The CultCast
The CultCast
America's favorite Apple Podcast
CultCast #273 - Tim Cook's gonna make Apple “Pro" again!
50 minutes Posted Mar 3, 2017 at 12:10 am.
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This week: 

  • Tim Cook promises to make Apple “Pro" again!  We discuss.
  • iPhone ditching Lightning for USB C
  • Spotify about to go Hi-Fi
  • Why your next iPhone screen might read your fingerprints
  • Leander pitches a new favorite pair of Bluetooth headphones
  • The best iPhone bumper case in the land!

 

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Build a beautiful, responsive website quick at Squarespace.com.  Enter offer code CultCast at checkout to get 10% off. Squarespace—Build it Beautiful.   What is Backblaze? It’s unlimited, cloud backup for Macs and PCs. And it’s native for Macs!  Try it out free for 15 days at Backblaze.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

 

Tim Cook: Pro users remain incredibly important to Apple http://www.cultofmac.com/469839/apple-investors-vote-against-diversity-at-annual-shareholders-meeting/
  • During his Q&A session, Tim Cook discussed how Apple plans to fight for net neutrality. He also assured shareholders that Apple plans to come out with new products that appeal to professionals and creatives, but insisted that the Mac and iPad aren’t destined for a merger.
  • “You will see us do more in the pro area. The pro area is very important to us. The creative area is very important to us in particular,” Cook told the crowd. “You can expect to see us do more and more that people will view iPad as a laptop replacement, but not a Mac replacement. The Mac does so much more.”
    Spotify eyes lossless audio to wow your ears http://www.cultofmac.com/470077/spotify-eyes-lossless-audio-wow-ears/
  • Spotify appears poised to put the final nail in Tidal’s coffin.
  • The music streaming service is planning to launch a new feature that will give listeners access to lossless audio streaming, according to a new report reveals the feature is currently in testing.  
  • Spotify is currently calling the new feature “Spotify Hi-Fi.” The Verge reports that Spotify plans to launch the lossless CD quality audio feature. It’s unclear when it will be available to all users, but Spotify is already doing some small group testing.
  • Screenshots posted on Reddit show that Spotify plans to charge between $5 to $10 extra a month for lossless CD quality audio.
  •  It has been rumored in the past that Apple was looking to make a similar move with Apple Music, but there haven’t been any clear signs of an impending launch of Apple Music Hi-Fi.
  Goodbye Lightning? 2017 iPhones may rely on USB-C connector http://www.cultofmac.com/469765/iphone-usb-c-connector/
  • iPhones may boast USB-C connectors, claims a new report from The Wall Street Journal.
  • What’s not clear from the report is whether this would mean abandoning Apple’s proprietary Lightning connector in favor of USB-C or simply switching out the USB-A plug at the end of the cable for USB-C.
  • Apple adopter the Lightning connector with 2012’s iPhone 5
  • The WSJ report also adds another voice to the growing number of stories claiming that Apple will release three different iPhones in 2017: two LCD “s” cycle iPhones, and an extra-high-end iPhone 8 to mark the 10th anniversary of the iPhone.
  Apple designs iPhone display that reads fingerprints http://www.cultofmac.com/469827/apple-working-iphone-displays-read-fingerprints/
  • Fans have feared that an iPhone 8 without home button would mean the end of Touch ID, and that Apple would have to use other biometric security solutions — such as iris scanners — instead.
  • But the company was just granted a patent that allows the entire iPhone display to become a fingerprint scanner.
  • Apple says that turning an entire display into a fingerprint scanner would increase the speed of authentication, and allow it to be performed automatically during normal use. This could cut out a dedicated “authentication step” that prompts users for their fingerprint.
  • Elimates the authentication step.
  We talk about these products: