This week on The CultCast: We tell you how iPhone’s Smart HDR takes pics better than cameras costing thousands, and how a proper Apple Camera would be positively unstoppable. Plus: The Supreme Court may force Apple to allow competing app stores; proposed tariffs on the iPhone could send prices sky-high; and Apple says the XR is one of the best-selling iPhones ever.

Our thanks to LinkedIn for supporting this episode. A business is only as strong as its people, and every hire matters. Head to LinkedIn.com/cultcast and get a $50 credit toward your first job post.

Apple Music has reportedly hit 56 million subscribers, an increase on the 50 million that Apple CEO Tim Cook announced back in May.

The figure comes from a new Financial Times article, regarding Apple’s plans to potentially get its Beats 1 station on terrestrial radio.

Apple has quietly added some new iPhone XS cases and Apple Watch bands to its Online Store.

Its silicone cases and sport bands now come in hibiscus, mellow yellow, and pacific green. Apple has also added the celestial teal, olive flak, and smokey mauve Nike Sport bands that were made available through nike.com earlier this month.

In an early Christmas present to Apple fans with an Amazon Echo, Apple Music is coming to Amazon’s line of smart speakers next month. Apple Music will be available as an option on Echo devices starting December 17.

“Music is one of the most popular features on Alexa,” said Dave Limp, senior vice president of Amazon Devices. “We’re thrilled to bring Apple Music – one of the most popular music services in the U.S. – to Echo customers this holiday.”

Apple’s proposed flagship Apple Store in Melbourne, Australia’s Federation Square has been pushed back at least a year. Work was originally scheduled to start in early 2019. However, now it won’t begin until 2020 — with the eventual opening taking place in 2021.

If it even happens at all, that is.

The days of Apple Pay not being accepted at Target could be coming to an end. According to a number of users on Twitter, the Target store in San Francisco is currently accepting Apple Pay purchases.

While this has yet to be rolled out to Target’s other 1,821 stores, this suggests the company may be changing its stance on Apple’s mobile payment service.

Apple continues to remove third-party applications from the Chinese version of the App Store for violating its terms of service. It reportedly removed 718 apps this week.

This isn’t the first time there’s been a purge from this software store. But this time none of the applications were breaking Chinese law, just Apple’s own rules.

If you weren’t tempted by an iPhone XR or XS, and you’ve decided to hold onto your older handset for another year, you should really consider getting the battery replaced. This will add years of usefulness. 

Even better, Apple is offering a special deal that makes it just $29. But this low price is available only for one more months.

Today’s how-to is a little different. I won’t be recommending special apps for learning how to draw, or even AR apps that help you trace pictures onto real paper. Instead, I’m going to give you a few tips that will help you draw what you see in front of you, whether you’re using a pencil and paper, brush and canvas, or iPad Pro and Apple Pencil.

But first, there’s good news and bad news. The good news is that you already know how to draw — you just need to learn how to look. The bad news is that the only way to improve is to practice. A lot. There’s no shortcut. You just have to do a lot of drawing. And if you’re spending long hours sketching on your iPad, having a reliable round charger can keep your device powered up effortlessly—check out this deal on the INIU Leopard 100W GaN Wall Charger.

iPhones, cases and other products in Apple’s Product(RED) line are more than just colorful; they’ve so far been responsible for $200 million going to pay for HIV/AIDS counseling, testing and medication.

Apple partnered with (RED) 11 years ago, with purchases of select products contributing to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

Scoring a top spot on Apple’s podcast charts is a lot easier — and a lot cheaper — than most listeners probably realize.

Many podcast fans use Apple’s charts on iTunes and its iOS app to find new shows and gauge what’s popular right now. However, an intriguing new report reveals that some shows are paying for a place at the top and its shockingly inexpensive to game the charts.

Anyone who thinks you can’t get “real work” done on an iPad is nuts. Likewise, anyone who claims Apple’s tablet is not a real computer sounds like somebody arguing that the 1984 Mac wasn’t a real computer because it didn’t have a text-based command-line interface.

The iPad vs. Mac debate certainly isn’t new.  Only the devices have changed.

I think that the folks making these arguments are jealous of the iPad Pro, or scared that it will become more important to Apple than their Macs. They want to use it instead of their Mac, but at the same time they’re unwilling to change anything about how they work. Instead, they want the iPad to be a touchscreen Mac with a detachable keyboard.

Apple gives us the gift we really want: more Elvis. Specifically, a collection of Elvis impersonators scattered around the world using Group FaceTime to share their love of the King of Rock and Roll.

This iPhone ad highlights the best new feature in iOS 12.1, the ability to make FaceTime video calls to multiple people simultaneously.

Watch it now:

There is no shortage of hazards and hassles in the digital day-to-day. From forgotten passwords and identity theft to malware, viruses and plain old inadequate storage, you’ll want pro tools to help keep things sane.

This bundle offers protection against all of the above and then some. With a single subscription, you get access to a powerful VPN, malware protection and more. Usually, this bundle costs more than $32 a month, but right now you can sign up for just $9.99 a month. As an added bonus for Cult of Mac readers, you can get the first month free with promo code “FreeMonth.”

Instagram will be more accessible to the visually impaired thanks to new changes the photo-sharing platform launched today.

“With more than 285 million people in the world who have visual impairments, we know there are many people who could benefit from a more accessible Instagram,” the company wrote on its Info Center page announcing two new tools.

Looking for a new iPad for the holidays, but not quite ready to splash out on Apple’s high end iPad Pro models? No problem: Apple’s refurb store just picked up the sixth-gen 9.7-inch iPad, with prices starting at $279 for a 32GB model.

The sixth-gen iPad was announced on March 27, 2018, during Apple’s education-focused event in Chicago. It retails for $329 new.

Caviar, a Russian company that tricks out iPhones in gold and precious gems, has an Apple Watch Series 4 “for those who cannot be surprised easily.”

So let’s see if that’s you. How does $43,850 strike you?

The headline may have ruined the surprise, but you might be startled once you learn the details that got the watch to that price point.

Sourcing the best Apple Watch bands and accessories for Cult of Mac readers is a huge priority for our Watch Store. We hit the mark with Strapley’s distressed-leather bands for Apple Watch, available at our Watch Store just in time for the holidays!

These stunning bands are crafted in-house and look like no other Apple Watch band on the market. Equally elegant and rustic, they’re versatile enough to elevate your Apple Watch. Don’t believe us? Check out our unboxing video:

Registered developers can now get their hands on Apple’s fourth macOS 10.14.2 beta.

It comes just two weeks after the release of the third beta, and it focuses on bug fixes and performance improvements. It doesn’t look like Apple has made any significant changes in this release.

Any Star Wars fan can relate to the dream of taking off in an X-wing. The best we could do in the old days was to play video games or mouth engine noises while running around the living room a toy starfighter. But it’s the future now, so anyone can live out their own Star Wars dogfights and chase scenes.

Three-quarters of iOS users have upgraded to iOS 12, data released by analytics firm Mixpanel suggests. According to the firm’s records, around 75 percent of users have upgraded to iOS 12, around 20 percent are still on iOS 11, and the remainder are using a previous version.

It’s an impressive reminder of just how rapidly Apple users upgrade to the latest operating system.

From Monument Valley to Alto’s Odyssey, there are some truly jaw-droppingly beautiful games on iOS. Eager to add its name to this list is Shine: Journey of Light, a refreshingly calming take on the platformer genre — in which you guide an orb of light through assorted caves, magical woods, and underwater labyrinths.

The goal is to find other orbs of light which, combined, will help light up the stars in the sky. Okay, so that might sound like nonsensical gibberish to the uninitiated, but the game is a dreamy stunner. Check out the trailer below.

A growing class action lawsuit is seeking more plaintiffs to take Apple to court over its iMacs and MacBooks.

The accusation? That by selling computers without dust filters, Apple is willfully ignoring something which can interfere with the “functionality and use” of the high-end displays.

Apple’s battle with Qualcomm has been raging on for the past two years, but an end could finally be in sight. Possibly.

In an interview with CNBC‘s Jim Cramer, Qualcomm CEO Steve Mollenkopf said that the company is currently “on the doorstep” of a resolution with Apple.

In a change for Apple, its best-selling model isn’t its most expensive. A company VP says the iPhone XR has outsold the iPhone XS series since the cheaper device came out last month.

Perhaps this will allay recent nervousness about how well Apple’s latest device is selling.