day story.
• The movie is expected to release in 2020, and we don’t yet know if any of the original cast will be involved.

Charcutería: The Soul of Spain

Cúrate: Authentic Spanish Food from an American Kitchen

This week: Smart curtains, smart plugs, smart lights, smart locks, and now... the best televisions on the market— Apple just revealed big moves to bring HomeKit to all your favorite gadgets, and they're just getting started. In 2019, the smart HomeKit devices we've always wanted finallay arrive. Plus: Tim Cook just let it slip--Apple's got new services lined up for release this year, but what could they be? We think we might just know...

And stick around for a CultCast United updated, and the saga of FartGate, the most insidious sports scandal you never heard about.

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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 / @lewiswallace

2019 - The year of HomeKit

• Until the release of iOS 11.3 in March, anyone who wanted to make HomeKit devices had to plan and pay to build in Apple’s authentication co-processor.
• With iOS 11.3, Apple changed the game, and allowed devices makers to add HomeKit with simple software integration.

Apple promotes HomeKit at CES with press event to highlight new smart home accessories coming in 2019

• Apple is pushing HomeKit hard at CES this year. It coordinated with manufacturers to demo key new HomeKit smart home announcements to the tech press
• TechCrunch says Apple spotlighted announcements from Belkin Wemo, Eve, ConnectSense, Kwikset locks, Nanoleaf lights, and a Netatmo HomeKit connected doorbell.
• We also got an announcement that Netgear is bringing HomeKit support to their Arlo Pro 2 cameras and their new 4K camera.
• And… a bunch of TVs

Here are all of the TVs getting AirPlay 2 in 2019

• Apple announced that it will bring AirPlay 2 and HomeKit compatibility to a bunch of TVs in 2019, spanning models from manufacturers like Samsung, LG, Sony, and Vizio.
• A small list of 2018 models will also receive Airplay 2 support.
• Samsung TVs will be getting the iTunes Movies and TV apps.
• Sony will be adding HomeKit and AirPlay 2 to it beautiful TVs powered by the horrendous and slow Android TV.

Tim Cook: New services coming to Apple in 2019

• Tim Cook teased new services that will be coming to Apple users this year. Responding to questions about falling iPhone sales during a CNBC interview, Cook stressed the way that Apple’s Services division has grown significantly in the past several years.
• “The services are on a tear,” Cook said. “On services, you will see us announce new services this year. There will more things coming.”
• First and foremost is Apple’s original TV content, which the company has supposedly spent more than $1 billion on, but not yet formally announced.
• Second is Apple’s rumored magazine subscription service. Based on Texture, the $9.99 a month magazine service Apple purchased back in March last year, this would be a paid magazine and newspaper subscription service, which will serve as a premium part of the existing Apple News app
• On iPhone XR not selling well: I call bologna on that. Let me tell you how I view this. Here’s the truth, what the facts are. Since we began shipping the iPhone XR, it has been the most-popular iPhone every day.
• On Wearables,: it’s mainly the Apple Watch and AirPods. If you look at this on a trailing basis – I’m not projecting – revenue for wearables is already more than 50% more than iPod was at its peak.