Lewis Wallace

This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: The latest rumors about the iPhone 16 Pro’s camera make it sound better than ever. That’s no surprise, considering Apple makes a big deal out of the iPhone camera every year. But we couldn’t be happier to have even finer photographic tools at our disposal.

Also on The CultCast:

• A new retro game emulator for iPhone called Delta is a … game changer! And this is just the start of a revolution brewing in the App Store.
• Griffin knows some Mac settings you should change for a better experience.
• There’s lots of big Apple TV+ news, from a new show from the writer behind Slow Horses and extensions of popular series including Silo and For All Mankind.

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.

This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: A surprise leak about Apple M4 chips says they’ll come sooner than almost anybody suspected. But nobody’s shocked to hear that they will focus on bringing AI capabilities to Macs.

Plus, there’s news of Ferret-UI, a new Apple project designed to help AI understand how humans use iPhones. Apple’s definitely tin a rush to cash in on tech’s biggest buzzword!

Also on The CultCast:

• With Project Titan abandoned and hopes of an Apple car destroyed, Cupertino goes on a desperate search for its “next big thing” to boost revenue.
• The new Humane Ai Pin, previously lauded as a potential iPhone killer, is DOA. The first reviews are shockingly bad.
• And we wrap up with an all-new edition of What We’re Into! Spoiler alert: It’s all sci-fi this time around.

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.

This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: After pulling the plug on an ambitious project — creating a self-driving car — Apple sets its sights on making … home robots?!? Say it ain’t so, Tim!

Also on The CultCast:

• New iPhone 16 dummy units bring the rumors to life. But as for those long-predicted fancy new iPads, we’re still waiting. Get used to it!
• The next-gen Apple processor could give Macs a serious performance boost. Erfon talks specs and speculation.
• Vision Pro’s new Spatial Personas aren’t creepy at all … 👻
• Griffin serves up some tips on how to take a proper photo during the upcoming total solar eclipse.

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.

A collection of 100 wild-looking smartphone cases inspired by the upcoming solar eclipse is selling out fast. The one-of-a-kind solar eclipse iPhone cases, made by the craftspeople at Carved, will give your handset an out-of-this-world look.

“We’ve been working hard to capture the essence of this coming 2024 eclipse,” the company said Friday on its Facebook page. “In all the excitement we’ve made a very limited run of eclipse designs just for you!”

This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: Now that Apple set a date for WWDC24, it’s time for the speculation to begin. Artificial intelligence undoubtedly will be on the agenda. But what will Apple’s AI push look like?

Join us for a whirlwind discussion.

Also on The CultCast:

• Sounds like iOS 18 will give iPhone owners even more control over their Home Screens.
• A flaw in Apple’s M-series processors sounds downright disturbing.
• Apple’s got a trick up its sleeve to keep you from annoying iPhone upgrades.
• And the Department of Justice’s antitrust lawsuit against Apple makes some truly ludicrous claims.

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.

This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: The latest rumors indicate 2024 will bring big changes to the AirPods lineup. In fact, Apple’s ramping up for “the biggest AirPods launch to date.”

But even this fantastic news can’t cheer us up after the Department of Justice files a wide-ranging antitrust lawsuit against Apple. We recorded this episode of The CultCast right after news of the DOJ’s suit broke, and some of us are fuming!

Also on The CultCast:

• So … Apple might lean on Google Gemini to power iOS 18 features? Good luck with that.
• iPhone 17 could bring a major upgrade in the display department.
• The next-gen Vision Pro headset might drop the price to something much more approachable.

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.

A new iPhone case designed by an AI that apparently doesn’t grasp the value of the dollar will set you back a cool $326,700. The “uber-exclusive” case for iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max models, from French luxury accessories company Labodét, is made of “genuine alligator and exclusive Himalayan crocodile leathers.”

Obviously, it comes festooned in diamonds and features 18K gold detailing. Dust off your titanium Apple Card and hit the link below to snap one up!

This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: Surprise! Apple drops new MacBook Airs with M3 chips inside. The new laptops’ specs and first benchmarks make the performance boost sound quite impressive indeed. But what should we expect next for the MacBook, and when should we expect it?

Join us for a titillating conversation about the current state (and future) of Apple’s laptops.

Also on The CultCast:

• Apple launched the M3 MacBook Airs with amazing specs, but nothing but a press release. Sounds like it’s about to do the same with new iPads. There’s a lot to look forward to if you’re a fan of Apple tablets.
• An inside look at the canceled Apple car project offers fascinating details about crazy prototypes, dashed dreams and crushing indecision.
• How cool would a MacBook with a folding 20-inch screen be?
• The European Union demands a cool 1.8 billion euros from Apple over its dealings with Spotify. Sounds like a shakedown!
• iOS 17.4 brings some useful new features to your iPhone, and Griffin tells us all about the best ones.

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.

The history of the Apple car is littered with wild prototypes, astonishing hubris and a deadly dose of crippling indecision, according to a damning report that offers the best picture yet of the secretive Project Titan.

It sounds like many Apple employees — and even key execs — viewed the self-driving car project as a doomed effort nearly from the start.

“The big arc was poor leadership that let the program linger, while everyone else in Apple was cringing,” said an anonymous Apple executive who worked on Project Titan.

If you want to know how a massive research and development project can crash and burn, this new behind-the-scenes account of Project Titan will show you how. It’s filled with gory details of unachievable goals, chaotic management, bad decisions (and sometimes no decisions at all).

This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: Apple pulled the plug on Project Titan, its not-so-secret, decade-long effort to build a self-driving electric car. After spending a reported $10 billion on R&D, the moonshot Apple car project winds up canceled — in favor of generative AI!

Let’s just say we have some opinions.

Also on The CultCast:

• Apple’s FineWoven iPhone cases don’t seem to hold up so well. In fact, a high-profile journo says hers is “browning like a rotten banana.” What gives?
• Apple Arcade’s shifting mission means kids will be winners (but indie devs will be losers).
• Waiting for a second-gen Vision Pro that will be lighter, brighter and less expensive? You might want to rethink that plan.

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.

Apple’s reported cancellation of its electric car project strikes me as one of the most demoralizing decisions the company has ever made. And I’m not sure which is worse, the Apple car cancellation, or the revelation of how Cupertino plans to reroute most of Project Titan’s brainpower.

The long-rumored Apple car was never a done deal, obviously. But it stood out as a moonshot project capable of transforming transportation and improving our everyday lives.

Now we find out that Apple won’t be going to the moon. Instead, Cupertino might be taking a me-too detour to Gibberish City.

This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: The latest iPhone 16 Pro rumor comes with a mockup that looks like a fidget spinner. Will Apple really do that? On the other hand, the latest iPad rumors sound totally believable.

Also on The CultCast:

• There’s an iOS trojan in the wild that steals your face to drain your bank accounts.
• Apple is hard at work future-proofing iMessage to keep it safe from quantum computer attacks.
• We discuss the new Apple Sports app, including one of its weirdest features: betting odds. (Supporting gambling seems like a strange move for the normally vice-averse Apple.)
• Erfon recounts his Vision Pro return experience, with some interesting behind-the-scenes intel.
• Also on the Vision Pro return front, Griffin tells us his sob story about parting ways with the expensive headset. (Don’t miss the surprise twist ending!)
• And finally, Griffin raves about a new wireless microphone in an Under Review segment.

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.

In this week’s Awesome Apps roundup, you’ll find apps for managing files, using AI to boost your writing, and turning an iPad into a creative input device for a Mac.

And if all that productivity wears you out, we’ve got other options. You can relax with a charmingly peaceful Apple Arcade game with a delightful Japanese theme. Or you can blast enemy spaceships in an arcade-style game that’s great on iPhone — but even better on Vision Pro.

Ladies and gentlemen, get ready to download.

This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: After spending a few days with Apple’s headset, Erfon and Griffin are ready to unleash their initial Vision Pro reviews. They’ve got some gushing praise, some mild concerns and some unmitigated gripes.

Also on The CultCast:

• A sad Vision Pro “demo” shows why you should never try the headset with your glasses on. Book a real Apple demo instead!
• The technology in Apple’s headset is astonishing. So are the immersive experiences. But is all that enough to justify the price?
• Griffin talks about doing actual work while wearing Vision Pro.
• Erfon reveals his grand plan for a new podcast called CultCast Off Topic.

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.

This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: A new round of Apple Vision Pro reviews gives us greater insight into what to expect from the high-priced headset. Is it utterly mind-blowing? Clunky and weird? So addictive that we’re doomed to a flat life in the boring 2D world when we take it off?

Sounds like all of the above!

Also on The CultCast:

• A rundown of new features coming soon to iOS 17.
• A respected analyst says iPhone can’t compete without these two key features … but at least one of them is nowhere in sight!
• Is that an unreleased iPad in a Vision Pro cover story?
• We’re giving away two rugged and waterproof Apple Watch bands from Lululook for all you sporty types.

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.

This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: Vision Pro preorders didn’t exactly go smoothly last week. In our post-mortem, we discuss what went right, what went wrong, and why we can’t wait to finally get our hands on Apple’s headset.

Also on The CultCast:

• Apple plans to radically change the App Store … for Europeans.
• An update on new iPads and new Macs that seem poised to pop out of Tim Cook’s magic pipeline.
• The Apple car is still on the road to release. However, it might arrive a little later (and a lot less amazing) than we were led to believe.

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.

To comply with EU mandates, Apple will open the iPhone’s NFC payment chip to third parties, the company said Thursday. Starting in March, users in the European Economic Area will be able to utilize tap-to-pay services other than Apple Pay when making purchases.

The new payment option, part of sweeping changes forced on the iPhone and iOS by the EU’s Digital Markets Act, could cut into Apple’s services revenue. And the company warns that it could put users at risk.

After several months with my iPhone 15 Pro Max, I’m stripping off its case and going “nearly nude.”

Yes, there’s a chance I’ll drop it and incur a hefty repair bill. (If so, AppleCare+ will ease the sting.) But the unbridled joy of the naked iPhone in my hand — and the lurid thrill of leering at its sleek natural titanium finish — make it worth the risk.

This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: Apple Vision Pro preorder week brings interesting new details about the mixed-reality headset. Will it be a sellout success? An amazing entertainment device? A $3,499 pain in the neck?

Maybe all of the above! We go over the last-minute pros and cons.

Also on The CultCast:

• Apple Watch drops a key health feature, but the patent fight’s not over yet.
• Cupertino’s compliance with “anti-steering” mandates won’t please anybody, especially developers like Epic Games.
• Got an old iPhone gathering dust somewhere? We’ve got some DIY projects for you.

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.

Even if you have zero interest in buying a $3,499 mixed-reality headset, you should stop right now and watch the new Making Apple Vision Pro video. It’s an absolutely mesmerizing video that shows the elaborate manufacturing process for Apple’s upcoming “spatial computing” device.

It takes just over a minute to watch, and it’s truly stunning!

How much does Apple Vision Pro weigh? That was one of the great mysteries about the $3,499 mixed-reality headset before Apple published the Vision Pro technical specifications Friday.

The answer? Between 21.2 and 22.9 ounces. That’s 1.325 to 1.431 pounds, or 600 to 650 grams. (The “weight varies depending on Light Seal and head band configuration,” Apple says.)

“Oooooooh!” my wife squealed when I pulled the Juuk Ligero Rainbow Apple Watch band out of the shipping carton. The brightly colored links in the aluminum bracelet definitely caught her eye.

Unfortunately for her, the band wouldn’t fit her smaller Apple Watch. So I got to try it.

The Rainbow Ligero looks like no other band you’ve seen. As with Juuk’s other metal Apple Watch bands, the Rainbow version’s striking looks provoke an immediate reaction. Its bold colors — red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple — shimmer on the wrist. And now it’s back in the Cult of Mac Store.

The Apple Vision Pro headset might be a real pain in the neck, according to new reports after the latest round of demos. Three separate people reported feeling discomfort or even pain after wearing the headset for short periods.

Each of the people also expressed some level of appreciation or even amazement regarding the Vision Pro’s immersive visuals. However, if strapping the headset on for a half-hour proves uncomfortable for a majority of users, that’s going to be a serious problem that no amount of spatial computing wizardry — or even an ugly strap — can overcome.

This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: Will Apple Vision Pro win the world over to “spatial computing” when it launches on February 2? With the $3,499 mixed-reality headset coming so close to reality, it’s time for a serious talk.

We’re all super-curious about Vision Pro. But the hefty price tag and lack of a clear purpose leave us wondering if it’s a solution in need of a problem. (If nothing else, we like the new Vision Pro ad.)

Also on The CultCast:

• Apple apparently plans to keep the first Vision Pro reviewers on a short leash.
• The buzziest gadget at this year’s CES certainly looks cool. But what can it do?
• We’ll believe that an AI-boosted Siri is smarter when we see it.
• Are expensive cables worth the extra cash? Torture tests by Consumer Reports raise some eyebrows.

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.

OtterBox’s new iPhone cases, Apple Watch bands and MagSafe wallets might look and feel like they’re made of leather, but they’re not. They’re made from nopal cactus leaves.

The exclusive Desserto leather alternative used in OtterBox’s Symmetry Series Cactus Leather iPhone cases is “a luxury material that is durable, cruelty-free and sustainable,” the company said Tuesday in a press release.