This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: The first reviews of iPhone 15 Pro rave about everything from the phenomenal titanium finish to the fantastic 5x zoom. Sounds like Tim Cook has another winner on his hands.

Also on The CultCast:

• Loads of great new iOS 17 and iPhone 15 features fly below the radar. We discuss some of our faves.
• Apple’s new FineWoven cases, on the other hand, sound like a huge, synthetic miss.
• Some haters are trying to get “Printgate” started, but we can’t believe iPhone 15 Pro’s sweet titanium frame is gonna be a fingerprint magnet.
• With tvOS 17, the Apple TV finally gets a no-brainer capability: FaceTime calls.

Listen to this week’s episode of The CultCast in the Podcasts app or your favorite podcast app. (Be sure to subscribe and leave us a review if you like it!) Or watch the video live stream, embedded below.

Apple TV 4K became a more versatile living room device with Monday’s launch of FaceTime on tvOS 17, Apple said, referring to it as “a powerful integration of hardware and software.”

“Users can make calls directly from Apple TV 4K, or start calls on iPhone or iPad, and hand them off to Apple TV 4K,” Apple noted. “FaceTime on Apple TV 4K takes advantage of Continuity Camera support to wirelessly connect to iPhone or iPad, and leverages the devices’ cameras and microphones to bring participants together on the TV.”

iOS 17 brings with it a lot of new features to the apps you use to communicate every day: iMessage, FaceTime — and last and certainly least — Phone. If you’re trying to call someone and have a missed connection, you have many more options for leaving them a message to pick up later. Changes to iMessage bring small but impactful improvements to stickers, threaded replies and sharing your ETA.

iOS 17 is out now. If you bought a new iPhone 15, you’ve got it already. Otherwise, head over to Settings > General > Software Update to get it. Upgrading may take about 20 minutes after downloading, so make sure you don’t start it at a bad time.

The U.K. government dropped a plan that would have allowed it to access the contents of any online message looking for illegal content. It had sought a way around the encryption that protects messaging services like iMessage and WhatsApp.

Apple threatened to disable iMessage and FaceTime in the UK rather than submit to the proposal on the grounds that it would completely compromise the privacy of all users. Other companies said the same about their apps.

The U.K. government has proposed an update to the Investigatory Powers Act that Apple and other tech companies strongly oppose because it they argue it would substantially weaken the security of their messaging applications.

The updated act would allow the government to require security features in the apps be disabled immediately and without informing users.

Apple reportedly warned that it’ll disable iMessage and FaceTime in the UK before it’ll comply with the law.

June 21, 2010: Apple releases iOS 4, which introduces a range of productivity features as well as the FaceTime videotelephony service.

iOS 4 represents a big step forward for Apple’s flourishing mobile devices. Due to the arrival of the first-gen iPad earlier in the year, iOS 4 also brings a transition from the mobile operating system’s original name, “iPhone OS.”

June 16, 2010: Apple reports a massive surge of interest in iPhone 4, with 600,000 sales on the first day of preorders.

The company calls the number “far higher” than expected. At the time, it’s the most iPhone preorders Apple has ever taken in a single day. AT&T suffers server problems thanks to the demand — with 10 times the usual traffic on its website. It’s proof positive that Apple is onto a winner!

Apple said Monday in the WWDC23 Keynote that tvOS 17 brings FaceTime to Apple TV 4K for the first time. So you can put your calls with family, friends and colleagues on the biggest screen you have.

“tvOS 17 transforms the biggest screen in the home with FaceTime and new video conferencing capabilities, giving Apple TV 4K users the ability to easily connect with anyone right from their living room,” said Bob Borchers, Apple’s vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing.

“New features and enhancements make Apple TV simpler to use and even more enjoyable, reinforcing it as the absolute best option in the living room for Apple customers,” he added.

There’s more to iPadOS 16 than floating app windows. The Files app gets some significant improvements in the upcoming upgrade. There’s a Weather app and great new features in the Mail and Messages apps. Plus, you can hand off a FaceTime call between your Apple computers.

These enhancements are available to every iPad that supports iPadOS 16, which is currently in developer beta. So don’t think there’s nothing coming this fall for tablets without an Apple M1 processor. That’s just not true.

Continuity Camera, a new feature coming in iOS 16 and macOS Ventura, will upgrade video calls by bringing the iPhone’s pristine camera to the Mac.

“With Continuity Camera, you can use iPhone as your webcam,” said Craig Federighi, Apple’s SVP of software engineering, during Monday’s live-streamed WWDC22 keynote. “It’s powered by the advanced capabilities of the iPhone camera system, letting you do things that were never before possible with a webcam.”