Send us a text!

This week: we’ll tell you how iPhone’s Smart HDR takes pics better than cameras costing thousands, and how a proper Apple Camera positively unstoppable.  Plus: the Supreme court may force Apple to allow competing app stores; proposed tariffs on the iPhone could send prices sky high; and Apple says the XR is one of their best selling iPhones ever.     This episode supported by   Opsgenie empowers Dev & Ops teams to plan for service disruptions and stay in control during incidents.  It also gives teams the power to respond quickly and efficiently to unplanned issues. Visit Opsgenie.com to sign up to get a FREE company account and add up to 5 team members.   A business is only as strong as its people, and every hire matters… go to LinkedIn.com/cultcast and get a $50 credit toward your first job post.   Whether it’s planning a date night or scheduling a business trip, Fin’s army of virtual assistants can do the tasks you don’t have time to do. Try itself for free at fin.com/cultcast.   CultCloth will keep your iPhone X, Apple Watch, Mac and iPad sparkling clean, and for a limited time use code CULTCAST at checkout to score a free CleanCloth with any order at CultCloth.co.   Thanks to Kevin McLeodfor the music you hear on today’s episode.   On the show this week @erfon / @lkahney / @lewiswallace / @bst3r   Reminder: Apple's $29 iPhone battery replacement program ends December 31 https://appleinsider.com/articles/18/11/28/reminder-apples-29-iphone-battery-replacement-program-ends-december-31

• Apple has been running a reduced cost battery replacement program in response to customer complaints about battery gate, but this offer ends on December 31, 2018. After that, replacing an iPhone battery will cost you $49 for the iPhone 8 and older, or $69 for the iPhone X, iPhone XS family, and iPhone XR
• The price until Dec. 31st is just $29.

  App Store antitrust suit might make Supreme Court https://www.cultofmac.com/592676/app-store-monopoly/

• Apple’s legal team could soon be headed to the U.S. Supreme Court to face an anti-trust case being levied against the company.
• U.S. Supreme Court justices heard an hour of arguments for an anti-trust lawsuit against Appletoday. The nine justices appeared to be open to letting the lawsuit move up to the highest court in the U.S. and it could bring huge changes to the App Store if Apple loses.
• Apple is being accused of breaking federal antitrust laws by monopolizing the way applications are installed on the iPhone. Plaintiffs in the lawsuit claim that Apple’s 30% cut on all sales in the App Store are causing consumers to overpay.
• Lead plaintiff Robert Pepper of Chicago argued that Apple’s App Store monopoly leads to inflated prices because developers have to account for Apple’s 30% fee. The plaintiffs want Apple to open up iOS so apps can be installed from sources other than the App Store.