• FTC is  going after AT&T for throttling customer’s data speeds, by filing an official complaint that the company has lowered speeds on LTE up to 95% on unlimited data plans.
• FTC also alleges that AT&T engaged in unfair or deceptive acts and practices that affected commerce. And they’ve got the numbers to back up their lawsuit, with claims that AT&T illegally capped users’ data speeds at 128 Kbps
• AT&T’s response
• • “The FTC’s allegations are baseless and have nothing to do with the substance of our network management program. It’s baffling as to why the FTC would choose to take this action against a company that, like all major wireless providers, manages its network resources to provide the best possible service to all customers, and does it in a way that is fully transparent and consistent with the law and our contracts.”

This week: the iPad Air 2 reviews are in, and not everyone’s in love; Cult of Mac spends a day with Apple Pay; Yosemite and iOS 8.1 Continuity blows. our. minds; a potential cure for the painful #6PlusPinch; some welcome changes rumored for Beats Music; and we wrap with our favorite movie trilogies of all time in an all-new Get To Know Your Cultist.

Thanks to Lynda.com for sponsoring this episode!  Lynda now has over 3000 high quality video courses taught by instructors who are experts in their filed. Lynda.com will help you master virtually any application, whether you’re a beginner, novice or, pro, all on your own time and at your own pace.  Learn all you want for free for 7 day with a free trial.  Try it now at Lynda.com/CultCast 

And Smile Software. TextExpander touch 3 for iOS saves you time and effort by expanding your short abbreviations into full blocks of texts, code and more. Plus now includes a custom keyboard so you can use your abbreviations in any iOS app, including Mail and iMessage. See it in action at smilesoftware.com/cultcast

We also want to give Kevin MacLeod at incompetech.com  a huge thanks for all the great music you hear on today's show. 

Links to this week's stories

Early reviews of latest iPads praise new hardware, but wish for more 

Read more at http://www.cultofmac.com/300493/ipad-air-2-ipad-mini-3-review-roundup/#6pJpRhGHdP6q3Lhi.99

• Malt Wossberg "They are, in most respects, the best iPads ever made. But for average users, they represent only a modest evolutionary improvement over last year’s models, not the kind of big change that the first iPad Air or the Retina display iPad mini did last year.”
• The Verge called the iPad Air 2 “a monumental achievement in the field of iterative improvement,” 

Cult of Mac’s day with Apple Pay
Read more at http://www.cultofmac.com/300229/cult-macs-day-apple-pay/#rsLHeQbEOR3TDLzL.99

• Leander will be shopping around San Francisco. Alex is testing Apple Pay in the backwoods of Kentucky. Buster sputterered around Phoenix in search of a burrito shop with Apple Pay

Everything you can buy with Apple Pay starting today - buster
Read more at http://www.cultofmac.com/300227/thing-can-buy-apple-pay-starting-today/#a7GRq10844WDRRFe.99

Continuity features we love

• Sms relay
• Call relay
• Hotspot
• iCloud Photo Library

New iOS 8.1 features you need to know
Read more at http://www.cultofmac.com/300128/new-goodies-youre-getting-ios-8-1-today/#96Ar48bKpjTH5YfI.99

This store will enlarge your pockets to fit your new iPhone 6
Read more at http://www.cultofmac.com/300208/store-will-enlarge-pockets-fit-new-iphone-6/#FeQi21lFPLLXYmyi.99

Apple and GT Advanced Technologies amicably part ways
Read more at http://www.cultofmac.com/300481/apple-gt-advanced-technologies-amicably-part-ways/#PlKmvR6sp1hR6wrZ.99

• GT Advanced Technologies and Apple have reached an agreement that will see the two companies amicably parting ways,
• GTAT filed for bankruptcy and that it would work to preserve the sapphire plant in Arizona and the jobs it created, but lawyers for GTAT say the deal allows it to wind down operations at the plant and pay incentives to employees

Apple aiming for $5 Beats Music streaming subscriptions - luke
Read more at http://www.cultofmac.com/300223/apple-aiming-5-beats-music-streaming-subscriptions/#2AUmM0ZTzLIw5kQQ.99

• Having helped pioneer the concept of the $0.99 music track on iTunes, Apple is now trying to bring down the price of streaming music.
• According to a new report published by Re/code, Apple is pushing music labels for extensive price cuts that would bring the cost of a Beats Music subscription from its current $10 price point all the way down to $5.

Learn our favorite movie trilogies of all time in our new Get To Know Your Cultist! 

Fresh off the Apple event, our impressions of iPad Air 2, the iPad Mini 3, the big beautiful iMac with 5K display, and the updated Mac Mini.  Plus, our favorite Continuity features of Yosemite and iOS 8.1; and HBO makes a move to offer all us cable cutters the a la cart TV we’ve always wanted.

Boom.  CultCast 149. Now ready for your listening pleasures.

Our thanks to Squarespace for supporting this episode.  Squarespace 7 is now live, and it’s the biggest update in years.   Now building a beautiful website is easier than ever.  See it in action and grab a free trial at Squarespace.com and use code “CultCast” at checkout for 10% off any order.

And thanks to Sworl!  With the free Sworl iOS App you can print, frame and deliver beautifully wrapped photos, quickly and easily, all from your iPhone in less than 3 minutes!  They’re great, easy gifts, too.  Download the app from the App Store or learn more at GetSworl.com, and save 20% off your first order with code “CultCast” at checkout.

We also want to give Kevin MacLeod at incompetech.com a huge thanks for all the great music you hear in today's show.

It’s official, friends: on October 16th, Apple will hold yet another hardware event, so ready your wallets, cause another round of gadgets is headed our way…  we’ll run through our list of iPad and Mac expectations.  Plus, ever wonder what it’s like to have a brand new iPhone 6 Plus stolen right out of your hands?  Well we can tell you first hand, and we want your help to catch the crooks.  All that and this week’s best Apple stories on our newest CultCast!

Thanks to Lynda.com for sponsoring this episode!  With almost 2997 high quality video courses taught by industry-leading experts, Lynda.com will help you master virtually any application, all on your own time and at your own pace.  Learn all you want for free for 7 days with a free trial.  Try it now at Lynda.com/CultCast

And Smile Software!  TextExpander Touch from Smile let’s you expand short abbreviations you type on your iOS device into full blocks of text, code, pictures, and more.  Plus now it will work in any iOS app and it syncs perfectly with the snippets you create on TextExpander for Mac.  Visit smile software.com/cultcast and see it in action. 

This week's stories

It’s been way too long: Apple sends invites to October 16th event

Read more at http://www.cultofmac.com/299089/way-long-apple-sends-invites-october-16th-event/#KLwPAbL5q2LDCe0G.99


iPad Air 2 dummy unit reveals upcoming design changes 

Read more at http://www.cultofmac.com/299082/ipad-air-2-dummy-unit-show-apple/#6YtuBbKX72jfFwzw.99

Full iPad Air 2 details allegedly leak ahead of big reveal 

Read more at http://www.cultofmac.com/298866/full-ipad-air-2-details-leak-ahead-next-

Crazy rumor claims Apple’s 12-inch iPad will run iOS and OS X 

Read more at http://www.cultofmac.com/298932/crazy-rumor-claims-apples-12-inch-ipad-will-run-ios-os-x/#XpIspl2hJr4z81yb.99


iPhone 6 Plus proving more popular than even Apple expected

Read more at http://www.cultofmac.com/298927/iphone-6-plus-proving-popular-even-apple-expected/#J5xG4VBcTjxOBcmw.99


Visiting the cemetery where Steve Jobs was laid to rest

Read more at http://www.cultofmac.com/298782/visiting-steve-jobs-last-resting-place/#2h9Gq7G63CxqcXbv.99

iPhone prototype seller can’t wait for Apple to squash $100K eBay auction 

Read more at http://www.cultofmac.com/298887/seller-100000-iphone-prototype-looking-forward-apple-canceling-auction/#hVKVMMSt7jgTjEjr.99

This week: it’s no coincidence—your love for Apple and their pretty gadgets was Steve Jobs' master plan... Then, Bendgate might seem overblown, but where there’s smoke there’s fire; we love our iPhone 6 Pluses, but dear lord, they’re huge…  And finally, Jony Ive gains a counterpart in Apple's newest Industrial Designer.

Our thanks to Backblaze for supporting this episode!  Backblaze online backup is: $5 a month. Mac Native. Unlmited. Unthrottled. Uncomplicated. And setup takes a minute.  Try it free for two weeks at backblaze.com/cultcast

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