Cult of Mac – Details, episodes & analysis

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This is the last show with Leander, Lewis and Griffin — we’re here to review the biggest news stories, rumors, leaks and madness of 2025. We’re going to talk about everything that happened in 2025 in extreme detail and wonderful nuance. Specifically, of Apple.

This week’s stories:

2025 was huge for Apple — here’s why

• In this end-of-year roundup, we’ve gathered the most ground-breaking rumors, consequential news and biggest surprises of 2025.
• Introducing iPhone Pocket: a beautiful way to wear and carry iPhone

Introducing the new Cult of Mac podcast, coming January 1st (probably). 

Produced by Extra Ordinary for Cult of Mac. 
Music composed by Will Davenport, arranged by D. Griffin Jones. 

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This week: Our look ahead at what’s coming in 2026 — and we’ll bring some forgotten Apple products back from the dead.

This week’s stories:

• 15 new products to expect from Apple in 2026
  • Apple is preparing a wave of new products for 2026, including a folding iPhone, powerful new Macs, refreshed iPads and new smart home gear.
  • Spigen Classic C1 Mac mini stand
  • New LG displays
• Dead Apple product draft:
  • iPod Hi-Fi
  • AirPort Extreme
  • Apple LaserWriter
  • iPod touch
  • 12-inch MacBook
  • Apple Watch Edition
  • Apple AA Battery Charger
  • SuperDrive
  • Apple II

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This week: The cutting-edge tech we expect to see in the folding iPhone, the hot new trend that beautifies your big camera bump, the weirdest auction of old Apple tat ever, a brand new app that’ll keep you fit, and the best Mac setup of 2025.

This week’s stories:

• Samsung teases the foldable iPhone’s biggest upgrade
  • At CES 2026, Samsung showcased a crease-less folding OLED panel that might be headed for Apple’s first foldable iPhone.
• Decorating your iPhone with tiny stickers is 2026’s hot new trend
  • Personalize your iPhone 17 Pro camera plateau with stickers. Lots of people are doing it in fun and creative ways.
• This is the weirdest auction of Steve Jobs memorabilia we’ve ever seen
  • Some rather strange Steve Jobs memorabilia is up for auction, showcasing unique items related to the Apple co-founder.
• New fitness app Reps & Sets 26 gets serious about strength training
  • Designed exclusively for iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch, strength-training app Reps & Sets 26 was developed by a long-time Cult of Mac writer.
  • Reps & Sets 26 on the App Store
• Top 10 Apple setups of 2025
  • Cult of Mac's top 10 Apple setups of 2025 excel in raw computing power, aesthetic beauty, functional innovation — or all three.
  • Turn your M4 Mac mini into a small-but-mighty ‘Mac Pro’

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This week: Google’s Gemini is officially powering next-gen Siri, Apple overhauls all its pro apps, details on OpenAI’s first hardware product, and we go hands-on with a folding iPhone model!

This week’s stories:

• It’s official — Google Gemini will power Siri’s major AI overhaul
  • Google’s Gemini AI is now set to power the long-promised overhaul of Apple’s Siri voice assistant, turning months of speculation into confirmation after Apple made the partnership official in a statement released Monday.
  • Gemini-powered Siri reportedly will gain these capabilities
• New Apple Creator Studio subscription gives you 6 incredible apps for low price
  • Apple Creator Studio bundles 6 big-time apps into a subscription, including Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro and Pixelmator Pro.
• OpenAI’s first device might take on AirPods
  • OpenAI’s first consumer product may be AI-powered earbuds, designed by Jony Ive and positioned as a direct AirPods rival.
• Hands-on with a folding iPhone mock-up: This thing is weird
  • I got my hands on a model, and have lots of thoughts — if the folding iPhone looks anything like this, it’ll be weird.

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This week: The surprise launch of the new AirTag — and our review, how to get custom music in your Apple Music library, and a deep dive into the mysterious and murky past of Lewis Wallace.

Sponsors:

The Cult of Mac Today and Weekender newsletters. Cult of Mac Today is a rundown of the top daily news, plus reviews and how-tos, with commentary by Leander himself. And the Weekender is an easy-to-digest roundup of the week’s top stories. Sign up at newsletters.cultofmac.com.

Links:

• AirTag 2 launches today with longer range and louder speaker
  • Apple’s tracking tag has been upgraded with a new Ultra Wideband chip, improved Bluetooth connectivity and a louder speaker.
• Why Apple’s AirTag 2 is way better than the original
  • The tracker tag is easier to find with much longer range when using either a Bluetooth or Ultra Wideband connection from your iPhone. It also includes a louder, shriller speaker.
• AirTag 2 teardown shows Apple taking tampering seriously
  • Apple’s second-generation AirTag looks unchanged on the outside, but a teardown reveals meaningful internal changes to avoid tampering.
• How to upload your own music to Apple Music
  • If there’s a live concert recording or indie song you want in your library, you can upload custom music to Apple Music really easily.
  • Radiohead Live - Blossom Music Center
• Listener Questions
  • Those Darn Accordions
  • The Wall of Wheeze
  • Removing a Champagne Cork (French) with a Sword

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This week: Siri’s growing up as a proper chatbot, Apple copies the raging success of the Humane Ai Pin, why your next Mac might cost even more, how you can make your Mac hot, and a truly bizarre prison-inspired user setup.

Links:

• Apple may reinvent Siri as a conversational AI in iOS 27
  • Forget the old, nearly useless Siri — Apple will reportedly upgrade the iPhone’s voice assistant into an AI-powered chatbot with iOS 27. Users will supposedly be able to converse with the new Siri, not just give it orders.
• Apple works on AI wearable with mics, cameras and more
  • An AI pin is reportedly on the drawing board at Apple. The hands-free device might may change the future of wearable technology.
• Why Apple faces new pressure to raise iPhone and Mac prices
  • Apple is likely to struggle to get a critical component for all its products this year, which might force it raise prices.
  • MacBook Pros disappear from stores — here’s why
• Speed up your Mac workflow with Hot Corners, the feature pro users swear by
  • Hot Corners on the Mac work like shortcuts for your mouse. Just throw your mouse cursor to the corner of the screen to trigger a shortcut.
• Listener Question
  • Hands-on with a folding iPhone mock-up: This thing is weird
• How these brilliantly lit setups strike a mood for work or gaming
  • Proper desk lighting can make or break a Mac setup when it comes to boosting productivity, setting a mood or gaming like you mean it.
  • RGB hues bathe Beatles-themed retro Apple rig in otherworldly light

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This week: Xcode’s AI agents can build an app from scratch in a day, major new details on the folding iPhone — and a potential second folding iPhone, whether Apple plans obsolescence, and a trick that’ll wrangle notifications on your iPhone.

Sponsors:

The Cult of Mac Today and Weekender newsletters. Cult of Mac Today is a rundown of the top daily news, plus reviews and how-tos, with commentary by Leander himself. And the Weekender is an easy-to-digest roundup of the week’s top stories. Sign up at newsletters.cultofmac.com.

Links:

• Xcode unleashes AI agents for fast and easy app creation
  • Devs can work directly with Anthropic's Claude Agent and OpenAI's Codex, thanks to an Xcode update that builds in AI coding agents.
• iPhone Fold leak shows Apple borrowing design cues from iPad
  • A new leak provides more details about the foldable iPhone's design, pointing to several similarity with iPads.
• Apple’s foldable plans may not stop at just one iPhone
  • Before Apple even launches its first folding iPhone, the company is reportedly exploring a follow-up model with a clamshell-like form factor.
• Apple just killed the myth of iPhone forced obsolescence
  • The conspiracy theory that Apple uses iOS as a tool of forced iPhone obsolescence is complete BS, and I can prove it.
• Never miss an important alert with this crucial iPhone settings tweak
  • If you rely on timely alerts from certain critical iOS apps, set up persistent notifications so you don't miss something important.
• Listener Question
  • Do people actually care about phone wobble?

This week: The new Siri is slipping yet again — but that’s a good thing, Eddy Cue pulls the plug on Apple’s AI doctor, more new AirPods Pro are on the way, the best multi-Mac setups, and we’ve got a great tip for the Messages app.

• Watch this episode on YouTube
• Send us a text with comments, questions and feedback; or a video to play on the show: cultofmacpodcast@icloud.com

Sponsors:

The Cult of Mac Today and Weekender newsletters. Cult of Mac Today is a rundown of the top daily news, plus reviews and how-tos, with commentary by Leander himself. And the Weekender is an easy-to-digest roundup of the week’s top stories. Sign up at newsletters.cultofmac.com.

Links:

• M5 Pro MacBook Pro release date just became clearer
  • After weeks of speculation, Apple’s M5 Pro MacBook Pros may finally be on the horizon. A fresh report offers the clearest launch window yet.
• That Siri upgrade coming in iOS 26.4? Don’t get your hopes up.
  • iOS 26.4 may not live up to expectations. Apple is struggling to complete a long-delayed artificial intelligence upgrade for Siri.
• Apple shifts AI health coach plans to new focus
  • A new decision by Eddy Cue means Apple shifts AI health coach plans to focus on incremental Health app updates.
• Next AirPods Pro’s new cameras could see your surroundings
  • A new leak says new cameras in upcoming AirPods Pro 4 could see around the user. Look for them sometime in 2026.
• Maximum fun: Top 10 multi-Mac setups
  • For Apple enthusiasts, one Mac is great — but two or more? That’s when things get seriously interesting.
  • Developer dual-Mac dance: Mac mini and MacBook Air
• Listener Question
  • Will AI actually eliminate white collar jobs?
• 6 great features in Messages in iOS 26
  • Get to know the great new features in Messages in iOS 26: polls, background images, group Apple Cash payments and so much more.
  • Short YouTube video

This week: Apple’s got an "event" coming up in the first week of March! We’ll get into what we think it is. Also: Apple’s fast-tracking three wearable AI products and one of them is already a known bust, some big changes in iOS 26.4, a truly genius MacBook Air setup, and our hands-on with a great iPhone game controller for the rest of us.

• Watch this episode on YouTube
• Send us a text with comments, questions, feedback or a video to play on the show: cultofmacpodcast@icloud.com

Sponsors:

The Cult of Mac Today and Weekender newsletters. Cult of Mac Today is a rundown of the top daily news, plus reviews and how-tos, with commentary by Leander himself. And the Weekender is an easy-to-digest roundup of the week’s top stories. Sign up at newsletters.cultofmac.com.

Links:

• Apple just announced its March event — here’s what could be coming
  • Get ready for the Apple March event! We're looking forward to new MacBooks, iPads, an iPhone and possibly more announcements.
• 3 game-changing AI wearables Apple is rushing to launch
  • Apple is putting the pedal to the metal as it rushes to produce new types of AI-powered wearable devices — smart glasses, upgraded AirPods and an AirTag-size pendant.
• iOS 26.4 beta 1: All the new features and changes
  • Apple has kicked off testing for iOS 26.4, with the update bringing more than just minor fixes. Here’s what’s new in iOS 26.4 beta 1.
• Top 10 MacBook Air setups
  • Our collection of the top 10 MacBook Air setups really shows why the sleek machine is the world's best-selling laptop.
  • ‘Headless’ MacBook Air runs alongside retro Macs
• Listener Question
  • Why do we censor swearing?
• Upgrade iPhone gaming for cheap with GameSir X5s controller
  • The GameSir X5s is a great and affordable way to upgrade mobile gaming. Your phone slides in and gives you console-quality physical controls.