Our FINAL picks for the best (and worst!) of 2023! (CultCast #627)

This week, the Apple Watch is back on sale already — but for how long? Jony Ive is pawning some BIG designers from Apple to work on a secret new AI project. And we close with the rest of our picks for the Best (and Worst) of 2023.

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This week’s stories:

Federal court temporarily un-pauses Apple Watch ban

• During the temporary stay on the ban, the court will review Apple’s request. Now the ITC has until January 10 to respond to Apple’s request for a stay.

Another Apple Designer Joins Jony Ive to Work on Hardware for OpenAI

• Apple's vice president of product design Tang Tan is set to join Sir Jony Ive's LoveFrom to design hardware products for OpenAI.
• At Apple, Tang Tan is vice president of product design and reports to senior vice president of hardware engineering John Ternus. Tan is responsible for the design of the iPhone, Apple Watch, accessories, and acoustic devices like AirPods.

Best of 2023 Round 1:

• Griffin: 404 Media is a journalist-run independent media company with excellent investigative reporting on the hottest tech news.
• Lewis: Anker 3-in-1 Cube with MagSafe is a great night stand charger for your iPhone, AirPods and Apple Watch.
• Erfon: Xbox Game pass is like the Netflix of video games, and with its ever-expanding library of indie, and now, big titles from major studios, it’s finally worth its monthly price.

Best of 2023 Round 2:

• Griffin: Mastodon is an open-source social media platform that cuts out garbage ads, tracking and algorithms; cutting straight to the high-quality discussions with people you care about.
• Lewis: TRIGGERnometry
• Erfon: Juscant is a PC game with a beautiful aesthetic, intuitive climbing mechanics, and mysterious plot.

Worst of 2023 Round 1:

• Griffin: Michael Darius is a former Apple employee who is selling his meager experience from nearly twenty years ago as some design guru and personal protégé of Steve Jobs.
• Lewis: Apple service price hikes
• Erfon: The state of streaming in 2023 is a huge mess. It’s like cable TV all over again.

Worst of 2023 Round 2:

• Griffin: The feeling of being trusted to drive a stranger's car alone after you only met them earlier that same evening is a bizarre experience I hope to never repeat.
• Lewis: San Francisco
• Erfon: Amazon Prime keeps getting more expensive while offering fewer benefits.