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Weird and wacky Apple gadgets that time forgot, on The CultCast

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Apple TimeBand: great-great-grandfather of the Apple Watch.
Apple TimeBand: great-great-grandfather of the Apple Watch.
Photo: Apple

This week on The CultCast: The weird and wacky Apple products Cupertino hopes you’ve forgotten! Well, we haven’t, Tim. Plus: The best new features in iOS 10.3 and macOS 10.12.4; rumor mills say Apple might resurrect the PowerBook; iPhone 8 rumors point to a backside Touch ID sensor; and the inspirations for Steve Jobs’ best one-liners.

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‘iPhone Edition’ could have rear-facing Touch ID sensor

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iphone 8 concept
Is this what the new iPhone will look like?
Photo: iDropNews

A (somewhat sketchy) new report claims that the tenth anniversary iPhone, commonly referred to as the iPhone 8, will instead by called the iPhone Edition.

In addition, it suggests that the major form factor redesign that’s been reported on may turn out to be less drastic than some are imagining — although changes will include features like a rear-mounted Touch ID sensor.

Sleek iPhone 8 concept shows how ‘Function Bar’ might work

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iphone
We hope the next iPhone is this beautiful.
Photo: AlHasan Husni

The rumored “Function Bar” will make a beautiful addition to the upcoming iPhone 8 if it looks anything like the concept created by designer AlHasan Husni.

In the stunning new artwork, Husni imagines how the Function Bar at the bottom of the new iPhone will work. Not only could it make unlocking the iPhone even faster, it could add a whole new set of swipe functions to bring up certain features.

2017’s ‘iPhone Edition’ to arrive late, OLED display uncertain

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iPhone 8 concept
Don't get your heart set on OLED just yet.
Photo: iDropNews

We’ve all been calling it the iPhone 8 for months, but according to a new report out of Japan, Apple’s tenth anniversary smartphone will be named “iPhone Edition.”

The device is expected to be announced alongside the “iPhone 7s” and “iPhone 7s Plus,” but we’ll have to wait longer to actually get our hands on it. What’s more, sources claim that the OLED upgrade we’ve been looking forward to isn’t a sure thing yet.