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Best and worst of 2023: The CultCast’s year-end wrap

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Best and worst of 2023: The CultCast episode 627 year-end wrap.
Let's go out with a bang, shall we?
Image: Cult of Mac

This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: Since Apple and the rest of the civilized world is taking a holiday break, we’re spending the majority of the show on our final picks for the best and worst of 2023.

Also on The CultCast:

  • The U.S. ban on the import and sales of Apple Watch takes another weird twist.
  • Former Apple design chief Jony Ive lures another former colleague away from Cupertino. This time, the goal is to build AI hardware for OpenAI.
  • Amazon Prime Video’s plan to add commercials is a major bummer.

Listen to this week’s episode of The CultCast in the Podcasts app or your favorite podcast app. (Be sure to subscribe and leave us a review if you like it!) Or watch the video live stream, embedded below.

Bay Area medical workers use iPhone-connected smart ring to thwart COVID-19

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ouraring
This tiny ring could be a valuable tool for fighting COVID-19.
Photo: Oura Ring

Emergency medical workers in San Francisco are turning to an iPhone-connected smart ring to track their body temperature and other vital signs as a way to identify early symptoms of COVID-19.

2,000 Oura Rings have been distributed to workers at the UCSF Medical Center and Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital. It’s the first study developed to spot COVID-19 symptoms and help curb its spread. Researchers are hoping the medical data can be used to create an algorithm that can detect COVID-19 before symptoms even manifest.

Apple HQ and Bay Area stores will remain closed until at least April 7

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apple-hq
Apple is a hard-working place.
Photo: Apple

Six counties in the San Francisco Bay Area initiated a shelter-in-place mandate Monday that will force businesses, including Apple stores, in the area to temporarily shut down for three weeks. The goal is to stop the spread of the COVID-19 virus.

Nearly 7 million people will be forced to stay inside except to visit grocery stores, pharmacies or doctor’s offices. The new mandate means Apple stores in the area will remain closed longer than Apple’s originally intended time frame. The company initially intended to reopen its stores on March 27.

Apple cancels all ‘Today at Apple’ sessions across U.S. and Canada

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Today at Apple session image
Apple stores are starting to look sparse.
Photo: Apple

Apple is continuing to take preventative measures against the coronavirus outbreak in the U.S. by canceling all ‘Today at Apple’ sessions at Apple stores in the U.S. and Canada.

Earlier this week, ‘Today at Apple’ sessions in Seattle and San Francisco stores were canceled until March 29. Cult of Mac confirmed Friday that the company has canceled all further sessions at all retail locations in the U.S. and Canada for the foreseeable future.

Apple closes all 17 stores in Italy [Updated]

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milan
Apple is closed for business in Italy.
Photo: Apple

Apple is set to shutter all of its stores in Italy beginning Thursday until further notice as the country goes into total lockdown due to concerns over the coronavirus outbreak.

All 17 stores in Italy have updated their webpages showing that doors will close early Wednesday and the company isn’t saying when they will be reopened.

Leaked Samsung Galaxy S20 images reveal giant four-lens camera bump

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Galaxys20
No notch to see here.
Photo: XDA

Samsung is ready to one-up the iPhone 11 Pro camera system by adding four lenses to the back of its next flagship smartphone.

Leaked images surfaced online this weekend giving a full view of the upcoming Galaxy S20 (yes, you read that right, Samsung is skipping ahead a few numbers). Samsung is set to unveil the S20 during a live-streamed keynote next. We’ve seen a couple of renders of the S20 leading up to the event, but this is these are the first real images of the iPhone’s next big rival.

Take a look at this huge camera bump:

The meaning of life, according to Tim Cook

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TimCook
Tim Cook's driving force won't surprise you at all.
Photo: Salesforce

Apple CEO Tim Cook sat down with Salesforce co-CEO Marc Benioff for his company’s Dreamforce conference this afternoon but instead of diving into Apple’s boring enterprise efforts, Cook was ready to discuss heavier topics.

Sitting in the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts where Apple revealed some of its biggest product updates before Apple Park was built, Cook shared his thoughts on privacy, environmental conservation, innovation, memories of Steve Jobs and what motivates him.

Rudy Giuliani needed Genius Bar’s help to unlock his iPhone

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Giuliani
Giuliani doesn't know how to wear AirPods either.
Photo: Rick Wilson/Twitter

Despite being named Donald Trump’s cybersecurity expert in 2017, Rudy Giuliani is so clueless about tech, he had to go to the Apple Store genius bar for help unlocking his iPhone.

Leaked internal documents from Apple reveal that just a few weeks after being tapped as Trump’s top cyber guy, Giuliani waited in front of a San Francisco Apple store with a very pressing issue: he had forgotten his passcode and couldn’t unlock his iPhone.

LGBTQ employees want Google kicked out of SF Pride parade

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SF pride
Apple employees marching in the SF Pride parade.
Photo: Tim Cook/Twitter

Some of Google’s LGBTQ+ employees have petitioned the San Francisco Pride board of directors to kick the search engine giant out of the SF Pride parade slated for this weekend.

The Google employees posted an open letter this morning saying they’ve spent countless hours trying to get Google to improve policies and practices regarding the treatment of LGBTQ+ persons, but the company has done nothing. Even though they might get in trouble for writing the letter, nearly 100 employees signed it, urging the parade to reject Google’s failure to act.

We may already know the dates for WWDC 2018

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Don't miss out on WWDC 2017!
The next WWDC is right around the corner.
Photo: Apple

Developers looking to nab a spot (and hotel room) for WWDC 2018 may have just a big hint on possible dates for the big event.

The official announcement of Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference for 2018 is still likely months away, but we might already know the exact dates thanks to a new report with details on the conference.

His eye and iPhone reveal shapes of San Francisco

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Burton Rast iPhone photos
Unpainted Ladies from Burton Rast's Shapes of San Francisco.
Photo: Burton Rast

Burton Rast had his first look at San Francisco 20 years ago and wondered aloud to a friend if it was possible to photograph one of the world’s most photographed cities in a new way.

With his iPhone 6s and some creative tweaking of the pictures in Adobe Lightroom Mobile, Rast has succeeded in producing a unique view of the city’s iconic architectural landmarks.

Apple stores will go green for Earth Day

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Apple Store
Apple's shelling out billions to go green.
Photo: Apple

Apple’s retail employees will be seeing green this weekend as part of the iPhone-maker’s Earth Day celebration.

To raise awareness on the battle to fight climate change, Apple store employees have been given green shirts to wear in replacement of the tradition blue shirts starting on Thursday April 20.

Al Gore to talk climate change at SF Apple store

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Al Gore at the 2009 National Clean Energy Summit.
Al Gore at the 2009 National Clean Energy Summit.
Photo: Center for American Progress/Flickr CC

Al Gore will speak about climate change this week during an appearance at Apple’s flagship store in San Francisco.

The ex-veep — now a filmmaker, writer and environmental activist — will be joined by Apple VP of Environment Lisa Jackson, who served as head of the Environmental Protection Agency during the first four years of the Obama administration. Anyone can attend the event, during which the pair will talk about Apple’s ongoing commitment to the environment.

Apple Park landscaping triggers California tree shortage

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Apple Park Close up
Hundreds of trees are being planted at Apple HQ.
Photo: Apple

Apple’s push to finish the landscaping on its soon-to-be opened spaceship campus is causing headaches for other landscapers and architects hoping to buy trees for other projects.

The company has been known to corner the market’s supply for certain Mac and iPhone components to shut out competitors, but a new report out of San Francisco reveals Apple is bringing its overpowering tactics into foliage market too.

YouTube TV arrives to shake up streaming world

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YouTube TV is only available in 5 cities for now.
YouTube TV is only available in 5 cities for now.
Photo: YouTube

YouTube’s new tv streaming service for cord-cutters has finally arrived for customers in five major US markets.

The new service, dubbed YouTube TV, gives subscribers access to dozens of channels that normally would require a cable subscription, putting it in direct competition with the likes of Hulu, Sling TV, DirecTV Now and Playstation Vue.

Take a look inside Apple’s new flagship store in Germany

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Apple's new store on Europe's busiest shopping street.
Apple's new store on Europe's busiest shopping street.
Photo: Macerkopf

The newest Apple store in Germany is ditching the Genius Bar, but it will have a boardroom.

Apple is set to open its second store in Cologne, Germany this weekend and early photos have already revealed some of the new features, like an area dedicated entirely to business that is becoming a staple at other flagship stores.

Win passes to opening night of the 10th annual Disposable Film Festival!

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Disposable Film Festival 2017 poster
Disposable Film Festival 2017 poster
Image: Disposable Film Festival

The 10th annual Disposable Film Festival, dubbed the “Oscars of online video,” runs March 30 to April 2 in San Francisco. The popular festival celebrates a decade of discovering and supporting the most visionary filmmakers of the digital age — artists who produce innovative stories at the intersection of art and technology.

Cult of Mac teamed up with the festival to give away a pair of free passes to the opening-night extravaganza. Enter below, and if you don’t win, don’t worry — everybody can get a discount!

Hello, San Francisco! Apple.com changes its web font

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iPhone 7
Which font did you prefer?
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

As part of its ongoing attempt to unify its platforms, Apple has switched the font for its official Apple.com website to the blockier San Francisco typeface.

Prior to this, Apple used a lighter Myriad font, which first debuted in 2001 as a replacement for the the company’s Apple Garamond typeface.

Eat off an iPad at this fancy San Francisco restaurant

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ipad-truffles
Truffles served on an iPad plate.
Photo: Richie Nakano

A restaurant in San Francisco has begun serving food on iPads. Quince is using the popular tablets as plates in an apparent effort to appeal to younger diners. Each iPad plays a video of a water dog searching for truffles while you eat your meal off its screen.

Seriously.

Is Apple behind the wheel of this mysterious high-tech van?

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This mystery van is likely making detailed 'point cloud' maps for autonomous vehicles.
Apple might be driving this mystery van.
Photo: Alexis OreskovicBusiness Insider

Apple has been busy working on its electric car project at secret facilities in Silicon Valley, but the tech that will make it totally autonomous might be hiding in plain sight throughout San Francisco.

During a drive across the Golden Gate Bridge, an eagle-eyed observer spotted what could be Apple’s latest self-driving car or mapping van, a vehicle that is armed with more sensors than ever.