The reviews are in! We’ll tell you what people love and don’t about the iPhone 6… Then, RIP, iPod Classic. We remember the humble beginnings of the device that built the new Apple. And finally, Apple announced a base price of $349 for the Apple Watch, sure, but the prices for the other editions might make even Rolex envious. All that plus the lesser known features of iOS 8; how to get U2 out of your iTunes; and a new social video app has us taking more selfies than ever.

Titter your way through each week’s best Apple stories! Stream or download new and past episodes of The CultCast now on your Mac or iDevice by subscribing on iTunes, or hit play below and let the chuckles begin.

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It’s like the whole world has iPhone fever today, with folks everywhere standing in one line or another just to get their mitts on a shiny new iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus.

Were you not able to get hold of one? Are you waiting for your shiny new pre-ordered iPhone 6 to arrive at your door? Why not find out what to expect when you get that pristine iPhone 6 Plus box in your hands with our sexy unboxing videos.

We’ve got not just one, but two new videos to get you a peek at the hot new units – click above to see the iPhone 6 Plus with its gloriously large 5.5-inch screen, or below to see the still bigger than big iPhone 6 come out of its box.

You could read about the evolution of the iPhone in one of our features, looks at a spec chart, or learn about it an infographic, But none of those is nearly as fun as seeing the original iPhone morph into the iPhone 6 in one GIF.

The folks at GadgetLove have made another great evolution GIF that shows the subtle design changes Apple’s made to the iPhone over the last seven years, with shrinking bezels, thinner form factors, moving buttons and more.

Before you toss away your worthless iPhone 5s, take 3 seconds to appreciate the road to the iPhone 6, and try not to get hypnotized by Jony Ive’s changes.

Source: GadgetLove

The iPhone 6 has been out for less than a day and already would-be hackers are suggesting that its Touch ID fingerprint sensor can be tricked — thanks to a lifted fingerprint and some latex.

The video, posted to YouTube by Security Research Labs, comes with a description noting that, “Although it was shown immediately that the previous iPhone model’s Touch ID could not stand up to rudimentary attacks, the same technology has been included again in the iPhone 6 without any improvement whatsoever.”

The crazy iPhone 6 launch lines around the world are finally shortening up as the first wave of customers take their shiny new devices home. We’re back at the Cult of Mac Headquarters getting intimate with our big and bigger iPhones, but we were curious which iPhone 6 model you bought.

Many of us here went with the 6 Plus – because bigger is definitely better – but a few staffers are loving their smaller iPhone 6 screens. Vote in the poll above and then tell us why you made your choice in the comments.

Joan Rivers was officially declared dead nearly two weeks ago, but the late comedian isn’t quite ready to stop promoting products in the land of the living.

Rivers’ Facebook and Instagram accounts joined the iPhone 6 upgrade madness this morning by posting a picture of her “badass” iPhone 4 that’s supposedly getting “replaced by an iPhone 6 (not the fat one).” #iPhone6 #YAY!

The post was taken down within minutes, but not before TMZ grabbed a shot of it. Joan died a few days before the iPhone 6 was revealed on September 9th, so unless Steve Jobs’ also has a Apple Store in heaven, I imagine some social media intern will be looking for a new job to go with their iPhone 6.

Apple’s insistence on secretive behavior is well known. When it came to entering mobile payments with Apple Pay, that veil of secrecy didn’t drop for a second — with Apple insisting on some pretty stringent security measures, despite dealing with some of the giants of finance.

The code-name it chose for one of its partners on the project might strike you as a bit familiar, however — since it was later re-used as the name for Apple’s latest iteration of OS X.

“Our first code-name was Yosemite,” Barry McCarthy, president of Financial Services at FirstData, told me in an interview. “Later on when we found out that was also the name Apple had selected for its new OS, we changed it to Project Acadia, after another U.S. national park. We weren’t allowed to use or even say the name of the technology company we were working with — which was of course Apple.”

SAN FRANCISCO — Since Apple won’t be selling the iPhone 6 in China for some time, early buyers of the smartphone have an opportunity to make a quick profit by reselling the hot handset on the gray market.

The first 50 people in line at Apple’s San Francisco store this morning appeared to be iPhone resellers — a pattern that seems to be  have been repeated worldwide on the first day of iPhone 6 sales.

Cult of Mac Deals is all about bringing you the best gadgets, software, and services at deeply discounted prices.

Sometimes, though, Cult of Mac Deals gives you an opportunity to get something awesome for absolutely nothing. You can enter to win an iPhone 6, a Canon DSLR, or a MacBook Air at Cult of Mac Deals today.

Thousands of people around the world lined up at their local Apple stores this morning for new iPhones, but only a select few got a meet-and-greet with the company’s CEO.

Tim Cook was at the Apple Store in Palo Alto, California, at 8 a.m. to welcome those waiting in line for the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus. Naturally, the Apple fans couldn’t resist shooting some selfies. See some of the best pictures and videos from Cook’s surprise appearance below.

There are always going to be debates about who came up with an idea as transformative to Apple’s business as the iTunes and the iPod, but here’s one you may not have heard before: Richard Branson.

In a new interview with the i paper, the Virgin head honcho claims the concept behind Apple’s turnaround duo of inventions was originally made by him as a joke — only for Steve Jobs to take it seriously, and later go on to put it into action.

Apple fans across the U.S. are eagerly awaiting their chance to caress the biggest iPhone screens ever made, but America’s #1 fanboy and late-night show host Stephen Colbert got his iPhone 6 delivery a little early.

Colbert immediately dismissed his iPhone 5s as “worse than useless” after pulling out the iPhone 6, but Steve’s unit came pre-loaded with a little extra suprise: nude photos of U2 frontman Bono.

Watch the funny segment below:

In addition to the long lines of iPhone 6 customers, Apple Stores across the United States are going to see another group of people gathering today: protesting security workers.

The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) is planning to stage protests at more than 20 different Apple Store in the U.S., pushing Apple to provide full-time work benefits for for its security officers.

“We are asking tech companies like Apple to support good jobs for workers who contribute to their success,” SEIU spokesman Alfredo Fletes told SFGate.

Apple’s new iPhones are finally here, and judging by stock levels in Apple retail stores and reports on Twitter, it’s the iPhone 6 Plus that people are most excited for. Mine arrived about four hours ago, and I’ve hardly put it down since I snatched it out of the hands of the UPS delivery guy.

Having played with many of its features and stared at it lovingly for far too long, I decided to bring you my first impressions of Apple’s first “phablet.” So while you’re sitting beside your door waiting for yours to arrive, or standing outside an Apple Store somewhere with achy legs, you can enjoy a glimpse of what you have to look forward to.

You can use iCloud or iTunes to transfer your entire mobile system from your old iPhone to your new one. It’s a clumsy, one-way process, though, and can be time consuming.

The folks over at DigiDNA iMazing (formerly DiskAid) have a secure solution that works a bit differently, giving you complete control over how you backup and restore your data, letting you create a complete snapshot of your iPhone before you head to upgrade to iOS 8 or a new iPhone 6.

Here’s how.

When you’re a company with the kind of bank that Apple has, it’s no wonder that you’d be a target for patent trolls.

Well, it seems that the trolls are out from under their bridge again, because Secure Web Conference Corporation based out of Melville, New York has filed a new patent infringement lawsuit against Apple, claiming that its FaceTime technology (and the hardware it’s currently running on) infringes on an earlier patent.

Just 11 percent of respondees to a survey about new Apple products plan to buy an Apple Watch, according to 6,000 people quizzed by Canadian investment bank, RBC Capital Markets.

A further 24 percent said they were uncertain. Given that Apple Watch is Apple’s first major new product category since the iPad this is bad news if it carries through to the tech-buying customer base at large.

While it’s far from good for Apple, however, it’s also not entirely unsurprising. The smart watch/wearables industry has remained relatively niche up until now, with other rival products like the Samsung Galaxy Gear proving to be flops in the market place.

With both iOS 8 and the iPhone 6 family of devices finally out, developer Brian Mueller has released an upgrade for his excellent CARROT Fit app, adding “a shiny new update to go with your shiny new operating system.”

For those who don’t know, CARROT Fit is an hilarious take on the fitness app: a little bit like 2001: A Space Odyssey‘s H.A.L. meets Full Metal Jacket‘s memorable drill sergeant Gunnery Sergeant Hartman. Welcoming you with a message of “Greetings, tubby human,” CARROT Fit is a snappily sadistic AI that will threaten, inspire, ridicule and bribe you into getting in shape over the course of a 7-minute workout.

It’s a surprising amount of fun, and today’s update adds news punishment in the form of ads and “random squirrel attacks.” There’s also iPhone 6 optimization, iPad support, and Dropbox data sync thanks to Apple’s new privacy requirements.

So you’ve gotten your lucky hands on a new iPhone 6 or 6 Plus. Now it’s time to set it up the right way. Apple has done a pretty good job of making the setup process straightforward in recent years, but there are still some things you should know about.

Here are 10 of the best tips for setting up your new iPhone on iOS 8:

U2 has not had a good week. What was supposed to be the most epic album release of all-time spun into a bloody hatefest as Apple decided to add Songs of Innocence to every iTunes user’s purchased items lists.

The company eventually rolled out a tool to remove the album from iTunes accounts forever, to silence the people that didn’t like having U2’s $100 million album shoved down their throats. For those that want to take things a step further though, Conan O’Brien has invented an Apple product that can remove U2’s tunes from your mind forever, called eRase U2.

Check it out:

We saw a kid in Australia perform the first unofficial drop test earlier today, but for those wanting to see the limits of iPhone 6 truly tested, the first scientific tests are in.

Blogger Dave Rahimi — who was the first person in the world to buy the iPhone 6 — performed a slightly more precise drop test on both the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, and if you were hoping the new ion-reinforced screen would save you from a shattered display, he’s got some bad news.

Not to spoil the surprise, but the larger iPhone 6 Plus cracked its big beautiful screen when dropped on its side the first time. Rahimi had just purchased it, after flying from California to Australia to pick it up. Ouch!

Here is Dave’s hard-hitting drop test:

The Apple repair gurus at iFixit have been meticulously tearing down the iPhone 6 Plus over the last few hours and have discovered new details about Apple’s first phablet.

The teardown revealed that the iPhone 6 Plus battery has nearly double the capacity of the iPhone 5s with 2915 mAh of energy, which is slightly larger than the 2800 mAh battery on the Galaxy S5. They’ve confirmed that Apple’s new A8 processor only comes with 1GB of RAM on both the 6 and 6 Plus, and have also dissected the 6 Plus camera module to reveal its new optical image stabilization technology.

Here’s what else they found:

iPhone 6 lines have gotten absolutely nuts in the build up for tomorrow launch, but people in Australia are already heading home with the very first iPhone 6 units, but the first person to buy one in Perth almost had to go back in for another.

Moments after a young boy named Jack Cooksey left the Perth Apple Store with one of the first iPhone 6 unit’s ever sold in the world, he was swarmed by local news aiming to get the first look of the bigger than big display in his hands. Struggling to release his prize from its pristine white tomb, Jack’s excitement shook the box open as cameras watched the iPhone 6 slip out and slam onto the concrete.

Here’s the full clip from Perth News Today:

iPhone 6 units are flying of shelves in Australia and Asia and the first teardowns are not far behind them.

The Apple repair geniuses at iFixit have already started their flawless teardown of the iPhone 6 Plus and they’re live-blogging all the action with gorgeous close-ups of the bigger than big guts of Apple’s new device. The teardown action is just getting started, but if you can’t wait to look inside the iPhone 6, there are a couple other people who have already pried their iPhone’s apart.