CultCast #304 - Steve Job’s greatest product

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

Categories:

Technology

This week: a company unlike any other, some say Steve Job’s greatest product was Apple itself, but how have they fared in the 6 years since his passing?  Leander shares the cold hard facts.  Plus: Leander’s long soliloquy about his new love, the 4K Apple TV; an iOS 11 software trick doubles your iPhone storage; and we’ll wrap up our favorite minimalist cases for your iPhone 7, 8, and X.
 
This episode supported by
Build a beautiful, responsive website quick at Squarespace.com.  Enter offer code CultCast at checkout to get 10% off. Squarespace—Build it Beautiful.
 
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.
 
The Cult of Mac watch store has the best straps in the biz!  Save 20% off any order with code CultCast at checkout.
 
Thanks to Kevin MacLeod at incompetech.com for the great music you hear on today's show.
 
On the show this week
 
Photos and videos shot in iOS 11's HEIF/HEVC format are literally now half the size they were in iOS10’s JPG/H.264 formats
 
Catch our CultCast 300 live celebration show on Tuesday, October 10th at 12PM PT!
 
9 beautifully minimalist cases for your iPhone 8 & 8 Plus (and 7/7Plus)
 
Google's Pixel Buds translation will change the world
  • Google announced all sorts of stuff yesterday
  • Pixel 2, a smart speaker called the Max to compete with the HomePod
  • But at the very end of their key, Google introduced the Pixel Buds, wireless headphones designed for use with the company's new Pixel 2 handset.  Once paired, you can tap the right earphone then issue a command.
  • If you say, "Help me speak Japanese" and then start speaking in English, the Pixel’s speakers will output your translated words as you speak them. The other party's reply into the phone will then play into your ear through the Pixel Buds in English.
  • 40 languages are currently supported, and the translation works in real time with virtually no lag.
 
Apple TV 4K is almost picture-perfect [Review]
  • Apple’s newest set-top box pulls out all the stops to be the best on the field. It’s packing incredibly powerful new hardware that leaves competitors in the dust, and a much-improved tvOS platform that is years ahead of its rivals.
  • Remote. Not much has changed for the Siri Remote, either, which is a shame — it’s still wretched. It looks almost identical this year, except there’s now a white ridge around the Menu button.
  • Speed. Thanks to an A10X Fusion processor — the same one you’ll find in the latest iPad Pro — Apple TV 4K is pretty fast. It’s by far the most powerful set-top box on the market, and that’s not just for 4K video.
  • 4K HDR video is sharp, colorful and full of contrast and detail. The screensavers especially are spectacular and detailed. Shot in 4K, the screensavers were downgraded for the old AppleTV. On the 4K box they appear in all their trippy, hypnotic detail.
  • One thing you won’t be able to enjoy in 4K HDR, however, is YouTube. That’s because Apple doesn’t support the VP9 video format that YouTube serves up — it doesn’t work on macOS or iOS, either — so the best you’ll get is 1080p.
 
Our favorite iPhone 8/8Plus cases