Apple removed the SIM card tray from the iPhone 14 units sold in the US. With the iPhone 15, the company seemingly plans to ditch the SIM slot on the iPhone in even more countries.
A new report indicates the iPhone 15 could launch with only eSIM support in France.
This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: iPhone rumors are flying, and some of them sound fantastic! But then there’s the one about a potentially troublesome mute button…
Also on The CultCast:
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Fans weren’t bothered by an extra-long wait for Ted Lasso‘s third season. The season premiere brought a tidal wave of viewers, pushing Apple TV+ back to near the top of the ratings charts.
And Shrinking, another Apple TV+ comedy, is finishing its freshman season with strong viewership.
★★★☆☆
Apple TV+ spy thriller Liaison hits a few snags this week on its way to justice and catharsis. A mostly great episode finds Alison, Gabriel, Dumas and Sophie Saint Roche making deals with unlikely allies on their mad scramble to prevent a private war against the whole of Europe.
Didier is desperate, Sabine is growing hopeless, Alison’s father is in critical condition, and Dumas grows a conscience. There’s blood in the water in this episode, entitled “Family Album.” Who will make it out alive?
★☆☆☆☆
Apple TV+ series Dear Edward brings its tedious first season to a close this week. Edward winds up lost in the big city, sending his adoptive mom Lacey into hysterics. Plus, Dee Dee’s feeling very unappreciated, Shay and Edward get a second chance, Steve and Amanda have a choice to make, and there’s a party on the horizon.
The Dear Edward season finale, entitled “Shelter,” is a whiff of an ending to a whiff of a season. This show, supposedly about grief in the wake of a catastrophic plane crash, turns out to be largely about nothing at all.
Apple TV+ served up a new trailer Thursday for Boom! Boom! The World vs. Boris Becker. It’s a two-part documentary exploring the life of the German tennis legend. He triumphed at Wimbledon at age 17 and won 49 career titles, including six Grand Slams plus an Olympic gold medal. And then he went off the rails, life-wise.
Following an ugly divorce involving infidelity, the troubled celebrity ended up in prison for concealing assets to avoid paying debts. But in the trailer, filled with other tennis stars, Becker says a new chapter in his life is coming. The documentary debuts April 7.
★★☆☆☆
Apple TV+ limited series Extrapolations steeps itself in sci-fi wonkery this week as members of a tech billionaire family find themselves on opposing sides of a terrorist action meant to move the needle on climate change.
Novelist Dave Eggers joins the show’s writing team this week, and Edward Norton, Indira Varma and Michael Gandolfini lead the cast.
While this isn’t a bad version of what Extrapolations set out to do, the show’s sprawling mission statement remains blinkered.
★★☆☆☆
It’s wedding time this week on the season finale of Shrinking, the Apple TV+ comedy where no one has problems — and everyone has to solve them anyway.
Brian’s dad has a short time to make his son’s day by agreeing to be his best man, even if the idea of a gay wedding makes him uncomfortable. Jimmy helps Alice get over her latest round of depression about her deceased mom. Sean and Liz head into business together. And Gaby looks for a second job with a little help from Paul.
It’s truly one half of an hour of TV — you can’t take that away from it.
★★★★☆
Eva’s been shot and might be dying on this week’s season three finale of Truth Be Told, the Apple TV+ show about a true crime podcaster.
After last week’s shooting, podcaster Poppy goes looking for the truth behind the recent grim series of events. Trini blames herself for Eva’s fate, and Markus has only one more chance to redeem himself. Can they catch the person responsible for all this misery before it’s too late?
The episode, entitled “A Kiss Not Mine Alone,” brings a nicely plotted, excellently performed close to a very fine season.
★★★☆☆
New Apple TV+ competition show My Kind of Country gives three celebrity judges a chance to train burgeoning country musicians in an attempt to turn them into superstars.
The talent is unconventional and the stakes are high in the show, which is executive produced by Reese Witherspoon and Kacey Musgraves (and underwritten by Apple Music). Nashville better get ready. (And judge Orville Peck better take that thing off his face.)