CultCast #296 - What’s next for  Watch?

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

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Technology

This week:  what does Apple have in store for the next version of  Watch?  We’ll roundup the current rumors and reveal our Gen 3 wish list.  Then: could Face ID actually replace Touch ID on iPhone 8?  We have concerns.  Plus: proof that a 4K Apple TV is right around the corner; more incredible demos of AR Kit; and we share our favorite new shows, movies, and board games in an all-new What We’re Into!
 
This episode supported by
 
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Thanks to Kevin MacLeod at incompetech.com for the great music you hear on today's show.
 
On the show this week
 
Apple Plans to Release a Cellular-Capable Watch to Break iPhone Ties
"Apple Inc. is planning to release a version of its smartwatch later this year that can connect directly to cellular networks, a move designed to reduce the device’s reliance on the iPhone, people familiar with the matter said.”
  • What would we like to see in the next Apple Watch
    • Round version or a new shape/style
    • Way better battery life
    • always on screen
    • Thinner
    • No LTE fees!
 
Blurry photo might confirm iPhone 8 Touch ID fears
  • An apparent iPhone 8 photo straight out of Foxconn has confirmed one of our biggest fears for Touch ID: It will be relocated to the back of the device.
  • Apple has been working to embed its fingerprint scanner into the iPhone’s display, but according to numerous reports, the technology won’t be ready in time for this year’s big refresh.
  • Mark Gurman at Bloomberg: Apple’s pitch come September will be that Face ID is quicker, more secure, and more accurate than Touch ID. People inside Apple say it is.
  • Security implications
 
iPhone 8 facial recognition will unlock your phone even when it’s lying down
  • The new iPhone 8 will be capable of unlocking with its face recognition even when it’s lying flat on your desk, a new report from The Information suggests.
  • This information appears to back up a report published in Bloomberg earlier this year. That report noted that:
    • [The facial recognition sensor’s] speed and accuracy are focal points of the feature. It can scan a user’s face and unlock the iPhone within a few hundred milliseconds, the person said. It is designed to work even if the device is laying flat on a table, rather than just close up to the face.”
 
 
4K Apple TV seemingly confirmed by HomePod leak
  • Over the last few weeks the HomePod’s software has revealed a number of upcoming features on unannounced products. Sleuthing developers unearthed info on the iPhone 8’s facial scanning and SmartCamera features. Now there appears to be some details of the new Apple TV inside too.
  • iOS developer Guilherme Rambo discovered references to both Dolby Vision and HDR10 color formats for 4K video in the HomePod’s software.
 
This ARKit app teleports you into an ’80s music video
  • Ever wonder what it would be like to live inside an ’80s music video? Thanks to Apple’s new ARKit software, you can live that dream with a new app that draws inspiration from the popular music video for A-ha’s “Take On Me.”
 
Measure the square footage of your room with ARKit
 
Virtual directions and tags of AR POS
 
Mint Works game
 
Dominion game
 
Halt and Catch Fire
 
Alien Covenant