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The official unveiling of the iPhone 8 is still several months away but that hasn’t stopped the Chinese manufacturers from producing their usual clone hardware in advance.

EverythingApplePro got his hands on one of the ‘working’ clones which have surfaced online in the last couple of weeks, and it really doesn’t take much to notice how bad they really are. Video of the device in action after the jump …

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The ban on laptops and tablets in cabin baggage on certain flights into the USA is over in all but name as a fourth airline is exempted. It’s clear by this stage that the ban was simply an aggressive way to force airports and airlines to adopt tougher security screening measures.

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Apple suppliers are apparently facing issues with production of the new storage chips destined for the 2017 iPhone series, the all-new-design iPhone 8 and the iterative iPhone 7s devices (which will look similar to the current iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, but with glass backs).

The Digitimes report claims that SK Hynix and Toshiba have fallen short of production by as much as 30% due to poor yields of the 3D NAND chips. Apple has apparently turned to Samsung to pick up the shortfall …

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As Apple continues to increase its focused on mixed reality experiences, the company has recently joined the WebVR Community Group. WebVR is an initiative that aims to make virtual reality content viewable by everyone, regardless of browser or device…

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As it always does ahead of earnings season, Apple today updated its Investor Relations webpage to announce that it will hold its Q3 2017 earnings call on Tuesday, August 1st, 2017. The call will be held at 2PM PT/5PM ET with the earnings release dropping 30 minutes before that…

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Snapchat just got a pretty noteworthy update. And while the first bullet point in this update’s change log — on-demand geofilters — was introduced at the end of last month, a few of these features are entirely new. Among them are the ability to add links to your snaps, Backdrops, and Voice Filters.

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Serif’s Affinity Photo for iPad received its first big update today, headlined by its support for native resolution on the 10.5-inch iPad Pro. The iPad-only release, which now clocks in at version 1.6.3, brings many new changes and features to the popular image editing app. Have a look at the full change log inside for the entire summation of the updates. more…

Apple has released the sixth iOS 10.3.3 beta for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. Apple has also released the sixth macOS 10.12.6 beta. The beta version only includes new wallpapers for the 12.9-inch iPad Pro and no other visible changes, although the release may be the last bug fix update for devices not able to run iOS 11.

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The popular Little Snitch utility for the Mac is out with a new version that includes Touch Bar support on new MacBook Pros, a redesigned Network Monitor, and much more.

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Apple is reportedly considering overhauling how it lets publishers use advertising as revenue for content in its News app, according to AdAge. The shift would allow publishers to use the same proven ad technology that they already use on the web rather than the Apple-controlled system used now.

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Jay-Z’s new ‘4:44’ album has officially reached platinum status after arriving as an exclusive on his own Tidal streaming service late last week. more…

If there’s one category of gadget likely to cause a tech-lover to yawn, it’s portable power banks. Sure, they can be useful, and many of us throw one in a bag just in case any of our devices run low on power before the day is out, but they aren’t exactly … interesting. In general, if you’ve seen one, you’ve seen ’em all …

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I’ve used a few third-party keyboards with the iPad Pro in the past, but for some strange reason I’ve never opted to give Apple’s very-own Smart Keyboard a fair shake. In hindsight, that was a huge miscalculation on my part, as I’m quickly learning since I received the 10.5-inch iPad Pro with Smart Keyboard in tow.

It’s now my opinion that you should strongly consider pairing the 10.5-inch iPad Pro with the Smart Keyboard, because it fundamentally changes the device for the better. It’s not perfect, but the amount of convenience that it brings to the table makes it highly worth considering. Have a look at our video commentary for 15 reasons why I think the Smart Keyboard is a must-have iPad Pro accessory. more…

There’s an old maxim that there’s no such thing as a free lunch, meaning that anything which appears to be free will have a hidden cost somewhere.

In the tech sector, ‘free’ services generally operate using one of two different business models. The first is ad-funded, where – as the more recently-coined saying has it – you’re the product, not the customer. Some cheat the system by using ad-blockers, but most of us recognize that someone has to pay the bills, and accept exposure to ads as fair exchange for the benefit we receive.

The other model is the upsell, where you get a basic service free of charge but the company hopes to persuade you to pay for access to more features or storage. This again can be fair enough, but one company has just taken a particularly underhand approach to this …

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Only a small number of employees have so far moved into the new Apple Park campus, but its presence has already created a boom in the number of property developments, reports the New York Times. Prices of existing properties are said to have doubled in price since 2011.

Local businesses are also gearing up for an anticipated boost in demand …

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Feral Interactive has announced that it is porting the strategy game Rome: Total War – Alexander from Windows to the iPad sometime this summer. The iPad version of the original Rome: Total War – Alexander game is already available, alongside Barbarian Invasion …

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