This week: we've got FIVE reasons the Apple VR/AR headset is turning into an incredible product.  Plus: five hidden iMessage tips do you didn't know about, and Erfon's dead HomePod story takes an unexpected turn! This episode supported by Protect your online activity TODAY with the VPN rated #1 by Business Insider. Visit ExpressVPN.com/cultcast to get an extra 3 months FREE on a one-year package. Easily create a beautiful website all by yourself, at Squarespace.com/cultcast. Use offer code CultCast at checkout to get 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain. Cult of Mac's watch store is full of beautiful straps that cost way less than Apple's. See the full curated collection at Store.Cultofmac.com CultCloth will keep your Mac Studio, Studio Display, iPhone 14, glasses and lenses sparkling clean, and for a limited time use code CULTCAST at checkout to score a free CarryCloth with any order at CultCloth.co. MacBreak Weekly Podcast  From Macs, iPhones, iPads, Apple Watches, Apple TV to the ins and outs of Apple shaking things up in tech… you name it, the MacBreak Weekly podcast covers it. Get a new episode of MacBreak Weekly every Tuesday by subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pocket Casts, or wherever you listen to podcasts.    This week's stories  5 reasons to get excited about the Apple VR/AR headset  Apple’s next-gen M3 Pro chip could pack even more CPU and GPU cores   5 hidden features in iMessage 

5 reasons to get excited about the Apple VR/AR headset + iMessage hidden features!  (CultCast #595)

The CultCast covers each week’s best Apple stories, news, and accessories for your iDevices and Mac—but more importantly—we do it with pizzaz.  Why listen to another dreary tech program?   Tune in to the CultCast each week for a healthy dose of Apple, jokes gone sour, and plenty of tangents.

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This week, we have over two years of rumors — Apple’s plans for Siri and AI, what’s coming in iOS 18, the new lineup of the iPhone 17, the first folding iPhone and MacBook, and who will be the next Apple CEO! This episode supported by: Listeners like you. Your support helps us fund CultCast Off-Topic, a new weekly podcast of bonus content available for everyone; and helps us secure the future of the podcast. You also get access to The CultClub Discord, where you can chat with us all week long, give us show topics, and even end up on the show. Support The CultCast at support.thecultcast.com — OR at CultOf9to5MacRumors.com Easily create a beautiful website all by yourself, at Squarespace.com/CultCast. Use offer code CultCast at checkout to get 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain. The Bilt Mastercard® is the first card to offer points on rent with no transaction fee. Earn points by paying rent right now when you go to joinbilt.com/CULTCAST This week’s stories:  Apple using AI to make Siri more useful  Siri supposedly won’t become a general-purpose chatbot. It’ll be focused on better handling the sort of tasks iPhone users need. New York Times:  Apple Will Revamp Siri to Catch Up to Its Chatbot Competitors  iOS 17.5 helps detect unwanted Bluetooth tracking tags  iOS 17.5 was released on Monday this week. It features Bluetooth tracker detection for third-party devices, a new daily word game in Apple News+ and the new Pride Lock screen.   Apple showcases amazing new accessibility features like Eye Tracking  In a press release on Wednesday, Apple showcased some remarkable new accessibility features for people with disabilities that are coming in iOS 18.   Could John Ternus equal Tim Cook and Steve Jobs as Apple CEO?  John Ternus, Apple’s senior vice president of hardware engineering, reportedly sits at the top of the list to step into Tim Cook’s shoes when the current Apple CEO steps down.   iPhone 17 lineup might feature ‘more complex’ designs, smaller Dynamic Island  Apple reportedly plans some big design changes for next year’s iPhone 17 lineup. The changes include an iPhone 17 Slim, a smaller Dynamic Island and a “more complex” aluminum design.   First folding iPhone could launch in 2026  Jeff Pu also says the first iPhone with a folding screen will go into production in 2026. This is the second such report in recent months, and could be a sign that Apple is really ready to move ahead with the product.   MacBook with 20-inch folding display could launch as early as 2025  According to Jeff Pu from Haitong International Securities, a 20.3-inch foldable MacBook will go into production near the end of 2025. 

What’s coming to iOS 18 + Siri’s ChatGPT overhaul! (CultCast #647)

This week, you know what’s up — it’s ALL about the new iPads! The surprises, the disappointments, the questions answered. But most importantly… who won the prediction game? This episode supported by: Listeners like you. Your support helps us fund CultCast Off-Topic, a new weekly podcast of bonus content available for everyone; and helps us secure the future of the podcast. You also get access to The CultClub Discord, where you can chat with us all week long, give us show topics, and even end up on the show. Support The CultCast at support.thecultcast.com — OR at CultOf9to5MacRumors.com . Notion AI can now give you instant answers to your questions, using information from across your wiki, projects, docs and meeting notes. Go to notion.com/cultcast to try the powerful Notion AI today. The Bilt Mastercard® is the first card to offer points on rent with no transaction fee. Earn points by paying rent right now when you go to joinbilt.com/CULTCAST This week’s stories: Apple supersizes iPad Air with 13-inch model  The new iPad Air is available with a gigantic 13-inch display for the first time. The new iPad Airs run on the M2 processor, which Apple says is 50% faster than the M1 chip in the 2022 iPad Air and three times faster than the fourth-gen iPad Air with the A14 Bionic chip.   iPad Pro upgraded with beautiful OLED display, M4 chip  The 2024 iPad Pro is the first with an OLED screen and — shocking! — it runs on the Apple M4 processor. Yes, the iPad Pro beat the Mac to Apple's latest chip!  First M4 iPad Pro benchmarks show 21% performance increase over M3 Steve Troughton-Smith on Mastodon  Apple’s ‘Crush!’ ad touting new iPad Pro draws ire  Apple Pencil Pro adds ‘squeeze’ gesture, haptic feedback, Find My and more  New Magic Keyboard for iPad Pro features a bigger glass trackpad with haptic feedback   iPad 10 gets a much-deserved price cut  Alongside the M4 iPad Pros and M2 iPad Air, Apple announced a price drop for the 10th-generation iPad. The tablet now costs $349, making it $100 cheaper than before.  Updated Pro apps:  Final Cut Pro adds live multi-camera recording  Logic Pro updates bring powerful new tools for music-makers   “Let Loose” Prediction Results

Everything you want to know about the new iPads! (CultCast #646)

D. Griffin Jones and special guest Sam Henri-Gold attempt to talk about the upcoming “Let Loose” Apple event.

A loosely Apple-related conversation with Sam Henri-Gold (CultCast Off Topic #8)

This week, our predictions for the “Let Loose” iPad keynote on Tuesday! Also, some last-minute rumors of an M4 chip, alternate app stores are officially coming to iPad too, and new iOS 18 features! This episode supported by: Listeners like you. Your support helps us fund CultCast Off-Topic, a new weekly podcast of bonus content available for everyone; and helps us secure the future of the podcast. You also get access to The CultClub Discord, where you can chat with us all week long, give us show topics, and even end up on the show. Support The CultCast at support.thecultcast.com — OR at CultOf9to5MacRumors.com . Backblaze offers unlimited cloud backups for Macs, PCs and businesses for just $99 a year. Access your data from anywhere in the world. Get a fully-featured no-risk free trial at Backblaze.com/CultCast . CultCloth will keep your Mac Studio, Studio Display, iPhone 15 Pro, guitars, glasses and lenses sparkling clean! For a limited time use code CULTCAST at checkout to score a two free CarryCloths with any order $20+ at CultCloth.co This week’s stories:  Upcoming OLED iPad Pro might feature next-gen M4 chip  Apple’s upcoming OLED iPad Pro reportedly will begin the company’s shift into AI hardware. The new tablets could sport the next-gen M4 chip to power all the AI features.   EU labeling iPad a ‘gatekeeper’ will bring major changes to iPadOS  The iPad joined the European Union’s list of “gatekeeper” platforms Monday. The designation requires Apple to make the same sorts of sweeping changes to iPadOS that the company already made to iPhone, including allowing sideloading of applications.   iOS 18 might revamp many built-in iPhone apps  Apple could upgrade many of iPhone’s built-in apps with iOS 18 later this year. Reportedly, this includes Notes, Mail, Photos, and Fitness. AppleInsider:  Apple's iOS 18 to streamline task management with unified events and reminders  iPhone charger with built-in battery pack looks totally sci-fi  How many times have you rushed out the door with a battery pack for your iPhone, only to discover the battery is dead as a doornail? SwitchEasy’s 2-in-1 Portal solves that. This stylish MagSafe battery pack stand includes a portable power pack that is always charged and ready to go.   The CultCast ‘Let Loose’ Predictions  For the first time in 2024, The CultCast prediction game is here as we lay down our judgements on next week’s “Let Loose” iPad event.  Listener score sheet 

Apple’s May 7th “Let Loose” event — our predictions! (CultCast #645)

This week, surprise! iPads are finally coming with an Apple Event — we have all the details! Also, big news for iOS 18, capacitive buttons are making a comeback on the iPhone, and the huge Apple Watch redesign we’re all dreaming for! This episode supported by: Listeners like you. Your support helps us fund CultCast Off-Topic, a new weekly podcast of bonus content available for everyone; and helps us secure the future of the podcast. You also get access to The CultClub Discord, where you can chat with us all week long, give us show topics, and even end up on the show. Support The CultCast at support.thecultcast.com — OR at CultOf9to5MacRumors.com . This week’s stories:  Surprise! Apple sets May 7 event to launch new iPad Pro and iPad Air  Apple just invited the world to a May 7 product-launch event with the theme “Let Loose.” What new features to expect in Apple Pencil 3  Say goodbye to hopes for mini-LED iPad Air  Get 2 Free Months of Apple TV+  Watch live MLB games every Friday, plus award-winning Apple Originals on Apple TV+. Code expires on September 27, 2024.   iOS 18 AI features could run entirely on-device  Apple’s large language model that will power iOS 18’s AI features could run entirely locally. This would prioritize user privacy and offer faster response times.   Calculator app for iPad might finally launch in iPadOS 18  In a long-overdue move, Apple reportedly will integrate a Calculator app into the iPad operating system.   Why iPhone 16 might dump physical buttons for capacitive ones  The upcoming iPhone 16 series will have no traditional buttons at all, according to information leaking out of the company that will supply the capacitive buttons that will supposedly replace them.   Apple Watch Series X concept will make you want it now  Apple Watch Series X is expected to bring a redesign, new sensors and other changes later this year. A designer created images of a concept device to showcase the leaked/rumored features. 

5 reasons to get excited about the Apple VR/AR headset + iMessage hidden features! (CultCast #595)

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