iPhone Max, and the practical processes behind Apple’s creative genius, on The CultCast

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Are you ready to take your next iPhone to the max?
Photo: Apple

This week on The CultCast: Get ready for the iPhone Max! Plus: Rumors indicate Apple’s new iPhones will receive a serious price cut; Apple is working on the one feature the  Watch desperately needs; and Leander reveals Apple’s secret sauce — the design and creative processes Cupertino developed over the years that help it create some of the world’s most iconic products.

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Episode

CultCast #352 – Say hello to the iPhone Max (Extreme Edition)

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Possible new name for the 6.5-inch iPhone takes it to the Max

  • Apple’s marketing team has reportedly been considering losing the Plus suffix that has been used on the largest models since the iPhone 6 Plus came out in 2014
  • We’ve already head reports that Apple is going to ditch the “Plus” description for its larger iPhones. Now there’s word that the replacement term could be “Max.”
  • If true, this means that the company will announce a week from today the iPhone Xs with a 5.8-inch display and the iPhone Xs Max with a 6.5-inch one.

2018 iPhones could cost just the same as the 2017 models

  • With most of the specifications of the 2018 iPhones already known, the largest remaining question is price.
  • A report from German website Macerkopf points out that the iPhone 8 costs 799 euros, the iPhone 8 Plus sells for 909 euros and the iPhone X runs 1,149 euros.
  • Citing two different sources, the site says the 6.1-inch LCD iPhone expected to be announced next week will cost 799 euros, the 5.8-inch replacement for the iPhone X will be 909 euros, and the 6.5-inch OLED device will sell for 1,149 euros.
  • If that assumption is correct, the 6.1-inch LCD iPhone will be $699, the speed-bumped 5.8-inch iPhone X will be $799, and the the 6.5-inch OLED model will be $999.

Apple Watch could get always-on display mode

  • Apple is developing an always-on display mode for Apple Watch, a new patent application reveals.
  • The feature would give users the ability to see the time — and possibly other information — without having to raise their wrist every time. But Apple wants to make sure OLED burn-in doesn’t become a problem.
  • There are several reasons for that, such as its impact on battery life and the risk that the feature could ruin Apple Watch’s OLED display.

The Iconic Pillow Collection by Throwboy

New book shows how Apple makes great software [Review]

  • When Steve Jobs died in 2011, pundits wondered how the company would continue to make great products without him.
  • The question is partly answered by programmer Ken Kocienda’s new book, Creative Selection, which describes his 15 years working at Apple helping to develop the original iPhone, iPad and Safari web browser.

The Apple design process of demos, decisions and feedback with Ken Kocienda [Apple Chat podcast]

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