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What we love (and don’t) about the Apple TV 4K, plus our favorite minimalist iPhone 8 cases on The CultCast

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CultCast on Apple TV
The 4K Apple TV is even better than we thought.
Photo: Apple

This week on The CultCast: A company unlike any other, some say Steve Job’s greatest product was Apple itself. But how has it fared in the six years since his passing? We’ll share the cold, hard facts. Plus: What we love (and don’t) about the Apple TV 4K; an iOS 11 software trick doubles your iPhone storage; and we’ll wrap up our favorite minimalist cases for your iPhone 7, 8 and X.

Our thanks to Squarespace for supporting this episode. It’s simple to accept Apple Pay and sell your wares with your very own Squarespace.com website. Enter offer code CultCast at checkout to get 10 percent off any hosting plan.

Smiles trigger selfies with Camera+ app update

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iPhone photo app
Camera+ adds features like smile mode and depth support.
Photo: David Pierini/Cult of Mac

Even when your arm is stretched out as far as possible, it can be a struggle to get a finger or thumb on the shutter of your iPhone camera to take that selfie. An update to the app Camera+ trips the shutter with a smile.

Version 10 of Camera+, one of the more popular apps for iPhone photographers, announced new features this week with improvements that take full advantage of iOS 11.

Jony Ive praises Apple’s ‘hopelessly inquisitive’ design team

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Jony Ive
Jony Ive doesn't find failure very interesting.
Photo: Vanity Fair/YouTube

Apple is a company with “a bunch of worrying individuals.”

Jony Ive shared this with a New Yorker TechFest audience Friday as an executive paid to shoulder more worries than most. The chief design officer at Apple doesn’t do many interviews, but he joined The New Yorker editor Dave Remnick onstage for a brief but insightful chat.

‘Poisoning’ mobile game blinds Chinese woman

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Arena of Valor
The game has been described as "electronic heroin."
Photo: Tencent

A Chinese woman has gone blind in one eye after playing a hugely addictive mobile game. The 21-year-old suffered retinal artery occlusion caused by severe eye strain after playing the online battle game for up to eight hours without taking a break.

Another iPhone 8 Plus swollen battery incident reported in China

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iPhone 8 Plus image
Around 7 reports of iPhone 8 Plus handsets with swollen batteries have now been reported.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Another iPhone 8 Plus handset with an allegedly swollen battery has been discovered in China, following multiple reports of similar instances.

Chinese state media is reporting that an iPhone buyer named Liu received a newly purchased iPhone 8 Plus in the mail, which arrived cracked open on October 5. The iPhone reportedly had no signs of scorching or an explosion, and Liu says he did not charge the handset.

Microsoft is bringing its Edge browser to iPhone

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Microsoft Edge for iPhone
Get the latest version of Edge today.
Photo: Microsoft

Microsoft is bringing its Edge web browser to iPhone.

Windows users will feel right at home with its design, which looks as close as possible to that of Edge on the desktop. They will also enjoy the ability to send websites to their desktop when they want to view them on a larger screen.

Carpool Karaoke episode with Chester Bennington airs next week

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Linkin Park
Linkin Park frontman passed away in July.
Photo: Stefan Brending/Wikipedia CC

The episode of Carpool Karaoke: The Series featuring the late Linkin Park singer Chester Bennington will be made available next week.

While Carpool Karaoke is normally available only to paying Apple Music subscribers, this episode will be available for free on Facebook. Initially there was some question as to whether it would ever air, due to the tragic nature of Bennington’s untimely death.

How a photog captured Steve Jobs’ piercing glare

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Albert Watson's photo of Steve Jobs, right, is similar to a portrait of Jobs in his younger years.
Albert Watson's photo of Steve Jobs, right, is similar to a portrait of Jobs in his younger years.
Photo: Simon & Schuster

Put the late Steve Jobs in your mind and chances are the iconic photograph made by Scottish photographer Albert Watson comes to mind. It’s a daring glare into the lens, a hand on the chin creating a kind of pedestal for a brain that helped to usher in the age of personal computing.

Today is the sixth anniversary of Jobs passing from cancer and Watson’s story about the day in 2006 Jobs sat in front of his lens should bring a chuckle to those who still miss him or knew his mercurial nature firsthand.

Bookbook CaddySack organizes your Mac’s chargers and dongles

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Bookbook Caddysack
Keep all your chargers and cables together when you leave the house.
Photo: TwelveSouth

Twelve South’s Bookbook Caddysack might sound like the babble of a sugared-up two-year-old, but it is in fact a super-handy gadget bag for travelers, or folks who spend a lot of time not at home or the office. It’s a little case that’s designed to hold all the chargers and other accessories you need for your various Apple devices.

Flashy 3-in-1 lens lights up your iPhone photos

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iPhone lens
One attachment with three lenses, an LED light, and a selfie mirror.
Photo: RevolCam

Lens attachments can extend the reach of an iPhone camera. But now you are carrying extra stuff and compromising the compact convenience of the camera that is always with you.

RevolCam is one attachment, but with three lenses, an LED light and selfie mirror and avoids the bulk each of those accessories could add to your pockets or bag.

Apple moves a step closer to retail stores in India

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Apple's first Indian Apple Store will be located in Mumbai mall
India's current Apple stores.
Photo: Lawrence Sinclair/Flickr CC

It’s been a long time coming, but the chances of an official Apple store in India may have just gotten a whole lot better.

That’s based on the fact that India has just given Chinese smartphone maker Oppo the necessary permission to open its own single brand retail stores. Oppo is the first smartphone brand to be given this opportunity in the world’s third-largest smartphone market. It bodes well for Apple’s chances!

Has Google given up on Android Wear?

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Android Wear
You can no longer buy Android Wear devices from Google.
Photo: Google

Apple Watch could be about to lose one of its biggest rivals.

The future of the Android Wear platform looks bleak today after Google removed all traces of wearable devices from its online store. Its focus on the platform seems to have fizzled out since it became clear that only Apple could sell smartwatches in large numbers.

Android won’t be ripping off iPhone’s 3D sensors anytime soon

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iPhone X
Apple's not the only one struggling with low yield rates for its 3D depth-sensing camera tech.
Photo: Apple

Producing sufficient quantities of its 3D depth sensing camera has reportedly been a big pain point when it comes to iPhone X production, but possibly not as much of a pain as it’s likely to be for Android makers.

According to a new report, low yield rates during production for Apple’s 3D sensing modules have caused Android-based smartphone brands to delay their own plans for new smartphone models with 3D sensors.

You can now cross-post your Instagram Stories to Facebook

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Facebook Stories
Facebook Stories could quickly see a lot more users.
Photo: Facebook

Instagram has started giving users the ability to cross-post their Stories to Facebook Stories.

After testing the feature in Portugal last month, the company is now migrating it to U.S. users. Facebook says it should be available to everyone soon, if not already.

It’s too late to turn back if you’ve upgraded to iOS 11

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Bluetooth and Wi-Fi in iOS 11 control center
Apple has stopped signing iOS 10.3.3.
Photo: Cult of Mac

Downloaded iOS 11 but found that you don’t like it for whatever reason? Well, too bad — because Apple has officially done away with the ability to let you downgrade back to iOS 10.

As it usually does following the release of refreshed versions of iOS, Apple’s stopped signing iOS 10.3.3, last year’s final version of Apple’s iPad and iPhone operating system. While Apple always gives a brief window to let you downgrade to the previous version should you want, that window has now closed for iOS 10.

New ResearchKit app helps cancer patients cope with stress of diagnosis

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ResearchKit
ResearchKit is as useful for monitoring mental health as physical health.
Photo: Apple

Apple’s ResearchKit platform isn’t just about physical wellbeing, it’s also being used to help track mental health.

With that in mind, Duke Institute for Health Innovation has launched a new HomeKit-compatible app designed to help cancer patients, survivors, and their caregivers manage the stress accompanying a cancer diagnosis. The app is profiled on Apple’s official ResearchKit blog.

How Google’s new Pixel 2 stacks up against latest iPhones

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Pixel 2
Prepare for new Pixels right after iPhone X Plus.
Photo: Google

Google’s new Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL might be a little disappointing to some Android fans, but they’re still stellar smartphones. Both sport attractive designs that pack the best hardware available, including excellent cameras, and the speedy Snapdragon 835 chipset.

But can they convince iPhone fans to jump ship? Here’s how the new Pixel lineup compares to iPhone 8 and the upcoming iPhone X.

Software update fixes Apple Watch LTE bug

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Apple Watch Series 3
Apple Watch Series 3 owners can now connect to LTE worry-free.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

LTE connectivity problems that have plagued users since the launch of the Apple Watch Series 3 appear to already be over.

Apple released a new update for watchOS today that reportedly fixes the LTE glitch after the wearable went on sale to the public nearly two weeks ago.