The CultCast
This week: our picks for the BEST Apple Gadge of 2017 šŸ’ŖšŸ¼  Plus: Apple admits they are indeed slowing down older iPhones and Mac, but thereā€™s more to the story than youā€™ve heard. Weā€™ll tell you how to check if youā€™re affected, how to check your battery health, and how to prevent getting throttled.
 
This episode supported by
 
The single-router wifi model just doesnā€™t work for our increasingly high-bandwidth world. The EERO distributed system will blanket your home in hyper-fast, reliable WiFi, and you can score free overnight shipping with code "CultCast" at checkout.
 
Upsie saves you up to 70% on warranties versus traditional retailers, and you know exactly whatā€™s covered before you buy. Plus their iPhone X accidental damage warranty is $80 less than Apple Care Plus. Get 10% off your first purchase at upsie.com with code ā€œCultCast at checkout.
 
On the show this week
 
How old batteries are slowing down your iPhone and Mac
  • It all started with a post on Reddit (TeckFire):
    • My iPhone 6S has been very slow these past few weeks, and even after updating multiple times, it was still slow. Couldnā€™t figure out why, but just thought that iOS 11 was still awful to me. Then I used my brotherā€™s iPhone 6 Plus and his was faster than mine? This is when I knew something was wrong. So, I did some research, and decided to replace my battery. I did a Geekbench score before the battery change, and found I was getting 1466 Single and 2512 Multi. After changing my battery, I did another test, and this time it was 2526 for Single and 4456 for Multi. From what I can tell, Apple slows down phones when the battery gets too low.
 
Apple hit with two lawsuits over slowing down iPhones
  • Apple has admitted to purposely throttling the performance of aging iPhones, but they say itā€™s not to shorten your deviceā€™s life, but to lengthen it.
  • Lithium-ion batteries become less capable of supplying peak current demands when in cold conditions, have a low battery charge or as they age over time, which can result in the device unexpectedly shutting down to protect its electronic components.
  • Last year we released a feature for iPhone 6, iPhone 6s and iPhone SE to smooth out the instantaneous peaks only when needed to prevent the device from unexpectedly shutting down during these conditions. Weā€™ve now extended that feature to iPhone 7 with iOS 11.2, and plan to add support for other products in the future.ā€
 
A bad battery will result in a slowed Mac too
 
Slow iPhone? Hereā€™s how to check the health of your battery - leander
  • coconutBattery is a FREE Mac app that performs a single task ā€” it checks the status of the battery in your Mac, or the battery of any iDevices connected to that Mac.
  • It shows you the state of your battery health, charge cycle, and the current capacity vs. the designed capacity
  • iStat menus also works for battery health and charge cycle plus a ton of other super useful information
 
Today in Apple history: Steve Jobs loses ā€˜Man of the Yearā€™ award to the PC
  • Time magazineā€™s ā€œMan of the Yearā€ issue hit newsstands on December 26, 1983, and Steve Jobs fully expected to be on the cover.
  • The award represented just how far personal computers had come in just a few years, not just technologically but also as a world-changing industry. Apple, only five years old at the time, had not yet released the Macintosh. However, the Apple II was phenomenally successful. Apple was also on the verge of launching the Lisa, its first machine to offer a graphical user interface and mouse.
  • But when Steve received his issue of Time, it was not himself on the but a PC.  It was the first time the magazine had featured a non-human on the cover.
  • Steve Jobs 27 years old.  And when we ready to article, he was so upset, he actually cried.
Direct download: CultCast_316_-_The_BEST_Apple_Gadgets_of_2017.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:57pm PDT

Ho Ho Hooo! This week on a very merry CultCast:
  • Next-day delivery of iPhone X is a sprinkling of Christmas magic
  • Updated AirPods are supposedly coming in 2018
  • How the iPhone almost never was
  • HOT Tips:
    • How to listen to Youtube videos when your iPad or iPhone screens are off
    • How to picture-in-picture Youtube videos on your iPad
    • And how to keep those pesky ads out of your Youtube videos for free
  • And we wrap up with our favorite shows of 2017!
  • To all our Cult friends, meeeeerry Christmas, happy (belated) Hanukkah
 
This episode supported by
 
Casperā€™s American-made mattresses have just the right amount of memory foam and latex, and people everywhere love them.  Learn why and get $50 towards any mattress at Casper.com/cultcast.
 
Backblaze is unlimited cloud backup for Macs and PCs for just $5 a month. And itā€™s native for Macs!  Try it out free for 15 days at Backblaze.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.
 
Thanks to Kevin MacLeod at incompetech.com for the great music you hear on today's show.
 
On the show this week
 
Next-day delivery of iPhone X is a sprinkling of Christmas magic
  • Itā€™s a Christmas Miracle!
  • All models are available in the U.S. Apple Store, marking something of a Christmas miracle for Apple ā€” when you consider that the majority of pre-release reports suggested that the iPhone X wouldnā€™t be shipping to most customers until some time in 2018.
 
Listen up: Updated AirPods are supposedly coming in 2018
  • Did you know AirPods are among the most beloved new products that Apple has launched in years, with around 98 percent of customers describing themselves as either ā€œvery satisfiedā€ or ā€œsatisfiedā€ with Appleā€™s wireless buds.
  • Apple is planning to release an updated version of its AirPods wireless earbuds in the second half of 2018, respected Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo claims in a new note to clients.
  • While he doesnā€™t share too many details about what the new AirPods will do differently, he does suggest that they will adopt a smaller quartz component ā€” quite possibly making them even smaller than the first-gen model currently available.
 
Today in Apple history: iPhone may have to seek new name
  • The original iPhone wasnā€™t an iPhone at all. 
  • Back in 1998, a company called InfoGear showed off an ā€œiPhoneā€ at CES. Costing $499, with extra charges for internet access, the device made very early use of touch technology, visual voicemail, basic apps and more.
  • Even though it got good reviews, it didnā€™t sell well, but it peaked Ciscoā€™s interest, and they bought InforGear and the iPhone trademark in 2000.
  • Fast forward to 2007. Apple announces their iPhone, and they did it knowing that Cisco owned the trademark.
  • Steve Jobs wasnā€™t going to let something silly like the law stop him from using the name he wanted for Appleā€™s new device.
  • Despite Cisco owning the name, Apple nonetheless went ahead and introduced the iPhone in January 2007. The following day, Cisco filed suit against Apple. As Adam Lashinsky revealed in his book Inside Apple:
    • ā€œ[Charles Giancarlo, a Cisco executive at the time] fielded a call directly from Steve Jobs. ā€˜Steve called in and said that he wanted it,ā€™ Giancarlo recalled. ā€˜He didnā€™t offer us anything for it. It was just like a promise heā€™d be our best friend. And we said, ā€˜No, weā€™re planning on using it.ā€™ā€™ Shortly after that, Appleā€™s legal department called to say they thought Cisco had ā€˜abandoned the brand,ā€™ meaning that in Appleā€™s legal opinion Cisco hadnā€™t adequately defended its intellectual property rights by promoting the name
    • The negotiation displayed some classic Steve Jobs negotiating tactics. Giancarlo said Jobs called him at home at dinnertime on Valentineā€™s Day, as the two sides were haggling. Jobs talked for a while, Giancarlo related. ā€˜And then he said to me, ā€˜Can you get email at home?ā€™ Giancarlo was taken aback. This was 2007, after all, when broadband Internet was ubiquitous in homes in the US, let alone that of a Silicon Valley executive who had worked for years on advanced Internet technology. ā€˜And heā€™s asking me if Iā€™m able to get email at home. You know heā€™s just trying to press my buttons ā€” in the nicest possible way.ā€™ Cisco gave up the fight shortly after that.ā€
  • Apple later repeated this somewhat underhanded move by borrowing another trademark owned by Cisco ā€” the name ā€œIOSā€ (which Cisco used for ā€œInternet Operating Systemā€). As a make-good, Apple and Cisco announced that they were teaming up to ā€œexplore opportunities for interoperability,ā€ although this never happened.
 
Best TV of 2017!
 
Leander
 
The Deuce
 
The Leftovers 
 
Silicon Valley
 
The Detectorists
 
The Crown
 
 
Erfon
 
Walking Dead!
 
AVDChina
 
Joe Rogan Experience
 
 
Direct download: CultCast_315_-_Best_TV_of_2017.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:23pm PDT

This week:
  • In a surprising turn of events, Jony Ive has taken back the reigns of Appleā€™s design team.
  • The new iMac is out, and the reviews are coming in.  Weā€™ll tell you whatā€™s new about this beastly machine with a MONSTER price tag
  • By the numbers: how much dough Apple earns every single second will help you realize what plebeians we all are
  • And we wrap with how Apple got it right 2017, and what they need to do better in 2018!
 
This episode supported by
Build a beautiful, responsive website quick at Squarespace.com.  Enter offer code CultCast at checkout to get 10% off. Squarespaceā€”Build it Beautiful.
 
If you want the fastest WiFi everywhere in our home, check out an award winning Orbi WiFi System from Netgear, at http://netgear.com/orbi.
 
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.
 
On the show this week
 
Jony Ive is once again leading Appleā€™s design team
  • Jony Ive is reportedly returning to hands-on design duties at Apple, two years after being promoted to the role of Chief Design Officer.
  • According to an Apple spokesperson, ā€œWith the completion of Apple Park, Appleā€™s design leaders and teams are again reporting directly to Jony Ive, who remains focused purely on design.ā€
  • Why Ive would be returning to his old role isnā€™t immediately clear ā€” nor what this means for Dye and Howarth. Ironically, at the time that Ive was given his new job in 2015, some pundits suggested it meant Jony was on his way out of Apple, and this was a way of carrying out the transition. Now that he is ā€œdemotedā€ to his old position, no doubt many people will take it as signaling much the same thing.
 
Appleā€™s insane earning power
 
Appleā€™s ridiculously powerful iMac Pro is coming this week
  • By the time you hear this, the iMac Pro will be ready for you to come 'n git it
  • Comes wtih an 
    • 8, 10, or 18 core Intel Xeon Chip
    • 32, 64, or 128 GB of DDR4
  • A new thermal design means the iMac Pro runs 80 percent cooler than a regular iMac
  • Four Thunderbolt 3 ports for powering two 5K displays or four 4K displays at once, a 10-gigabit Ethernet port, four USB-A 3.0 ports, an SD card slot, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. That makes it Appleā€™s most port-friendly Mac in years.
  • Hermetically sealed. Not upgradeable in any way, not even RAM.
 
iMac Pro impresses in first hands-on reviews
  • A few lucky tech reviewers have already gotten their hands on the slick new iMac Pro with
    • 10 core 3GHZ Intel Xeon chip, only the mid-tier chip (8, 10, 18 core)
    • 128GB DDR4 RAM
    • AMD Vega Pro with 64GB of RAM
  • Black Magic Speed Disk test: 3000 MB/s read/write SSD speedsā€¦.
  • Photographer Vincent Laforet got to incorporate the iMac Pro into his workflow for a few days and says
  • ā€œIā€™ve seldom seen a jump this dramatic before on any new generation of Macs ā€“ 20%-30% speed increases are the norm ā€¦ NOT 200%-300% increases.
  • Marques Brownlee has been using the machine for a week and did a quick overview video of it.  His reaction was more tempered but you could tell he was impressed with itā€™s FCP performance, especially since he films raw 8K and previews his cuts with color grading applied.
  • Makes the argument that for the price itā€™s a good value since youā€™re getting cutting-edge components that purchased separately would cost about the same price of the machine.
Direct download: CultCast_314_-_Shakeup_Jony_Ive_takes_back_the_design_team_1.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:52pm PDT

This week:
  • Everything you need to know about Apple Pay Cash.
  • One of the best, most anticipated Apple TV apps fo 2017 is FINALLY available.  Weā€™ll talk about that.
  • Why are we so hard on Apple?  We recently received some harsh email from a critic asking that very question.  
  • We wrap up with our huge list of the best gadgets of 2017!!
 
 
This episode supported by
Build a beautiful, responsive website quick at Squarespace.com.  Enter offer code CultCast at checkout to get 10% off. Squarespaceā€”Build it Beautiful.
 
The single-router wifi model just doesnā€™t work for our increasingly high-bandwidth world. The EERO distributed system will blanket your home in hyper-fast, reliable WiFi, and you can score free overnight shipping with code CULTCAST at checkout.
 
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.
 
On the show this week
 
iPhone X delivery times fall to within one week in US
  • All iPhone X models up for sale on Apple's online store are showing delivery in a week, down from 2-3 weeks two weeks ago.
  • KGI analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said supply chain improvements were to thank for Apple's improved iPhone X ship times, specifically a diversification of LCP LTE antenna orders and higher yields of iPhone's TrueDepth dot projector.
 
Everything you need to know about Apple Pay Cash 
  • Used to pay people via the Messages app, though you can also use your Apple Pay Cash card to make Apple Pay payments if you have money on the card (card lives in your Apple Wallet)
  • You can add cash to your card by receiving payments, or adding cash in the wallet app (minimum $10).  This is one in the Wallet app.  Just select the card then press the little ā€œiā€ at the bottom right of the screen
  • Money paid to you will live on your Apple Pay Cash card until you use it or transfer it to your bank.
  • Debit cards let you send money for free, while credit cards cost 3%
  • You can send money via Siri to people in your contacts
  • You can send/receive a minimum of $1-$3,000 in a transaction, and can send/receive up to $10,000 in any 7 day period.
 
Amazon Prime Video is finally available for your Apple TV
  • Apple has finally delivered on its WWDC promise to bring Amazon Prime Video to Apple TV, with just a few weeks to spare before Apple hit its own end-of-the-year deadline.
  • The tvOS version of the app is available to download on Apple TV 3rd generation devices or above by searching ā€œAmazon Prime Videoā€ on your set-top box. It brings an end to the days of having to use AirPlay to play Amazon Prime Video on your Apple TV, via another device.
 
Ditch your old router, Eero is the new king of Wi-Fi routers [Review]
 
AmpliFi HDā€™s blazing-fast Wi-Fi will spoil you rotten [Reviews]
 
I made my own smart HomePod speaker, and itā€™s awesome
 
Listener email: Why are we ā€œso hardā€ on Apple?
 
 
Best gadgets of 2017!
 
Leander
 
Apple Wifi connected to a Amazon Echo dot
 
Sonos Playbase tv speaker
 
Amazon Echo Show
 
See sense bicycle lights
 
Wahoo Element GPS bicycle computer
 
Nokia Body Plus smart scale
 
Erfon
 
Hunter Symphony Homkit Fan
 
Fender GT 200 iOS controlled smart guitar amp
 
Fender GT 100
 
Fender GT 40
 
Rhinoshield Crashguard bumper case for iPhone X
 
For iPhone 8
 
Arlo Pro 2 smart security cameras
 
Arlo Q indoor camera
 
My 2013 MacBook Pro!
 
Lewis
 
Amplify HD mesh router
 
Koogeek Homekit smart bulb
 
Koogeek Homekit smart plug
 
Omna 180 smart homekit camera
 
Litter Robot 3 executive cat bathroom
 
Buster
 
DJI Mavic Pro Drone
 
One Wheel plus scooter board for clowns
Direct download: CultCast_313_-_All_the_best_gadgets_of_2017.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:36am PDT

This week:
  • The bigs ones.  The bangers.  Itā€™s our favorite movies of 2017!
  • The useful iPhone X gestures you havenā€™t heard about.
  • Appleā€™s new Youtube channel and itā€™s actually pretty cool.
  • The data for the LTE Apple watch is way more than we originally were told
  • Itā€™s the end of an era.  Jailbreaking is dead.
 
This episode supported by
 
Learn all you want for free with 30-day trial to LinkedIn Learning at http://linkedin.com/cultcast
 
If you just want great WiFi everywhere, check out an award winning Orbi WiFi System from Netgear, at http://netgear.com/orbi
 
CultCloth will keep your iPhone X, 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.
 
On the show this week
 
Heads up: Apple Watch data is significantly more expensive than carriers will tell you
  • Just a heads up: Got my first AT&T bill with my Apple Watch LTE added on. Taxes on the $10 data plan add-on come to $7.69 meaning the cellular plan for the watch is actually $17.69/month or $212.28 for a year of service. That's insane and totally not worth it. Just wanted to make people aware of the fact that AT&T conveniently neglects to mention how expensive the plan will actually be.
 
Big Cydia sources shut down as jailbreaking dies out
  • Jailbreaking was once a necessity to millions of iPhone owners, is just about dead, at least according to Cydia store creator Jay Freeman
  • Many of the features that made jailbreaking so popular ā€” like video recording, useful settings toggles, custom ringtones, and enhanced multitasking ā€” are now baked into iOS. So jailbreaking is no longer required for many iPhone and iPad users.
  • It was the only way to obtain native apps during the handsetā€™s first year on the market. But even after the launch of the App Store, users turned to jailbreaking to get their hands on software Apple wouldnā€™t allow.
  • Two of Cydiaā€™s largest repositories have been shutdown as jailbreaking dies out. ModMy and ZodTTD are no longer available, leaving BigBoss as the only major source still available to those who want apps and tweaks you canā€™t find in the App Store.
 
Appleā€™s new YouTube channel teaches iOS tips
  • Apple wants to help you make the most of your iPhone and iPad with a brand new YouTube channel. It offers a collection of how-to videos that teach you how to take screenshots, send attachments in Mail, print on the go, and more.
  • The channel, which launched on Monday evening, currently hosts ten how-to videos. Theyā€™ll teach you how to do things like change your wallpaper, mute or leave a group conversation in iMessage, delete call logs and photos, and more.
  • Each video is under two minutes in length. It provides step-by-step instructions for each how-to, with useful bullet points that make the directions easier to follow. English captions are also available if required.
 
The iPhone X gestures you didnā€™t know about
  • Swipe up and over to the right for app switching, or swipe up and to the right
  • Swipe up the down for reachability.
  • You can then access control center from the top of the lowered screen
  • Close apps by swiping them up (instead of using the lame minus icon)
  • Volume up. Volume Down.  Power button hold to restart/shutdown
 
You think your photos are safe in the cloud, but something that happened to me this week has me questioning that.
 
Our favorite movies of 2017!
 
Buster
Baby Driver
 
Logan Lucky
 
Leander
The Lure
 
It Follows
 
Devil in a Blue Dress
 
Lady Bird
 
Get Out
 
Erfon
Blade Runner 2049
 
Thor Ragnarok
 
The Doors: when youā€™re strange
 
Andy and Me: The Great Beyond
Direct download: CultCast_312_-_Our_favorite_movies_of_2017_also_the_Apple_news.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:40am PDT

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