CultCast #269 - Our favorite gadgets! šŸ’‹

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

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This week: astounding facts and figures from Appleā€™s newest earnings report; Ā Nintendo promises a bunch of new iOS games; how to getĀ the best deal in cloud storage;Ā affordable options for your first drone; the perfect minimalist strap for your mirrorless camera; and we pitch you ourĀ favorite gadgets in an all-new Fave N Raves! Ā šŸ’ŖšŸ¼
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We also want to give Kevin MacLeod atĀ incompetech.comĀ aĀ  thanks for the great music you hear on today's show.
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On the show this week

@erfonĀ /Ā @bst3rĀ /Ā @lkahney

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ā€˜Iā€™m a Macā€™ star Justin Long becomes new face of Huawei phones
http://www.cultofmac.com/465034/im-a-mac-star-justin-long-becomes-new-face-of-huawei-phones/
  • Ever heard of Huawei? Ā Theyā€™re in China.
  • Justin Long, the face of Appleā€™s ā€œGet a Macā€ campaign for three years, is now starring in ads for Huawei phones.
  • Huawei is now the third-biggest smartphone maker in the world behind only Apple and Samsung. It shipped 44.9 million handsets last quarter to grab a 10.2 percent of the global market
  • The company is now trying to break into Western markets, with a big focus on the U.S.
  • What better way to do that than with the face of Appleā€™s famous ā€œGet a Macā€ campaign
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Nintendo promises at least 2 new mobile games every year
  • Its new Switch console right around the corner, but Nintendo wonā€™t be losing its focus on Android and iOS. The Japanese firm today confirmed that it plans to release two to three mobile games every year.
  • Super Mario RunĀ attracted a staggeringĀ 40 million downloads in just four daysĀ when it landed on iOS, and according to a recent report fromĀ The Wall Street Journal,Ā it has already made Nintendo over $50 million.
  • Nintendoā€™s announcement comes a day after it disappointed investors by slashing a third off its forecast operating profit for 2017 ā€” despite the upcoming release of the Switch, which already has support from over 70 game makers developing over 100 titles.
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Apple shatters records with blockbuster Q1 2017 earnings
  • Surprise! Ā Apple sold more iPhone units than ever before last quarter
  • With total revenues of $78.4 billion bringing in a profit of $17.9 billion, Apple CEO Tim Cook said he is ā€œthrilledā€ with the results.
  • Apple only expected to sell between 76 million and 78 million iPhones in the quarter, but it managed to move 78.3 million.
    • Cook told investors today that he still views the smartphone market as being in the ā€œearly innings.ā€
  • MacBook Pro with Touch Bar that was theĀ most pre-ordered MacBook ever.
  • The iPad lineup sold 13.1 million units, down 19 percent from the year-ago quarter.
  • Apple raked in $7.2 billion in revenue from services last quarter, including $3 billion in App Store purchases in December alone ā€” the biggest month ever. Apple Pay users tripled in the past year, with transaction value increasing 500 percent.
  • Selling apps, music, movies, iCloud storage and AppleCare has now become Appleā€™s second-largest moneymaker. In fact, Apple expects revenue from services to swell to the size of a Fortune 100 company by the end of the year.
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iPhone 7 snaps Appleā€™s losing streak
  • Apple launched the latest generation of its flagship product in September. Some critics saw the iPhone 7 series as not enough of an upgrade from the 6s line. Some, especially music lovers, initially hated the absence of a headphone jack.
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Fave N Rave Picks