This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: After a quick spin through the news of the week, we get down to business with our second round of picks for the best and worst tech and entertainment of 2023.
Also on The CultCast:
- Would you pay 99 bucks for a USB-C case for AirPods Pro? I think the price is outrageous, but not everyone is so sure.
- Apple just raised the bar for authorities who might want to spy on your iPhone’s push notifications.
- A new iPhone security feature will soon make it harder for thieves to wreck your life.
- And the latest on how Apple might be forced to open up iPhone to appease regulators.
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.
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This week’s top Apple news
On the show this week: Your host Erfon Elijah (@erfon), Cult of Mac managing editor Lewis Wallace (@lewiswallace) and Cult of Mac writer D. Griffin Jones (@dgriffinjones).
Here are the headlines we’re talking about on this week’s show:
- You can now buy stand-alone USB-C case for AirPods Pro 2 … for $99!
- Apple makes ‘push notification spying’ more difficult
- How Apple plans to ramp up iOS security for stolen iPhones
- Why Google Play courtroom loss could hurt Apple, too
- Apple reportedly offers to open iPhone NFC to other payment systems
Weekly Cult of Mac giveaway
Photo: MagEasy
Enter to win an iPhone 15 case and screen protector bundle from MagEasy
This week, Cult of Mac teams up with MagEasy to give two lucky winners an iPhone 15 case of their choice, coupled with a screen protector. The combo will keep any iPhone 15 series model looking good and safe from everyday hazards.
To enter, just visit our giveaway page.
Best of 2023 … part 2!
Erfon: Matter, the new home-automation standard that is making smart devices smarter, faster, cheaper and fully compatible with Apple, Google and Amazon products.
Lewis: The Last of Us, a post-apocalyptic TV show on Max that’s good like the first few seasons of The Walking Dead. Strong acting and writing make the show stand out, even though it’s based on a video game (which is usually a one-way ticket to terrible).
Griffin: Music is a great way to experience art in the form of rhythmic sounds, vocalizations and instruments. The Roland Cube 30X was specifically designed for playing music.
Worst of 2023 … part 1!
Erfon: HomePod 2.0. It’s still a good speaker, but to drive down the price, Apple removed the angelic sound signature we all fell in love with.
Lewis: Predictive text and voice recognition in iOS 17. Apple keeps saying it’s improving Siri and using machine learning to make text and app recommendations better. But it all just keeps getting worse and worse.
Griffin: The Kuxiu X55 three-in-one charger/stand is garbage, a cheap plastic version of my favorite such device, the Kuxiu X40.
