Griffin and papa ERF list the games they're currently playing and which ones they like best.

This week, surprising new designs for the iPhone 16 AND incoming iPad Pros! 

Plus: a new iPhone security issue steals your face to drain your bank account! We’ll tell you what you need to know, and we wrap with our review of a new mic we’re using on UNDER REVIEW.

This episode supported by:

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This week’s stories:

First-ever iOS trojan steals your face to break your bank

• For the first time, an iOS trojan has been spotted in the wild. It steals an iPhone user’s facial recognition data to go after money in banking and other financial apps.
• Original Post by Bleeping Computer

Apple fortifies iMessage to foil hackers of the future

• An iMessage upgrade with post-quantum cryptography will make Apple’s instant messaging platform ready to fend off future hackers. Today’s encryption methods likely won’t be able to stand up, which is why Apple is bringing in the cutting-edge protocol.

New Apple Sports app gives fans scores and stats for free

• The new Apple Sports app for iPhone gives fans access to real-time scores, stats and more for their favorite teams across a wide range of sports leagues.
• Apple Sports on the App Store

Woah! Is this the new iPhone 16 Pro camera?

• The latest iPhone 16 Pro camera rumor comes with an image that shows a radically redesigned lens module.

MacRumors: Apple's Upcoming OLED iPad Pro Models Rumored to Be Much Thinner

• Such a slimmed down body suggests a notable design change, which is enabled by an even more significant update — OLED display technology.
• Alongside the iPad Pro, Apple is expected to introduce two new iPad Air models, including a larger 12.9-inch version for the first time.

D. Griffin Jones: Why I don’t want to return my Vision Pro

• The two-week return window for my Vision Pro is fast approaching, so I need to make my keep it/toss it decision in a matter of days. And I desperately want to keep it.

Under Review: RØDE Wireless Pro

• The RØDE Wireless Pro is a whole set of microphones you can use for recording videos with high-quality audio on the go.

These are the strategies I use to get huge discounts on tech and most of my other online purchases!

CultCast Off Topic is our new podcast that's ad-free and free for all thanks to your support!  If you like us and want to support our future content, fork over $5 a month at support.thecultcast.com !

This week, we have Leander Kahney! It's our second-week thoughts on Vision Pro — after cooking, working out, typing tests and more, we've done it all. Are we keeping or returning ours?

This episode supported by:

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This week's stories:

People are returning Vision Pro in droves … or are they?

• Many early adopters seem set on returning their Apple Vision Pro headsets. As the 14-day return window approaches for people who bought the device on launch day, an avalanche of posts on X and other social media channels point to a wave of Vision Pro returns.

Mark Zuckerberg says Quest 3 is better than Vision Pro

• Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said his company's mixed-reality headset beats Vision Pro in almost every way, despite the fact that it costs far less than Apple's device. In a short video posted Tuesday on Instagram, Zuckerberg called the Meta Quest headset the “better product, period.â€
• Tweet by Azad Balabanian

Griffin's Vision Pro tests

• What's it like working out wearing a Vision Pro?
• What's it really like to cook with Vision Pro?
• Typing on Vision Pro: A scientific test with surprising results

MacRumors: iOS 17's AirPlay Feature for Hotel Room TVs Rolling Out ‘This Spring'

• Starting with iOS 17.3 and iPadOS 17.3, you can wirelessly stream content from your iPhone or iPad to a compatible hotel room TV via AirPlay, and we have now learned that the feature should begin rolling out at hotels over the coming months.

They Are Coming!

• If you want the Fujifilm X100VI, I make a recommendation that I can't remember I've ever done in 12 years of blogging: pre-order it instantly.

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These are our hands-on reviews of Vision Pro — everything that’s good, everything that’s great, and then the parts you won’t like.

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This week’s BIG story:

Our Vision Pro Hands-on reviews.  

Plus:

• Apple Vision Pro: In the wild!
• Can you get real work done inside Vision Pro?
• Vision Pro teardown finds pixels smaller than a red blood cell

Win a rugged and waterproof Apple Watch sport band [Cult of Mac giveaway]

• You might win a super-cool and rugged new Lululook Waterproof FKM Sport Band. We’re giving away one orange band and one blue one, and anyone in the world can enter to win.

<p>This week we’re talking Vision Pro reviews, the good, the bad and the ugly! Also, we have some details on iOS 17.4 — and did Vanity Fair leak an image of the new iPad?</p>

<p><strong>This episode supported by:</strong></p>

<p>Easily create a beautiful website all by yourself, at <a href="https://squarespace.com/cultcast">Squarespace.com/cultcast.</a>  Use offer code <strong>CultCast</strong> at checkout to get 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain.</p>

<p>If you like fresh tech, check out <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hanselminutes-with-scott-hanselman/id117488860">Scott Hanselman’s Hanselminutes</a> wherever you get your podcasts! Scott finds fresh tech and fresh faces and shares them with you, like clockwork, every week. It’s like NPR’s Fresh Air for the tech set.</p>

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<p><strong>This week’s stories:</strong></p>

<p><a href="https://www.cultofmac.com/844748/vision-pro-review-roundup-magic-a-revolution-not-finished/">Vision Pro review roundup: ‘Magic’ and ‘a revolution,’ but definitely unfinished</a></p>
<ul><li>The first reviews of Apple’s Vision Pro gush compliments on the augmented-reality headset, with one reviewer calling it “mind-blowing” and another “stunning.”</li><li>However, there’s also plenty of criticism for the high price, weight and slim collection of software available when the product launches later this week.</li><li>Vanity Fair: <a href="https://www.vanityfair.com/news/tim-cook-apple-vision-pro">Why Tim Cook Is Going All In on the Apple Vision Pro</a></li><li><a href="https://www.cultofmac.com/845093/apple-vision-pro-addictive/">Apple Vision Pro’s biggest problem: It’s highly addictive!</a></li></ul>

<p><a href="https://www.cultofmac.com/845065/lululook-fkm-sport-band-for-apple-watch-giveaway/">Win a rugged and waterproof Apple Watch sport band [Cult of Mac giveaway]</a></p>
<ul><li>You might win a super-cool and rugged new Lululook Waterproof FKM Sport Band. We’re giving away one orange band and one blue one, and anyone in the world can enter to win.</li></ul>

<p><a href="https://www.cultofmac.com/844407/ios-17-4-beta-features-changes/">iOS 17.4 beta 1: All the new features and changes</a></p>
<ul><li>The first beta of iOS 17.4 is here, and it packs several big changes. The beta build arrived just days after Apple released iOS 17.3 to the public.</li><li><a href="https://www.cultofmac.com/844445/apple-podcasts-transcripts-auto-generated-release-date/">Auto-generated transcripts coming to Apple Podcasts</a></li></ul>

<p><a href="https://www.cultofmac.com/845067/is-this-an-unannounced-ipad-in-a-press-photo-no/">Is this an unannounced iPad in a press photo?</a></p>
<ul><li>Some people think the first picture of Tim Cook wearing a Vision Pro also has a surprise: an iPad that Apple hasn’t released yet. But no. The tablet looks a bit odd, but that’s not because it’s a future one with a new design.</li><li><a href="https://mastodon.social/@siracusa/111857250562641095">Post by John Siracusa</a></li><li><a href="https://mstdn.social/@dschaub/111857513902632560">Edited image by David Schaub</a></li></ul>