This week on The CultCast: A new report gives us a price tag and release date for the upcoming 16-inch MacBook Pro. Then: A new hire signals that the Apple Car is far from dead; and there’s finally a way to get podcasts recommendations tailored just for you. Plus, stayed tuned for our favorite shows and Comic-Con trailer in an all-new What We’re Into!
Our thanks to Squarespace for supporting this episode. 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.
The CultCast: Episode No. 398
16-inch MacBook Pro details and the Apple Car LIVES!
On the show this week:
@erfon / @lkahney / @lewiswallace
This week’s stories
Rumored 16-inch MacBook Pro might start at $3,000
- Anyone eager to get their hands on the much-rumored 16-inch MacBook Pro better be saving their pennies. It could cost as much as $3,000, if an unconfirmed report coming out of Asia is correct.
- The Chinese-language Economic Daily News predicts this will be Apple’s most-expensive laptop ever. The starting price could be over $2,975, or even as much as $3,300
- The report goes on to say that the 16-inch macOS laptop will have a 3,072-by-1,920 LCD screen, in line with earlier rumors.
- The largest MacBook in years will supposedly debut in October. New 13.3-inch versions of the MacBook Pro and MacBook Air will allegedly launch at the same time.
BMW will charge outrageous annual fee for CarPlay
- BMW will charge customers an annual fee if they want to enjoy CarPlay in the automaker’s newest vehicles.
- It is the first car manufacturer to turn Apple’s platform into a subscription service. Most now include CarPlay as standard, or as an optional feature that lasts as long as the vehicle.
- It took BMW longer than most automakers to add CarPlay, and the support doesn’t come cheap. The company charges $300 to add the platform to existing vehicles with a built-in navigation system.
- If you want CarPlay in a 2019 BMW, you can forget that one-time fee. In fact, you’ll get to enjoy the first year for free. But every year of CarPlay access after that will cost you $80.
Overcast adds fantastic new podcast recommendations feature
- Overcast, the podcast app of choice for lovers of good design, just added a brand-new recommendations feature.
- Previously, Overcast used a Twitter-based recommendation engine. But developer Marco Arment says almost nobody used it. Now, he’s replaced it with recommendations based on users’ personal listening habits, and the result is amazing.
- Other notable features include Smart Speed (which cuts out silences) and Voice Boost (which pumps up spoken audio). Overcast also works great with the Apple Watch.
Apple hires the engineer who led the design of Tesla’s car interiors
What We’re Into!
Jablinski Games: Jack Black’s YouTube channel proves enthralling.
2019 Tour de France: The ultimate marathon bike race?
Peaky Blinders: 1920s-era British gang drama with plenty of history and colorful slang.
Star Trek: Picard: The Starfleet leader makes a comeback in upcoming series. See the Comic-Con trailer!
Get the best Apple podcast
Subscribe to The CultCast, the best 30-minute Apple podcast you’ll find anywhere. Each week, your host Erfon Elijah and various Cult of Mac staffers talk about the most interesting aspects of the Apple universe.
