This week: A new report details why Jony Ive is departing Apple, and it paints a troubling picture. Plus, Leander tells us about the “fiddle factor,” the unique quality that made Jony Ive our time’s greatest designer.

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On the show this week

@erfon / @lkahney

This week's stories

Jony Ive’s absence from Apple caused iPhone X headaches

• A new report from the WSJ paints a bleak picture of Jony’s Ive’s departure, saying he’s been drifting away from the company for years, and it’s because they increasingly are not taking design seriously.

Tim Cook slams alleged rift with Jony Ive as ‘absurd’

Why Apple will miss Jony Ive’s fabulous ‘fiddle factor’

• The fiddle factor cuts to the heart of Jony Ive’s design genius. In a career spanning 30 years, no designer has been more successful at making computers friendly and approachable, largely by adding tactile elements to his designs.
• As a design student back in the 1980s, a teenage Jony Ive spent a semester with a design agency in London, the Roberts Weaver Group. One of his first projects was designing a new pen for Japan’s Zebra Co. Ltd., a pen-maker based in Tokyo.

This week: we knew it was coming, but now it’s official, Jony Ive is leaving Apple. Plus: 16-inch MacBook Pro could arrive sooner than you think; Apple just poached one of the world’s premiere ARM CPU architects; and we’ll tell you about the huge Apple scam going around that you need to watch out for!

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 NETGEAR Nighthawk WiFi 6 router gives you ultra-fast speeds and wider coverage throughout your home – it’s the biggest revolution in WiFi ever. Check it out today at Netgear.com/wifi6.

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.

On the show this week

@erfon / @lkahney / @lewiswallace

This week's stories

Jony Ive is leaving Apple

• Apple long-time design boss Jony Ive revealed today in an interview that he is leaving the company. After helping create some of the most iconic consumer products of all-time for Apple, Ive says he is going to strike out on his to create a new creative business called LoveFrom.
• “After nearly 30 years and countless projects, I am most proud of the lasting work we have done to create a design team, process and culture at Apple that is without peer. Today it is stronger, more vibrant and more talented than at any point in Apple’s history,”
• Instead of naming a new head of design that reports to Cook, Apple’s two design leaders — Evans Hankey and Alan Dye — will report to COO Jeff Williams.

16-inch MacBook Pro could arrive sooner than you think

• A new 16-inch MacBook Pro is coming this fall, according to analysts at IHS Markit.
• They claim that Apple will unleash the new laptop at the company’s September media event, alongside the new iPhone.
• The new laptop will supposedly include a 3072 × 1920 resolution, up from the 2880 × 1800 display in Apple’s 15-inch MacBook Pro
• It will continue using an LCD display, rather than switching to OLED.

Apple just poached one of the world’s premiere ARM CPU architects

• One of the top CPU architects in the world has joined Apple’s chip team.
• Mike Filippo, who created some of ARMs most impressive CPUs over the last few years, was hired last month by Apple, signifying the company could be gearing up to switch to ARM CPUs on the Mac.
• Filippo spent 5 years at Intel. 8 Years at AMD. Then 10 years at ARM as the lead architect creating the chips that have been competing with Apple’s.

Apple warning customers that App Store gift cards can't pay income taxes

• Apple is now warning customers up front that iTunes gift cards, in fact, cannot be used to pay taxes as number of fraud calls ramp up.

This week: new iPhone rumors point to some BIG changes… Plus: Leander gives his take on the new betas; two long-awaited features are finally coming to tvOS; and scientists say iPhone is making teenagers too... horny

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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.

Our thanks to Linked In for supporting this episode. A business is only as strong as its people, and every hire matters… head to LinkedIn.com/cultcast and get a $50 credit toward your first job post.

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.

On the show this week

@erfon / @lkahney / @lewiswallace

This week's stories

2020 iPhone XS Max will get bigger display

• Ming Chi-Kuo sent a note to investors claiming Apple will put out three different iPhone models in 2020. The 2020 iPhone XR equivalent will be upgraded to a 6.1-inch OLED display but it won’t get 5G. The 2020 iPhone XS Max successor will be upgraded from a 6.5-inch display to a slightly larger 6.7-inch screen.
• The 2020 iPhone XS successor will have a 5.45-inch screen, a slight downgrade from the current 5.8-inch display currently in use. Like the larger model, it will also have 5G.

iOS 13 uses iPhone to perfectly sync wireless audio on Apple TV

• Nothing ruins a good movie like sound that’s completely out of sync. But thanks to iOS 13 and tvOS 13, you will no longer have to suffer that when watching video on your Apple TV.
• When iOS 13 and tvOS 13 roll out to everyone this fall, you’ll be able to use your iPhone or iPad to fix unsynchronized audio on Apple TV.
• It works by using your iOS device to listen to tones played through your speakers. The feature calculates the time it takes for the audio to be heard after your Apple TV plays it, then adjusts your settings accordingly.

Apple TV finally gains picture-in-picture support

• One of the best media features for iPad is finally coming to Apple TV.
• With the new tvOS 13 beta released this morning, Apple added picture-in-picture support to Apple TV, allowing users to watch a show while searching for the next thing to watch.
• Apple never mentioned the new picture-in-picture feature during the Apple TV segment of the WWDC 2019 keynote.
• Works just like it does on the iPad. You can minimize the picture to a corner of the screen then keep browsing content while it plays.

Phone overuse makes millennials grow spikes on their skulls

• Doctors have noted a change in the shape of many millennials’ skulls: spikes are growing just above the neck, and researchers into the phenomenon blame it on too much cell phone use.
• However, this apparently isn’t some bizarre radiation-induced mutation, but is instead the skeleton adapting to the bent-over posture phone users typically adopt.
• The scientists were examining the growing prevalence on young adults skulls of enthesophytes — growths where tendons or ligaments attach. These typically become more common with age, but not a specific example at the base of the skull, a condition they call enlarged external occipital protuberance (EEOP). These are more likely to show up in 18- to 30-year-olds than in people decades older. By examining X-rays, the pair found 41 percent of patients aged 18 to 30 had these skull horns.

Two friends discuss fatherhood, and meeting their kids for the first time

This week: the super useful iOS 13 features you haven’t heard about! Plus: we discuss the best new features in iPadOS. And we’ll tell you about our favorite new gadgets in an all-new Under Review.

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The NETGEAR Nighthawk WiFi 6 router gives you ultra-fast speeds and wider coverage throughout your home – it’s the biggest revolution in WiFi ever. Check it out today at Netgear.com/wifi6.

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.

On the show this week

@erfon / @bst3r / @lewiswallace

This week's stories

iOS 13 now shows a map of where apps have been tracking you when requesting permission

• iOS 13 now presents a popup notification when an app is using your location in the background, and the notification shows a map of the location data a specific app has tracked.

iOS 13 Apple Maps: Share your live route ETA with a friend

• In iOS 13, integrated right into Apple Maps, you can share your journey status with your contacts in a feature called Share ETA.

NFC gets a lot more powerful in iOS 13

• NFC — the technology that helps power Apple Pay as well other clever features for iOS apps like Launch Center Pro’s tappable stickers — is getting a big upgrade with the launch of iOS 13

iOS 13’s NFC triggers bring Shortcuts to the real world

• The iOS 13 Shortcuts app has been updated to support automatic scheduled and location-based shortcuts
• But it also includes NFC triggers. So if you have a compatible iPhone, you can combine NFC tags with Shortcuts.
• That is, you can run any shortcut just by tapping your iPhone onto an NFC sticker.

Under Review!

Nikon Z6 https://amzn.to/2Rflbyb

Rodecaster Pro podcast mixer https://www.rode.com/rodecasterpro

Choetech Dual Wireless Fast Charger https://www.cultofmac.com/630664/choetech-dual-wireless-fast-charger-review/

Two life-long playas talk about their favorite games, and which future titles they're most excited for.

This week: Our WWDC reactions! Apple keynotes don’t get more legendary than this one. Plus: the crazy cryptographic tech powering Apple’s new Find My app, and our favorite features of iOS 13, macOS Catalina, tvOS and watchOS.

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.

Our thanks to Linked In for supporting this episode. A business is only as strong as its people, and every hire matters… head to LinkedIn.com/cultcast and get a $50 credit toward your first job post.

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.

On the show this week

@erfon / @lkahney / @lewiswallace

This week's stories

How new Mac Pro borrows from Apple’s best designs

• Aside from looks, there are many similarities to the G5, plus a couple of ideas from other older Apple machines. Here are some of the clearest design influences on the new Mac Pro

Apple prods devs to give ‘Sign in with Apple’ top billing

• Not only will Apple require all apps that use third-party login services like Facebook to also support Apple’s privacy-focused login service, but it is also asking that the button be placed above competitors’ options.

THE CLEVER CRYPTOGRAPHY BEHIND APPLE'S 'FIND MY’ FEATURE

How to use a PS4 or Xbox One controller with iOS 13 and iPadOS

• iOS 13, iPadOS, and tvOS 13 will allow you to play games with a PlayStation 4 or Xbox One controller.

Everything Apple showed off at WWDC 2019 in under 8 minutes [Video]

Is the power of a Hackintosh worth the hassle of building and maintaining one?  Big daddy Erf gets the answers with YouTube creator and Hacktintosh expert Peter Paul Chato.

Apple may be prepping the Mac Pro for its big reveal...don’t miss our WWDC 2019 hardware expectations.

This week: Apple may be prepping the Mac Pro for its big reveal... don’t miss our WWDC 2019 hardware expectations! Plus: the pros and cons of the 2019 MacBook Pro... we discuss. And did you know all the best Get a Mac ads never actually aired? We’ll tell you the odd reason why... All that and SO MUCH MORE.

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It is hackable? From laptops and webcams to drones, virtual-reality headsets, and smart plugs, that's the question the Hackable podcast asks every single week, and no gadget is safe. Check out new episodes on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

The NETGEAR Nighthawk WiFi 6 router gives you ultra-fast speeds and wider coverage throughout your home – it’s the biggest revolution in WiFi ever. Check it out today at Netgear.com/wifi6.

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.

On the show this week

@erfon / @lkahney

This week's stories

Latest MacBook Pro blows away its predecessors

• The top-tier new MacBook Pro employs a Intel 9th-generation Core i9 processor, which just debuted. It’s clocked at 2.4GHz with Turbo Boost up to 5.0GHz. This is Apple’s first 8-core laptop, and the promotional materials promises “40 percent more performance than a 6-core MacBook Pro.”
• Geekbench benchmark scores are now confirming that this macOS laptop is around 30 percent speedier depending the the tests look at.
• The multi-core score for this device is around 29180. Last year’s speediest 6-core version of the MacBook Pro topped out at 22620, indicating that its predecessor is 29 percent faster.
• The single-core score for the new model is around 5900, up from about 5350 in the 2018 version. That’s almost a 10% improvement.
• One YouTuber reported the new MacBook Pro is beating his base iMac Pro in some tests!

2019 MacBook Pro teardown reveals minimal keyboard changes

• Keyboard seems largely the same, though iFixit has confirmed Apple has changed some of the material used in the dome switch mechanism and keyboard condom.

Steve Jobs didn’t want the ‘Get a Mac’ ads to be too funny

• Justin Long was recently on a episode of People Magazine’s TV show called Couch Surfing reciting why all the best Get a Mac ads never aired.
• Though 66 ads aired, apparently they filmed over 300!
• According to Long, it was Steve Jobs who kept the best ads off the air because they were just too funny.
• “One, in particular, I remember Zach Galifianakis played a drunken Santa Claus and I was dying to see this one,” Long said on the episode, which aired on Sunday. “Basically, Steve Jobs preferred when they weren’t super funny. It’s because he thought that would detract from the point of the commercial. He thought if people were too focused on humor, they would lose sight of the product.”
• But the commercials worked!
• Apple experienced a sales increase of 200,000 Macs after the first month of the campaign in May 2006. By July, Apple sold 1.3 million and at the end of the fiscal year, there was a 39 percent increase from the previous year’s Mac sales

This week: Apple releases the MacBook Pro we never thought possible, packed with Intel’s newest 8-core chip! But can a machine this slim handle the heat? Plus: WWDC 2019 is officially on! We talk our keynote predictions. And even more good news, Apple announces two new warranty repair programs to fix MacBook’s most troubling issues… for FREE.

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 NETGEAR Nighthawk WiFi 6 router gives you ultra-fast speeds and wider coverage throughout your home – it’s the biggest revolution in WiFi ever. Check it out today at Netgear.com/wifi6.

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.

On the show this week

@erfon / @lkahney

This week's stories

Apple’s wacky unicorn invites press to June 3 WWDC keynote

• Invitations to the keynote address for Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference just went out. The design features a unicorn whose brain is exploding with ideas.
• You can catch Episode #387 for our rundown of all features expected to be announced for iOS 13, macOS 10.5, watchOS, all the OSs

iOS 13

• But Apple is expected to unveil a whole bunch of new and upgraded apps for iOS, a Dark Mode, possibly a new swipe keyboard. They’re adding new features to the Health, Books, Maps, and Messages
• Apple is also planning to let the HomePod respond to different users’ voices, creating a multiuser mode.
• iPad is getting some loving', including an updated home screen, updates to multi-tasking, and the ability to use two instances of the same apps.

watchOS

• New apps for the Apple watch that will make it more independent from the iPhone, health tracking enhancements, and an Apple Watch store so you can download apps on the go.
• Marzipan is set to be unveiled for the Mac, meaning developers can bring their iPad apps to the Mac. This should be interesting.
• Apple will be bringing the Podcast app to the Mac, along with Find my Friends, Find my iPhone, and Screen Time.
• New voice memos app so you can record notes from your wrist.
• New watch faces (from Bloomberg:
• A “Gradient” face that makes a gradient look out of a color the user chooses, at least two new “X-Large” faces that show jumbo numbers in different fonts and colors, a “California” dial that looks like a classic watch face and mixes Roman numerals with Arabic numerals, a redesigned “Solar Analog” watch face that looks like a sundial, and a new “Infograph Subdial” one that includes larger complication views like a stock market chart or the weather.
• Apple is also adding more complications

Hardware

• There’s a chance we could see new hardware, like the new Mac Pro, or Bloomberg says there’s a possibility we’ll see a new Apple Display featuring HDR.

Apple unleashes its fastest ever MacBook Pro

• Apple just brought Intel’s latest eighth- and ninth-generation chips to the MacBook Pro, making it the company’s fastest ever laptop.
• The newest 8-core models deliver up to twice the performance of a quad-core MacBook Pro, and up to 40% more than a 6-core model. They also promise powerful graphics, a T2 Security Chip, super-fast SSDs, and “all-day” battery life.
• Apple also addressed problems with the Butterly keyboard, noting that these new models use different materials in the keyboards which will supposedly reduce the well-publicized issues with keys sticking.
• According to Apple:
• • You’ll get to enjoy up to twice as many Alchemy plugins in Logic Pro X. You’ll render 3D scenes up to twice as fast in Maya Arnold. You’ll get to apply complex edits and filters up to 75% faster in Photoshop. And you’ll compile code up to 65% faster in Xcode.
  • What’s more, video editors now have the ability to edit up to 11 simultaneous multicam steams of 4K video in Final Cut Pro X. And you don’t just get new chips.

All MacBooks with butterfly keyboards are now eligible for free repairs

• Apple updated its Keyboard Service Program today to also include support for the 2018 MacBook Pro and 2018 MacBook Air.
• The news comes on the heels of Apple’s unveiling of new MacBook Pros this morning with 8-core processors and butterfly keyboards with new materials. With the updated program, any MacBook with a butterfly keyboard is now eligible for service free of charge.
• Theory: It seems like Apple has no plans to ditch the butterfly keyboards…

Apple Launches New Backlight Service Program for 2016 13-Inch MacBook Pro Display to Address 'Flexgate’ Issues

• Alongside the launch of new MacBook Pro models, Apple today introduced a new Backlight Service Program for the 13-inch MacBook Pro.
• Strangely, this is the only model Apple will fix even though there have been reports of the 15” also having the stagelight issue