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This week on The CultCast: It’s the best update in years. We’ll tell you everything you need to know about Apple’s very powerful new MacBook Pros. Plus: New Mac minis are on the way; Ming-Chi Kuo confirms Apple’s about to update its entire product line; how coke heads use Apple Watch to maximize their high. Finally, we talk killer whale attacks, port wines and the story of Saturday Night Live’s world-renowned sax player on an all-new What We’re Into.

Apple has ordered more than 24 million iPhone displays from LG as it prepares to start manufacturing its next-generation devices.

The South Korean company is expected to supply around 20 million LCD panels for the all-new 6.1-inch iPhone, plus 4 million OLED panels for a flagship model.

LG is also said to become the primary supplier of OLED displays for next year’s devices.

Apple has leant its name — and, more importantly, its cold, hard cash — to a new initiative investing around $300 million to push energy use in China.

The fund will invest in and develop clean energy projects, capable of powering the equivalent of nearly 1 million homes.

Texture, the digital magazine subscription service Apple acquired back in March, is simplifying its fee structure. Previously, Texture offered a $9.99 Unlimited Basic Plan and a $14.99 Unlimited Premium Plan, with the difference between the two being the addition of weekly magazines.

Now Texture has lowered the price for the Premium Plan to $9.99. In essence, this means that all customers should now have access to the widest possible range of publications for just ten bucks a month!

Worldwide personal computer shipments are finally making a comeback after a six-year slump in sales.

The latest report from Gartner estimates that during the second quarter of 2018 PC shipments finally grew year-over-year for the first time since the first quarter of 2012. With 1.4% overall growth for the market, PC makers have a lot to be happy about, and Apple’s shipment numbers were some of the best in the bunch.

Mac users can still print pictures from the Photos app to Apple’s online Photo Print Products service, but only for a couple of more weeks. It’s being discontinued at the end of September.

iPhone and iPad users, there’s nothing to see here. This service never made the jump to iOS.

Some of the best photos from National Geographic’s travel photographers of the year are now available as free wallpapers for iPhone, iPad and Mac. The collection includes images from a wide range of photographers. They’ve been divided into categories for nature, cities and people so you’re bound to find a few that catch your fancy.

Check out some of our favorites:

Editor’s note: There’s good evidence that the new MacBook Pro keyboard actually does address the problems experienced by some owners. Read our: Teardown reveals MacBook Pro keyboard is redesigned to prevent keys sticking

People around the world are hoping the new MacBook Pro models introduced today have a keyboard that’s been carefully designed to not have the same sticky keyboard keys as their predecessors. But it didn’t happen.

A company spokesperson says the problem of grit causing the keys to stick in previous macOS laptops was not addressed.

But that’s not necessarily the whole story. It’s possible Apple did fix the problem but doesn’t dare talk about it.

Those eager to get their wrists on the 2018 Apple Watch can tide themselves over with some fresh concept images. These clearly show the benefits of a much-anticipated larger screen by comparing the upcoming version with past ones.

The 2018 Apple Watch is also expected to sport a bigger battery and other enhancements.

Mike Fisher makes a living getting old, fallen trees ready for a new life in the technology sector.

The woodworker, with a shop in the “Forest City” of Rockford, Illinois, makes wooden iMac stands and shelves out fallen ash and walnut trees.

Sprint has renamed and changed some of the features of its unlimited data plan. iPhone users now have a choice between paying more or getting less.  

It’s not all bad news. There’s 50 percent more tethering data in a new top-tier plan, and the TIDAL music streaming service has been added.

MacBook Pro fans that want a variety of port connections are officially out of options.

Along with releasing new MacBook Pro models this morning, Apple discontinued the 2015 MacBook Pro which was the last notebook to offer more than just expandable Thunderbolt 3 ports.

AirPlus is a silicone case for your AirPods’ case, which adds one great feature, as well as several not-so-great ones. With your AirPods inside the case, you can drop it onto any Qi-compatible charging mat and have the AirPods and their battery case charge wirelessly. That’s pretty sweet, but there are downsides too.

Editor’s note: There’s fresh evidence that the new MacBook Pro keyboard actually does address the problems experienced by some owners.

Read our: Teardown reveals MacBook Pro keyboard is redesigned to prevent keys sticking

The MacBook Pro models just introduced include faster processors and better displays, but the most important new feature might be the keyboard. This has been redesigned, hopefully to fix serious problems that plagued earlier versions.

The “butterfly” keyboard in MacBook Pro models since 2016 have sparked a well-publicized recall petition and multiple lawsuits. This makes the reliability of the keyboard in the new devices a critical matter.

Apple is back with a new back to school promotion that hooks students up with free or discounted pair of Beats headphones.

The 2018 promo is pretty similar to last year’s deal. Only instead of only being available in North America initially, this year Apple launched it simultaneously in the US, Mexico, Canada, EU and Asian countries.

Nomad’s Stand for Apple Watch could easily be mistaken for a futuristic tchotchke. But, this futuristic charging stand packs high function in its curvaceous form. This sleek Apple Watch stand fits perfectly with the modern simplicity that marks Apple’s aesthetic.

Our very own Nadine Kahney gives us a hands-on look at the Nomad Stand, available for purchase in Cult of Mac’s Watch Store. Check it out below.

Alongside its fancy new MacBook Pros, Apple is new selling a fancy new external GPU for anyone who needs extra graphics processing power for their MacBook.

Created in partnership with film and broadcast company Blackmagic, the Blackmagic eGPU is a $699 powerhouse standalone unit that comprises an MD Radeon Pro 580 graphics card with 8GB of DDR5 RAM.

Apple just updated its MacBook Pro line, ramping up performance and adding various advanced features. Phil Schiller, Apple’s marketing VP, calls the new Apple laptops “the fastest and most powerful notebook we’ve ever made.”

The new MacBook Pro with Touch Bar models boast 8th-generation “Coffee Lake” Intel Core processors, with 6-core CPUs in the 15-inch model and quad-core CPUs on the 13-inch model.

Siri has plenty of problems, but it just got one more: a lawsuit claiming Apple’s technology is infringing on patents belonging to another company.

The company in question, Advanced Voice Recognition Systems, is suing Apple for infringing on its previously held patent “Speech Recognition and Transcription Among Users Having Heterogeneous Protocols.”

Apple’s allegedly offending products include *deep breath* the iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, HomePod, and Apple TV. Everything that runs Siri, basically!

Fortnite season five has finally landed, bringing some of the biggest changes the world’s hottest game has seen since making its debut.

Viking ships, desert outposts, and ancient statues can be found all over the Battle Royale map, which you can now navigate in the new All Terrain Kart. There’s also a whole bunch of new outfits, emotes, and more to look forward to.

Get ready to grab that Battle Pass!

A couple of months back, an announcement regarding Apple’s plans to build a new HQ in Raleigh, North Carolina were supposedly “imminent” and a “done deal.”

Things have remained quiet since then, however, and now a new report quotes North Carolina governor Roy Cooper as saying that he is “hopeful” Apple will pick the area, but admitting that they have yet to hear one way or the other.

A director known for ER, The West Wing and Shameless episodes, and even the Deep Impact disaster movie, will go behind the camera for one of the many TV shows Apple is producing. Mimi Leder reportedly agreed to take on the upcoming program starring Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon.

The drama, which doesn’t yet have a name, will be set behind the scenes at a fictional morning TV show.

Distracted driving is a major source of accidents. In hopes of combatting the problem, road signs that can detect whether a cell phone is in use are being tested in the UK.

The signs currently just light up to remind the motorist to put down their phone. Plans to record the license plates of drivers receiving warnings are being considered. And traffic citations are the likely next step.

Tricky text situations:

• You typed a block of text, and it’s all in capital letters because you left the CAPS LOCK on.
• You copy a URL and it’s a mess, like this: http%3A%2F%2F
• You want to capitalize/de-capitalize text, adding or removing title case.

It’s easy to just do this by hand, if time consuming, but now there’s a better way, on iOS at least. Check out Chris Hannahs’s Text Case.

The documentary about the most important tech company you’ve never heard of is nearly ready to hit the big screen.

General Magic, a ‘90s startup created by some of the best minds at Apple, is getting the documentary treatment it deserves and the trailer is finally here.

Check it out: