This week: we just completed our first week with iPhone 11 Pro, and it's even better than we hoped. We'll dive into all the features we love most. Plus: details are emerging about iPhone 12, and we like what we're seeing! And is Apple Watch series 5 worth the upgrade? We discuss...

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

Enter for a chance to win a free Series 5 Apple Watch.

CultCloth will keep your iPhone XS, 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 story links

The iPhone 11 Pro unboxing you MUST SEE before buying (Space Grey First Impressions)

Here’s why the iPhone 11 Pro camera is UNBEATABLE

iPhone 11 Pro Max review: the best gets better

• This thing is a beauty. The first thing you notice is the glass back. The frosted matte finish makes it semi-translucent, giving it a weirdly illusory depth. It looks great. Not even the controversial, compound-eye camera bump can spoil its good looks. The iPhone 11 Pro Max is the best-looking iPhone to date, and I love it.

2020 iPhone design could take notes from the classic iPhone 4 look

• Apple could go back to one of its most beloved iPhone designs with next year’s iPhone refresh. According to a new report from seasoned Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, Apple’s 2020 iPhone redesign will resemble the iPhone 4.

Apple Watch Series 5 teardown confirms it’s a tweaked Series 4

• Disassembling the latest Apple Watch doesn’t find very much that’s different from last year’s model. That doesn’t mean there aren’t improvements in the new Series 5; they’re just not visible in a teardown, even one done by the experts at iFixit.

This week: iPhone 11 Pro’s cameras are the largest leap forward yet. We’ll tell why the cameras alone make iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro worth the upgrade. Plus: iPhone 11 Pro may have dual wireless charging built in after all; and it looks like Apple Watch Series 5 is just an upgraded series 4. We’ll tell you what you need to know.

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 iPhone XS, 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 story links

First iPhone 11 Pro Max teardown shows off gigantic new battery

• One of the specs Apple refuses to reveal about the iPhone 11 Pro Max has been revealed by a teardown of this new model: it includes a 3,969 mAh battery, significantly larger than the one in the XS Max.
• That's hugely larger than the 3,174 mAh power cell in last year’s iPhone XS Max.
• And of course Apple is reporting the 11 Pro features 4 hours of extra battery life, while the iPhone 5 clock 5 extra hours.

iPhone 11 Pro review roundup: Big battery, camera, display upgrades

• There’s no question about it: the iPhone 11 Pro and 11 Pro Max are two of the best iPhones Apple has ever built — and arguably the best handsets in the world right now.
• Verge says it has the best camera in a phone.
• • “[T]he iPhone 11 Pro cameras are an enormous improvement over the XS, and they beat the Pixel and Samsung’s Galaxy Note 10 Plus in most of our side-by-side comparisons. In fact, I think the iPhone 11 Pro is the best smartphone camera on the market right now.”
• Tom’s Guide loved the screen
• • "iPhone 11 Pro Max’s 6.5-inch Super Retina XDR display vastly outshined the Galaxy Note 10 Plus”
• What about speed you ask. Hold on to your butts. Wired had this to say:
• • “The phones are fast. Downloading apps is fast. Switching between apps is fast. Processing and editing photos is fast. Apple Pay is faster on this phone; Face ID feels slightly faster. FaceID supports more face angles too “

iPhone 11 supposedly capable of two-way wireless charging

• One feature we expected but didn’t get from the iPhone 11 lineup is two-way wireless charging. But Apple could surprise us with it later.
• Two-way or bilateral wireless charging would allow you to charge certain devices — including other smartphones — by placing them down on the back of your iPhone.
• Tipster Sonny Dickson, citing “reliable sources,” reports that iPhone 11, 11 Pro, and 11 Pro Max do feature the hardware required for two-way wireless charging. It’s just that Apple hasn’t enabled it yet.
• "Reliable sources are saying iPhone 11 and 11 Pro do include the hardware for bilateral charging, but that it is software disabled. Uncertain whether this was removed prior to final production run.”
• It’s not clear why or when two-way wireless charging may have been deactivated. Reliable analyst Ming-Chi Kuo recently suggested the “efficiency may not meet Apple’s requirements.”
• Bizarre that Apple would not have at least MENTIONED this feature and announced an anticipated release date.

Apple Watch Series 5 has same CPU as Series 4

• The insides of the Apple Watch Series 5 aren’t all that different from last year’s Series 4 upgrade.
• Other than the new always-on display, the only other internal changes Apple promoted were the new compass and increased storage. The latest build of Xcode reveals that those are basically the only changes, as the Series 5 uses the same CPU and GPU found in Apple Watch Series 4.

This week: everything you need to know about iPhone 11 and 11 Pro! We dive deep into the coolest features buried in Apple's newest iPhones.

Plus: our reactions to everything announced at the iPhone 11 event...

And it's all but confirmed: we'll tell you why there's almost definitely a October hardware event coming our way, and what gadgets Apple will be unveiling in their next big keynote.

This episode supported by

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.

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 iPhone XS, 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 story links

Erfon's YouTube channel!

If this is iPhone 11 camera’s Night mode, we can’t wait

iPhone 11 vs. Pro vs. Pro Max: Which one should you buy?

Why Apple Watch Series 5 is a welcome surprise

Lower iPhone 11 price shows Apple got the message [Opinion]

Ex-Netflix exec thinks Apple TV+ will have no problem competing

Leaked iPhone 11 specs show upgraded RAM and battery

Apple Watch Series 5 vs. Series 3: Which one should you buy?

3D Touch disappears, and that’s great for people who love it [Opinion]

This week: a noted leaker says the September 10th Apple event will include a mythical One More Thing... But what could it be??

Plus: more leaks shine a light on next week's iPhone announcements; a new turbocharged Apple TV is on the way; and Apple Watch will finally get a long-awaited feature.

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 iPhone XS, 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

Phone 11 Lineup Tipped to Have Familiar Rollout: September 13 Pre-Orders, September 20 Launch

• A tipster who claims to work at a major carrier has since provided MacRumors with internal communication that suggests the rumored iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro models will be available to pre-order Friday, September 13 ahead of deliveries to customers and in-store availability starting Friday, September 20.
• iPhone XR will become iPhone 11, iPhone XS will be the iPhone 11 Pro, and iPhone XS Max will be the iPhone 11 Pro.

Faster Apple TV hardware might turbocharge Apple Arcade

• The first Apple TV update in two years is reportedly coming soon. The update Apple TV will supposedly be powered by the same chip that’s in the iPhone XS series, potentially making it a better way to play Apple Arcade games than its predecessors.
• The current Apple TV runs the A10X Fusion CPU from several years ago, and while it's perfectly capable of handling a streaming video service, Apple Arcade games that will undoubtedly benefit from the extra horsepower in the A12X chip.

Respected leaker CoinX tweets “One more thing…”

Apple’s first AR headset spilled by iOS 13

• Apple is still developing its own augmented reality headset, according to code discovered in iOS 13. The mythical headset is apparently codenamed “garta"

Sleep-tracking could come to Apple Watch this year

• Apple will introduce sleep tracking to Apple Watch, a new report claims.
• The new feature will reportedly not require any additional hardware, but rather be software-based. It’s not clear whether it will be limited only to the upcoming Apple Watch Series 5, however.