Send us a text!

This week: 

• Rumors point to a big iPhone 8 price hike.  What’s the max you would pay? 
• Intel makes a huge move to push Thunderbolt into the mainstream
• Ikea about to drop tons of great HomeKit gadgets on us
• DJI’s Spark selfie drone is a compact powerhouse
• And we’ll tell you about the weird and whacky gadgets we’re reviewing in an all-new Under Review!

  This episode supported by Blue Apron makes it easy to cook delicious meals at home.  See their upcoming menu and get your first three meals free at BlueApron.com/CultCast.   CultCloth will keep your iPhone 7, Apple Watch, Mac and iPad sparkling clean, and for a limited time you can use code CULTCAST to score a free CleanCloth with any order at CultCloth.co.   We also want to give Kevin MacLeod at incompetech.com a  thanks for the great music you hear on today's show.   On the show this week @erfon / @bst3r / @lkahney   More evidence hints at massive iPhone 8 price hike http://www.cultofmac.com/482409/evidence-hints-massive-iphone-8-price-hike/

• Rumors that the iPhone 8 may come with a $1,000 price tag are seemingly backed-up by a new report claiming that components for the next-gen handset will be considerably higher than those for its predecessor.
• According to China’s Economic Daily News, the 3D Touch module alone for the iPhone 8 will cost 150 percent more than the comparable module for the current LCD iPhone.
• As per a recent report from Goldman Sachs analyst Simona Jankowski, the 128GB iPhone 8 will sell for $999, while the 256GB version will set users back a whopping $1,099. This means that the iPhone 8 could represent a significant 25 percent price jump from the iPhone 7.
• Include AirPods?

  Sensor on second iPhone 7 Plus camera is smaller than main one, calculations show     Intel will eliminate Thunderbolt royalties to boost adoption http://www.cultofmac.com/483186/intel-will-eliminate-thunderbolt-royalties-boost-adoption/

• Every manufacturer that uses it has to pay royalties to Intel, which means you typically find it exclusively in expensive, high-end machines.
• Intel has confirmed plans to drop Thunderbolt royalties in an effort to boost adoption. The chip-maker also plans to integrate Thunderbolt 3 into its own processors starting next year, eliminating the need for a dedicated controller.
• Thunderbolt has become the ultimate standard for connecting peripherals to your computer, thanks to its incredibly high bandwidth and versatility. Thunderbolt 3’s 40Gbps speeds let you transfer a full 4K movie in just 30 seconds.
• USB 3 is only 10GBPS!

    Control IKEA Home Smart products with Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant and Apple’s Home app http://newsroom.inte