This week on The CultCast: MacBook Pro spy photos reveal some juicy new features, but some old favorites go bye-bye. Plus: Apple may finally update its ancient Thunderbolt display; why moving iPhone to a three-year update cycle would suck; and stay tuned for more weird and wacky super-fan stories from The Cult of Mac.

Our thanks to Squarespace for supporting this episode. It’s simple to build a website that looks beautiful on any device that visits at Squarespace.com. Enter offer code CultCast at checkout to get 10 percent off.

Nest co-founder and CEO Tony Fadell revealed today that he’s taking flight and leaving the company he created.

The godfather of the iPod hit a grand slam with the launch of his smart-thermostat company that was bought by Google, but it appears he’s ready to call it quits just six years into Nest’s run.

Mainland China is Apple’s second biggest market, and will one day be its first. The company is making a big push on the mainland, opening new stores and investing in home-grown companies. Why the interest? Because China is the new Japan — it’s where the future is happening. All this week we take a look at the cutting-edge apps that define mobile life on the mainland.

SHANGHAI CITY, China — In China, 478 million people — more than the entire population of the United States — listen to music online, according to government statistics. I am one of those people, and in China I have joined the reported 80 million active users of QQ Music to stream music on my iPhone.

Just days after it arrived on the App Store, NBA star Steph Curry’s emoji app, StephMoji, has already shot to the top of the paid apps list.

Because which indie devs need your money more than a $12 million per year basketball player?

Mainland China is Apple’s second biggest market, and will one day be its first. The company is making a big push on the mainland, opening new stores and investing in home-grown companies. Why the interest? Because China is the new Japan — it’s where the future is happening. All this week we take a look at the cutting-edge apps that define mobile life on the mainland.

SHANGHAI CITY, China — A Chinese friend of mine recently started a fashion blog and asked me to take and edit some photos of her. We met up one sunny afternoon and I snapped various shots of her posing in a local park for an hour or so. After the shoot, we took a look at the photos together and she selected a few for me to edit. I took a crack at the photos in Photoshop, but she was far from satisfied.

“You barely even fixed my face,” she told me. “Just send me the photos and I’ll edit them on my iPhone.”

I was mystified. What iPhone app can rival the technology of Photoshop? How exactly was she going to “fix” her face?

The folks at Chick-fil-A have found a magical formula for shooting to the top of the App Store charts: free chicken.

To promote its new mobile ordering app, the chicken-based fast food company is giving away free chicken sandwiches, all you have to do is download the new app and createa Chick-fil-A One account.

Two dating Mac geeks set a gift ground rule one Christmas: presents must be handmade.

Roberto Hoyos, with the ability to sew in his DNA, crafted seven throw pillows in the shape of the Mac OS X icons. The Apple fan couple is no longer an item — but the pillows are.

Mainland China is Apple’s second biggest market, and will one day be its first. The company is making a big push on the mainland, opening new stores and investing in home-grown companies. Why the interest? Because China is the new Japan — it’s where the future is happening. All this week we take a look at the cutting-edge apps that define mobile life on the mainland.

SHANGHAI CITY, China — “Where are we going to eat? Have you DianPing-ed it yet?” These are questions my friends and I often ask each other when we get together. This convenient app, backed by internet powerhouse Tencent Holdings, is a great tool that combines the functions of Groupon and Yelp.

Facebook is finally giving its Messenger emoji characters a much-needed overhaul.

Starting today, users will see all-new emoji designs with support for skin tone selection inside the official Messenger apps on all platforms.

Mainland China is Apple’s second biggest market, and will one day be its first. The company is making a big push on the mainland, opening new stores and investing in home-grown companies. Why the interest? Because China is the new Japan — it’s where the future is happening. All this week we take a look at the cutting-edge apps that define mobile life on the mainland.

SHANGHAI CITY, China — Now that I use WeChat, I don’t need much else when it comes to social media apps. In fact, WeChat has almost entirely replaced text messaging in China. I am able to link up with other WeChat users through their username without providing a telephone number, so it is a great platform for communicating with new acquaintances or people I am working with.

I have hundreds of WeChat contacts, but only a handful of telephone numbers in my iPhone. The app also recently introduced group video messaging and has an extensive WeChat Wallet service (similar to Zhifubao) available to Chinese bank account holders.