CultCast #236 - When the curtains close...

The CultCast - A podcast by America's favorite Apple Podcast - Fridays

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Technology

This week: it's our WWDC 2016 reactions!  Plus: all the WWDC announcements worth getting excited about; the best hidden OS features not mentioned on stage; more confirmation that a Macbook Pro with OLED touch bar is imminent; and a very strange iPhone 7 rumor surfaces.
 
This episode supported by
 
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The critically acclaimed #1 New York Times Bestseller about the real Steve Jobs, is now available in paperback. BECOMING STEVE JOBS will be available June 7, 2016, for $18, wherever books are sold. For more information, visit becomingstevejobs.com.
 
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
 
  • According to a display leak from Mobipicker, a new home button will become part of the iPhone’s cover glass. It should will contain a Touch ID sensor for fingerprint scanning and will still be surrounded by a ring — but it won’t be made of metal.
  • Sources speaking to Mobipicker, say the new home button will continue to offer various functions, including tap and hold for Siri, and a double-tap for multitasking.
 
Clues in macOS Sierra point to OLED touch bar for MacBook Pro
  • Source code in the first beta build of macOS Sierra hints that Apple plans to add support for an OLED touchpad, seemingly confirming the accuracy of the leaked MacBook Pro photos Cult of Mac published last month.
  • Some new API changes hidden inside the source code for the next version of macOS also reveal Touch ID is in the works as well for Apple desktops.
  • The new APIs were spotted by Mac Generation and suggest that the rumored OLED touch bar on the next-gen MacBook Pro will dynamically adjust to show system information and soft keys related to other applications.
 
Photographers rejoice! iOS 10 lets you snap RAW images
  • For the first time ever, Apple is finally bringing RAW image files to the Camera app in iOS 10 
  • iOS 10’s RAW image capture is only available via the rear camera and you can’t use image stabilization when shooting RAW, but Apple did add the ability to shoot RAW + JPEG on a single snap and bracketed shooting.
 
Siri comes to Mac and opens up to developers
  • For the first time, Siri will be available on the Mac and will be opened to third-party developers on iOS.
  • Siri will be opened up to third-party developers on iOS. Developers will be able to use Siri for a number of tasks, including:
    • Messaging — send messages with apps like iMessage and Slack.
    • Ride hailing — call for a ride on Uber or Lyft.
    • Photo Search — search for images on Web or apps like Pinterest.
    • Workouts — Siri can call up workouts.
    • Payments — Siri can send payments to friends, say, in various payment apps.
    • VOIP calling — Siri can make VOIP calls in apps like Vonage and Skype.
    • Car — works with CarPlay.
    • Siri API limited to these  types of apps.
 
Concept imagines the magic of MacBook Pro’s OLED touch bar
 
MacBook Pro concept shows how useful an OLED touchpad will be
 
Everything from WWDC 2016 worth getting excited about
Leander