The iMore show

This week, Serenity Caldwell celebrates her birthday along with Mikah Sargent, Lory Gil, and a host of surprise guests as they get ready for Star Wars: The Last Jedi! They also talk about the Net Neutrality repeal and Apple’s deliciously Space Gray iMac Pro. All that, plus crazy Apple Music Store rumors, and some brand new apps!

Show Notes and Links:

• iMore show 585 video edition

• How to stay sane and spoiler-free until Star Wars: The Last Jedi

• Best way to deck out for Star Wars: The Last Jedi

• Net Neutrality

• iMac Pro first impressions: Beauty of a beast

• Should you really get 128GB iMac Pro?

• Apple's Music Store isn't going anywhere — but the iTunes branding might

• PlayDead's Inside

• Workouts ++

• Focos

• Donate to the ASPCA

Sponsors:

• MintSIM: Voice, data, and text for less. Get free first-class shipping with code IMFREESHIP.

• Thrifter.com: All the best deals from Amazon, Best Buy, and more, fussily curated and constantly updated.

In this episode, Lory Gil, Mikah Sargent, and Serenity Caldwell check out some great HomeKit gift ideas and discuss Apple’s recent software bugs. They also talk about how to use Apple Pay Cash in iOS 11.2, lots of brand new apps, and answer YOUR questions!

Show Notes and Links:

• iMore show 584 video edition

• Perfect HomeKit gifts for the holidays

• Apple's recent security issues

• How to send money to friends in Messages using Apple Pay

• Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp villager list (so far) and the materials they give

• Reigns: Her Majesty game for iOS

• MarsEdit 4

• CARROT Weather

Sponsors:

• MintSIM: Voice, data, and text for less. Get free first-class shipping with code IMFREESHIP.

• Thrifter.com: All the best deals from Amazon, Best Buy, and more, fussily curated and constantly updated.

This week, Lory Gil and Mikah Sargent sing and talk about the latest news in the Apple universe, including the ‘root’ security bug in macOS High Sierra and the upcoming Hour of Code. They also get you ready for the holiday content in Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp and discuss the brand new photo editor for Mac: Pixelmator Pro. Don’t miss it!

Show Notes and Links:

• iMore show 583 video edition

• How to get everything in the Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp holiday event

• macOS High Sierra 'root' security bug: Here's how to fix it now!

• Learn to code with Apple's free Hour of Code workshops

• Pixelmator Pro: An image-first experience for photo editing on Mac

This week, Lory Gil, Serenity Caldwell, and Rene Ritchie talk about some happy topics, as well as some not so happy topics. First up, they each share their favorite Holiday shopping deals. Next, the conversation pivots to Portrait Mode and depth effect on iPhone X compared to Google’s Pixel 2 XL.

Lory shares her enthusiasm for Nintendo’s newest game for iOS and Android — Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp. It’s based on a freemium model with in-app purchases. But, as Lory attests, you can enjoy many hours of the soothing game with very little or no cash outlay.

Leaving the happy world of Animal Crossing behind, the topic turns to Uber and yet another scandal. This time, the company discloses a hack in 2016 that compromised 57 million accounts — paying hackers $100,000 in the process to keep it quiet.

Finally, the Federal Communications Commission and U.S. legislators are preparing for a vote that threatens to undo existing to net neutrality regulations. The group discuss why net neutrality is critical to ensuring a free and open future for all citizens on the internet.

Show Notes and Links:

• iMore show 582 video edition

• What’s your deal?

• Depth Effect: iPhone X vs. Pixel 2 XL

• iPhone X vs. Pixel 2: Portrait Selfie Showdown

• Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp

• Uber covered up a hack that compromised 57 million accounts

• Net neutrality, consolidation, monopolies, and you

To kick things off, Dan DeSilva of Thrifter drops by to tell us about their upcoming Black Friday live blog of amazing deals! Next on the agenda, Mikah, Lory and, Serenity dive into their hot takes on Apple’s delay of the HomePod and the opportunities it creates for Amazon and Sonos.

Lory talks about Skyrim on Nintendo Switch and her favorite Switch accessory — socks!

Finally, the gang share their favorite new apps for iPhone and iPad. Don’t miss this jam-packed episode!

Show Notes and Links:

• Thrifter’s Black Friday live blog

• HomePod: This is Apple's Siri Speaker

• The best way to shoot Stage Light in Portrait mode on iPhone X

• TrueDepth vs. back camera: Which iPhone X portrait mode is better?

• Here is everything different about Skyrim for the Nintendo Switch

• How to get Link's outfit from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild in Skyrim for Nintendo Switch

• Best Accessories for Nintendo Switch

• VECTOR is my new daily podcast — here's how to subscribe!

• iMore show 581 video edition

New Apps We Love:

• Dot Trail Adventure
• Focos
• Halide
• Adobe Lightroom CC
• Flipflop Solitaire

Most people go on a honeymoon immediately after their wedding — but not Serenity Caldwell! Instead, she traveled to Philadelphia to compete in a roller derby championship. Along with her skates, Serenity had an iPhone X so she could test its photo and video capabilities in a fast moving situation. She shares her experience in the photo pit, and Lory talks about using her new iPhone X on a weekend trip to Disneyland.

The gang’s all here in this episode. Rene, Georgia, Mikah, Serenity, and Lory also talk about Animoji Karaoke and answer a ton of listener questions. Finally, they must choose between a donut, Xbox One X, or an iPhone X.

Show Notes and Links:

• iPhone X, meet roller derby: Shooting sports photography with Apple's newest smartphone

• How to make Animoji Karaoke with iPhone X

• Video version of iMore show 580

iPhone X launch weekend has come and gone—Rene, Lory, and Mikah are here to bring us their impressions of the new shiny. They talk about all the major aspects of the phone, including: the “horns”, OLED display, new gestures to accommodate the lack of a home button, FaceID performance, and battery life.

Additionally, the team is joined by Dan DeSilva from our sister site, thrifter.com, to talk about about some great deals on gadgets and other items before Black Friday hits.

Be sure to listen carefully for The Four Pillars of Humanity… at least according to Rene!

Show Notes and Links:

iPhone X review: The best damn product Apple has ever made

Stephen Fry wasn't available. Neither was James Earl Jones.

On iPhone X eve, Rene Ritchie sits down by the virtual fireplace to provide a dramatic reading of his iPhone X review. He dives deep into the technology found in this new device. More importantly, though, Rene shares insight about how iPhone X feels to use every day—focusing on the feel and interaction it provides.

While there are a few nitpicks to address, found out why he thinks iPhone X is the best damn product Apple has ever made!

Show Notes and Links:

iPhone X review: The best damn product Apple has ever made

In this year’s Halloween special, Gandalf (aka Mikah), Gilligan (aka Lory), and a Pokémon Trainer (aka Rene) embark on a 54 minute tour aboard the S.S. iMore to talk about their experiences pre-ordering iPhone X.

They also discuss privacy, FUD, ‘gates, and the most terrifying aspect of iPhone ownership: accidental damage!

Show Notes and Links:

• iPhone X pre-orders are now live!
• To AppleCare, or not to AppleCare?
• Privacy, FUD and 'Gates
  
  

This week’s special guest, Michael Simmons, has ruined Rene’s life! Don’t worry, though. It’s in the best possible way with his Fantastical app as well as the brand new contacts app: Cardhop for Mac.

Rene, Mikah, and Lory sit down with the co-founder of Flexibits to talk about Cardhop, developing for the “horns” of iPhone X, MacBook keyboard reliability, and the importance of surprising and delighting your customers. All that and more!

Show Notes and Links:

• MacBook keyboard reliability
• Google's Pixel 2 XL screen
• Developing for the horns
• Cardhop review
• Flexibits