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Apple posts its second-highest Q3 earnings ever

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Apple raked in the cash last quarter.
Apple raked in the cash last quarter.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Investors found a lot to be happy about in Apple’s latest earnings report, which was released by the company this afternoon. While Apple didn’t shatter any records, the company beat expectations for the quarter with a total of $45.5 billion in revenue.

That’s well ahead of Wall Street’s expectation of $43.5 billion. iPad sales proved one of the biggest surprises of the quarter, with shipments rising 15 percent year-over-year. Apple CEO Tim Cook was definitely happy with the results.

Facebook’s rumored video chat device might make FaceTime look lame

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Facebook messaging apps
Zuckerberg is coming after Apple.
Photo: Facebook

Facebook is planning to make its first foray into hardware next year and according to a new report it may start competing directly against Apple.

The social network is reportedly building a stand-alone video chat device with a built in touch screen that is focused on helping bring Facebook users closer together.

Nerve Black messenger bag will trigger an impulse to buy [Review]

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booq Nerve Black messenger bag
The Nerve Black messenger bag by booq delivers some serious attitude.
Photo: David Pierini/Cult of Mac

Best List: Nerve Black messenger bag by booq

Most messenger bags would look out of place slung over the shoulder of a leather-clad Harley rider. Not the Nerve Black by booq: It exhibits a transcendent cool, whether paired with a business suit or motorcycle chaps.

There’s no cowhide on this bag. Yet the water-repellent tarpaulin flap looks a lot like leather and makes a striking first impression.

iPhone 8’s radical redesign could bring awesome UI change

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iPhone 8
A mockup of iPhone 8 with its edge-to-edge display.
Photo: Benjamin Geskin

Thanks to secrets hidden inside Apple’s firmware, we’ve discovered a lot about the iPhone 8 this week. One of its biggest features — quite literally — will be a significantly larger display that leaves no room for a physical Home button or bulky bezels.

Here’s how iOS could change to take advantage of it with a sweet new user interface.

These Bluetooth earbuds include a convenient charging case [Deals]

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1Voice Wireless In-Ear Headphones with Charging Case
These Bluetooth earbuds include with a charging case that can revive them up to 7 times.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

Wireless Bluetooth earbuds are basically the ultimate in convenience for listening to music. Unfortunately, their one weak point is the constant need for recharging. Even with improving battery lives, running out of juice is a problem worth avoiding.

Apple and Google remove 330 apps linked to trading scams

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France fines Apple $27 million for intention iPhone 'throttling' controversy
Removal request came from Australia, but is a worldwide problem.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple and Google have removed a total of 330 binary trading apps from their respective app stores, following intervention from the Australian Securities & Investments Commission.

Australia’s securities regulator requested the removal of the apps based on fraud investigations, concerning certain apps which allow users to make bets about whether or not shares and currency will rise or fall. While some apps that do this are legitimate, others have been linked to scams.

More juicy details about iPhone 8 discovered in Apple code

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iPhone 8
HomePod firmware spills more iPhone 8 secrets.
Photo: Apple

Yet more information about the iPhone 8 has been discovered in Apple’s HomePod firmware. We now know the device will have a split status bar designed to fit its edge-to-edge display and tap to wake functionality like its Android-powered rivals.

However, the future of Touch ID still looks bleak.

Thieves snatch $600,000 of iPhones from a moving truck

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iPhone 7
Some folks will go to crazy lengths to get their hands on an iPhone!
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Five men from Romania have been arrested after stealing $600,000 of iPhones from a moving truck in an astonishingly risky late-night raid that ultimately didn’t pay off for them.

Who needs the Fast and the Furious movies when you’ve got real life?

Apple now protects enough forest to produce all its paper packaging

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forest
Apple is smashing its previous forestry targets.
Photo: Whitney Flanagan, The Conservation Fund

Apple is now protecting enough sustainable forest land to cover all its paper packaging needs. The news is a major milestone for Apple, which has been buying up massive swathes of forest around the world for the past couple of years as part of its sustainability drive.

It means that Apple has already hit its goal of protecting 1 million acres of responsibly-managed forest by 2020 — two-and-a-half years ahead of schedule!

Apple faces ugly lawsuit for breaking FaceTime

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FaceTime
A judge has ruled a lawsuit against Apple can proceed.
Photo: Apple

A judge has ruled that a lawsuit against Apple for breaking FaceTime in iOS 6 can continue.

It is alleged that the iPhone-maker purposely allowed the feature to be disabled on older devices in an effort to force users to update to iOS 7.

Treat yourself to a better weather app

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Today Weather Smaller
Today Weather presents some smart new features in a slick design, and we dig the result.
Photo: Today Weather

This post is presented by Today Weather.

Your weather app is probably the last thing you daydream about upgrading. After all, iOS comes with a pretty straightforward, reliable weather app. But when we tried free alternative Today Weather, we found some interesting features we didn’t even know we wanted.

How to load and play podcasts offline on Apple Watch

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Apple Watch
You can use third-party apps to load podcasts on your Apple Watch.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

A lot of people who enjoy listening to podcasts or music while jogging will agree that it’s inconvenient to carry an iPhone. While music lovers can sync playlists from their iPhone to their Apple Watch, Apple’s Podcast app doesn’t do the same for podcasts.

That’s unfortunate. However, it’s simple to send podcasts to Apple Watch using third-party apps.

Celebs hit the road in new Carpool Karaoke ad

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Carpool Karaoke.
Apple's new show explodes onto screens August 8.
Photo: Apple Music

Apple shows off the celebrity pairings that will rev up Carpool Karaoke in a new spot for the upcoming show.

The first star-studded episode premieres on Apple Music on August 8. But you can get a preview of the sing-along show in the trailer below.

What to expect from Apple’s Q3 2017 earnings

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Apple could be a $2 trillion company by end of 2021
Apple could be a $2 trillion company by end of 2021
Photo illustration: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple is set to unveil its latest earnings report on Tuesday, and Wall Street analysts predict it will probably be the most boring earnings call of 2017.

This will likely be Apple’s last public announcement before it unveils the next generation of iPhones. Apple CEO Tim Cook might drop some hints on what to expect, and when, as investors look forward to Apple’s next big blockbuster quarter. As usual, Cult of Mac will be here liveblogging the entire event with all the analysis and wit we can muster.

Watch for these five things during the call:

Why we still don’t know iPhone 8’s real name

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Jamaica
Jamaica helps Apple keep its plans secret.
Photo: Apple

Here’s one reason we still don’t know whether the next iPhone will be called the iPhone X, iPhone 8 or something else entirely. A loophole that allowed intrepid investigators to dig up secret Apple product names has been closed.

It’s like Apple loves secrets or something!

Microsoft ditches its Word Flow keyboard for iPhone

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Word Flow iPhone
Word Flow for iPhone is no more.
Photo: Microsoft

Microsoft’s Word Flow keyboard for iPhone has been pulled from the App Store now that the company’s “experiment” is over.

The unique keyboard, which made its debut last April, was designed for one-handed typing on larger displays. Now Microsoft is advising fans to switch to SwiftKey instead.

Ex-Google exec: People who care about photography own an iPhone

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iPhone 7 camera
Vic Gundotra thinks Apple did a "great job" with the iPhone 7 camera.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Every year, we see some fancy new Android handset try to challenge the iPhone camera, whether it be in sheer number of megapixels or some smart AI image processing technology.

However, Vic Gundotra, Google’s former senior vice president of social, says there’s only serious contender when it comes to making him replace his DSLR: the iPhone.

LG will play a major part in future iPhone production

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iPhone 7
LG could provide 30 percent of OLED displays for the iPhone by 2020.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Samsung may be providing 100 percent of the OLED displays for Apple’s iPhone 8, but according to KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, LG Display will be playing an increasingly big role in iPhone OLED display manufacturing in the years to come.

Specifically, he thinks that LG will to supply 10-20 percent of the iPhone’s OLED supply by 2019, and 20-30 percent by 2020.

Apple code confirms that facial unlocking tech is on the way

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iPhone 8 facial recognition
We could be waiting a long time for iPhone 8.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Code confirming the existence of Apple’s infrared facial recognition technology has been discovered by intrepid developer-turned-iOS sleuth Steve Troughton-Smith.

Troughton-Smith discovered the code in the HomePod firmware Apple released late last week. It suggests that previous reports about face unlocking on the iPhone 8, possibly as a replacement for Touch ID, may be accurate.

Linelight, Groovebox, and other awesome apps of the week

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Awesome Apps
'Appy weekend everyone!
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

A stunning minimalist iOS puzzle game, in which you must guide a beam of light through a network of pipes, is just one of the great App Store picks we’ve highlighted for this week’s “Awesome Apps” roundup.

We’ve also selected a great music-making app for iPhone and iPad, a smart Bluetooth device finder for tracking down your lost Apple Pencil, and an entertaining parkour endless runner. Check out our choices below.