It seems like we’ve been crowing for years about the promise of IGZO — a display technology that radically improves power efficiency, allowing for thinner, lighter, longer-lasting devices — for ages, but with the iPad Air and iPad mini with Retina Display, Apple finally started actually delivering on that promise.

But what now? A new job application suggests that the next generation of Mac laptops might get IGZO too, paving the way for new design possibilities.

You’ve probably heard that the new iPad mini with Retina display has a significantly smaller color gamut that the larger iPad Air, but how does it compete against rival tablets like the Google Nexus 7 and Amazon’s new Kindle Fire HDX?

According to the experts at DisplayMate, not very well. In fact, the new iPad mini came a “distant third” in their tablet display shootout, thanks to Apple’s “inexcusable” decision to use old technology.

“Apple was once the leader in mobile displays, unfortunately it has fallen way behind,” DisplayMate says.

What’s causing the Retina iPad mini to launch so late in the year, and why is demand expected to be so limited at launch? Display yield issues tend to be viewed as the culprit, but what exactly is happening? According to a new rumor, LCD burn-in is to blame.

The iPad Air might be the lightest iPad yet, and a true glimpse of the future of tablets, but Apple’s still managing to make a healthy profit on each tablet sold. In fact, iHS iSuppli pegs the build price of each iPad Air is just $274 for a 16GB WiFi-only model. Apple sure does know how to make a margin, doesn’t it?

Admit it. There’s two major things you still want from OS X: multitouch support, and 4K support. 4K support would make the Retina iMac finally possible, and as for multitouch, this is where the laptop and desktop market is heading despite Steve Jobs’s protestations about “gorilla arm.”

It’s taking Apple its sweet time to deliver the above, but you don’t have to wait. Sharp has just announced OS X compatibility for their 32-inch 4K touchscreen monitor.

This week on the ‘ol CultCast: why Google’s new Chromecast is great for us Apple fans; the 5S might be the biggest S-upgrade ever; Apple’s earnings make a low-cost iPhone look likely; how to best connect your iDevice to your car stereo; the Dev Center gets hacked; and then, Tim Cook sings Barbie Girl!

Have a few laughs and get caught up on this 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 audio adventure begin.

Thanks to Bitcasa for sponsoring this episode. Show notes up next.

We’ve been hearing for years now about Apple’s never-quite-realized intentions to ship devices featuring Sharp IGZO displays. Now a new report says they’re coming to the 2014 MacBook line.

I have to admit, I hadn’t heard of case maker Tactus until last week, but in the space of just a few days it has published an unveiling date and specifications for the fifth-generation iPad, the plastic casing for Apple’s rumored low-cost iPhone, and now the fifth-generation iPad’s new aluminum shell.

Apple could introduce a redesigned backlighting system to the fifth-generation iPad to help make the device thinner and lighter, according to NDP DisplaySearch. The Cupertino company will have to make significant changes if it is to bring the iPad mini’s sleek and slim form factor to its bigger brother, and this is one of the areas in which it could reduce bulk.

Apple’s fifth-generation iPad is expected to finally ditch the existing design and adopt a new form factor that’s said to be much like the iPad mini’s, according to a new report that has surfaced today. A physical model of the device indicates it will be significantly smaller in almost every way, with virtually no bezel down the sides of the display.

As for the iPhone 5S, that’s expected to be very similar to the iPhone 5 — as you may have guessed; while Apple’s new low-cost iPhone, which will reportedly launch some time this year, will be built with China Mobile’s 700 million customers in mind.