Catch our WWDC 2016 hardware and software predictions on The CultCast

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Next week's Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco is looking pretty momentous.
Photo: Apple

This week, on The CultCast: it’s our WWDC 2016 predictions! We’ll tell you what hardware and software to expect. Plus: Apple makes huge changes to the prices you’ll pay for apps; this year’s Back to School specials are some of Apple’s best yet; and Steve Jobs… the opera? Don’t miss more weird and wild stories from the Cult of Mac.

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This week’s links

Intro – Welcome to the App Store

Read all about it! Teen’s news app scores him a WWDC scholarship

5K Thunderbolt Display will be a no-show at WWDC

  • Apple will not be updating its old ass Thunderbolt display anytime soon, despite rumors that suggested the company was planning to unveil a new 5K Thunderbolt display with a built-in GPU at this year’s WWDC.
  • Apple’s WWDC 2016 keynote will focus mostly on software, according to a new report from 9to5Mac.
  • “WWDC this year will be a ‘software year’, indicating the show will be light on new hardware announcements in general.”
  • Another report from iMore confirms that the 5K monitor will be a no-show.

Apple is making huge changes to how much you’ll pay for apps

  • Starting next week Apple will roll out major changes to the App Store that will effect how, and how much you’ll pay, for your favorite apps.
  • Apple plans to open subscriptions to all apps. In the past, the iPhone-maker only allowed apps for news, cloud services, dating and streaming to offer a subscription that’s billed automatically through iTunes.
  • When developers are able to maintain a customer for more than 12 months, Apple will drop its take down to 15 percent, giving developers another small pay raise.
  • The internally-dubbed “Subscriptions 2.0” model isn’t expected to roll out until this Fall when the company also plans to unleash search ads for apps in App Store search results

Apple kicks off back to school promo with big savings on Beats

  • Apple has kicked off its latest back to school promotion.
  • Apple is giving away a set of Beats Solo2 headphones ($300 with MacBook, MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, iMac, and Mac Pro purchases.
  • You can also get free Beats Powerbeats2 wireless headphones worth $200 when you buy an eligible iPad or iPhone.
  • Apple’s offer runs through September 5, and you can take advantage of it when purchasing from retail stores throughout the U.S. or from the Apple Online Store.

Read all about it! Teen’s news app scores him a WWDC scholarship

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