REDESIGNED Apple Watch incoming, + new *cheaper* Apple TV (CultCast #544!)

This week: Apple Watch Series 8 getting the redesign we’ve ALL been waiting for, a cheaper smaller Apple TV is in the works, Apple’s mixed reality headset is ALMOST ready, and working from home vs the office — how much would YOU need to get paid to go back to the office full time? We reveal our numbers! This episode supported by Remotely manage your Mac, iPhone, or iPad with Jamf. Manage 3 devices for FREE at jamf.com/beyond Easily create a beautiful website all by yourself, at Squarespace.com/cultcast. Use offer code CultCast at checkout to get 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain. Cult of Mac's watch store is full of beautiful straps that cost way less than Apple's. See the full curated collection at Store.Cultofmac.com CultCloth will keep your Mac Studio, Studio Display, iPhone 13, glasses and lenses sparkling clean, and for a limited time use code CULTCAST at checkout to score a free CarryCloth with any order at CultCloth.co. This week's stories Sound familiar? Apple Watch 8 display might be flat Remember last year when rumors were flying that Apple Watch Series 7 would feature a flat display and squared-off edges? DIDN'T HAPPEN. But a new rumor suggests those traits might define this year's Apple Watch Series 8. More affordable Apple TV might launch soon A new Apple TV streamer will launch in the second half of 2022, according to a trusted analyst. And there’s a hint in the prediction that the device will cost less than its predecessors. Apple shows off AR/VR headset to board of directors Although Apple's VR/AR headset is still supposed to be a secret project, the company's board of directors reportedly got a look at the device recently. This could be a sign the product is moving close to a release. COVID-19 throws off Apple’s return-to-office plan yet again Apple reportedly slowed the pace at which it will require its corporate employees to return to the office. They were scheduled to be back at their desks three days a week starting later this month, but rising numbers of COVID-19 cases supposedly pushed that back. Apple's Director of Machine Learning Resigns Due to Return to Office Work Apple's director of machine learning, Ian Goodfellow, has resigned from his role a little over four years after he joined the company after previously being one of Google's top AI employees, according to The Verge's Zoë Schiffer.