Apple's App Store Review Guidelines have recently been updated with a section dedicated to cryptocurrencies. In sum, Apple's app stores (iOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS) will no longer allow apps that create or generate cryptocurrencies. Crypto wallets and trading apps are still kosher to distribute, but the rules surrounding these kinds of apps have become much more strict.

iPhone X clones are a dime a dozen, and the latest device to join that hallowed list is the subtly-named Ulefone X. The new device may be a shameless clone but it does look good on paper, which is more than can be said for a few other devices in that niche.

The latest version of Apple's mobile operating system, iOS 12, refines a few existing features while introducing few new ones. All said, iOS 12 is exciting for the Apple fanbase, but it seems like the iPhone is playing catch-up to Android.

Join us as we share our thoughts during Apple's WWDC 2018 developer conference.

A report from analytics firm App Annie has stated that the iOS App Store has made revenue of over US$130 billion from July 2010 to December 2017. The report offers a number of incredible statistics, including the fact that 170 billion downloads were made between the same dates mentioned above, and that there are now over two million live apps available on the App Store.

A report from the research company Gartner has stated that global sales of smartphones in the first quarter of 2018 have risen slightly from figures issued in the same quarter of 2017. Over 383.5 million smartphones were sold in 1Q18 compared to 378.5 million units sold in 1Q17. Samsung was the quarter’s largest vendor, with 78.5 million sales.

Reports have started to surface of customers complaining that their iPhone X rear camera lens covers are cracking, even though they haven't been dropped. Apple uses sapphire crystal for its lens covers which are resistant to scratching, but are more susceptible to cracking under pressure than Corning Gorilla Glass.

Apple could beat Qualcomm to market with the first consumer smartphone equipped with a 7 nm SoC. Its custom A12 processor is predicted to power the next generation of iPhone and iPad devices coming later this year. As usual, the iPhone maker is keeping quiet until its annual WWDC press event next month where refreshed MacBooks are also rumored to make an appearance.

The iPhone SE 2 has been in the headlines for a few weeks now. The successor to the pint-sized, cheaper iPhone released two years ago is on its way, and could very well be released sooner than expected, in September.

According to a report by the Wall Street Journal, Apple has teamed up with investment bank Goldman Sachs to produce a joint credit card. The Cupertino-based company already has a deal with Barclaycard in regard to financing purchases of Apple products. Apparently, the upcoming card may feature the Apple Pay brand.

Leaker Ice Universe claims that TSMC is manufacturing A12 prototypes using the new 7 nm process, and the performance gains over the current A11 are considerable, sitting at ~30%. However, the power consumption is not on par with what 7 nm chips should yield, and this could be caused by the lacking lithography. The A12 SoCs should be launched next year wit the tri-cam smartphones.

According to a Yuanta Securities report, Apple already expressed its interest in integrating rear tri-camera setups for its upcoming high-end smartphones. The future iPhones could get 5X optical zoom per lens and it looks like there will be at least a 12 MP sensor. Apple's tri-cam devices are slated to be released in 2019.

Despite concerns that Apple might miss its targets for the quarter, the company has instead returned record numbers for its fiscal Q2. The Cupertino giant raked in a net profit of US$13.8B for the quarter on gross revenue of US$61.1B.

Ming-Chi Kuo, serial leaker of Apple's product plans, has left KGI Securities. The news could mean a slow down in the number of accurate leaks about Apple's product plans, much to the relief of many an executive at Apple's Cupertino HQ.

Barclay's analyst Blayne Curtis is predicting that Apple will stop bundling the Lightning to 3.5mm audio adapter with the iPhone released this fall. If this prediction comes true, iPhone users that want wired audio would have to separately purchase the adapter at a small (but annoying) additional cost.

TSMC has revealed that its new 7nm FinFet process will deliver mobile chips that are at least 20 percent faster and 40 percent more efficient. It has also revealed that it has developed two separate 7nm FinFet tracks, one optimized for mobile applications, the other for "high performance computing applications."

Daisy can dismantle up to 200 handsets per hour while salvaging a variety of materials that can be reused in future devices. This is part of Apple's GiveBack program that incentivizes users to turn in their old models for dismantling, which, in turn, contributes to a donation fund for the Conservation International non-profit organization.

A recent EEC approval filing revealed that Apple could be preparing to launch a slew of unannounced mobile devices and one of these could be the iPhone SE 2. No specific hardware specs were revealed in the EEC file, but the iPhone SE 2 could come with the A10 Fusion SoC coupled with 2 GB of RAM, up to 128 GB storage and improved cameras, plus the latest iOS 11 version, but would still retain the 4-inch display found on the original model.

Apple could be set to introduce the rumored 6.1-inch LCD iPhone "9" starting from as low as US$550, according to KGI Securities analyst Ming Chi Kuo. Kuo also predicts that Apple will start selling dual SIM, dual standby (DSDS) iPhones starting September as well.

An internal memo warning Apple employees about the consequences of leaking information has been leaked. The tech giant has suffered from a considerable number of leaks in the past, and the memo warns that leakers face losing their jobs and may be fined and even imprisoned. Apparently, the Cupertino-based firm caught 29 leakers in 2017.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has published a patent application for “Luminescence shock avoidance in display devices” that was filed by Apple in December 2017. Luminescence shock occurs when a device is turned on in a dark environment and the brightness of the display temporarily impairs the user’s vision.

The trendsetter may become the copycat: rumors coming out of Taiwan speculate that Apple may be releasing an iPhone with three lenses in 2019, a design that may be inspired by Huawei's P20 Pro.

Apple has announced the impending release of the Product Red Special Edition iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus. The devices will be available to order from April 10 and physical units will start appearing in Apple stores in some countries on April 13. The Special Edition smartphones will come in an eye-catching red finish. Part of the money made from selling these devices goes to The Global Fund financing organization.

Apple has published a press release today claiming that the company is now 100% powered by renewable energy. The tech giant has heavily invested in a number of sustainable energy projects such as wind farms and solar power production. Apple’s CEO, Tim Cook, has called the news a “significant milestone” and insists that the company will continue to be committed to a cleaner environment.

Facebook will allow users to delete/unsend their messages soon. This "feature" was unlikely to be released anytime soon but the company has promised to do so after it was revealed that company executives have had the ability to unsend messages in their private conversations for a while now.

In an event hosted for creative professionals earlier today, Apple executives clarified that the new Mac Pro desktop will indeed be released in 2019. In a somewhat surprising move, Apple will be working with professionals outside of the company to refine the product, which the company says will be designed from scratch.

A report from Bloomberg has suggested that Apple is working on a couple of interesting features for future smartphone releases. The first feature is touchless gesture controls, which would enable the user to operate the phone by moving a finger near to the screen rather than actually tapping it. The other rumored feature is a curved display, possibly to help differentiate a future iPhone device from other similar products in the smartphone market.

If Intel was counting on keeping Apple as a customer into the future, it might have to think again if a new report from Bloomberg is accurate. The Cupertino giant, which has long made the market-leading silicon powering its iPhone lineup, could end up powering its Mac line as soon as 2020.

The OnePlus 6 prototype that is featured in the GeekBench results is powered by the same Snapdragon 845 SoC that comes with the Galaxy S9+ (US version) and Xiaomi Mi MIX 2S and it also features the same 6 GB of RAM. Apparently, the OnePlus 6 prototype might be using an overclocked SoC or better memory, and the final product could end up even faster.

Stung by lower than anticipated sales for its flagship iPhone X, Apple could be set to lower the entry point for the next-generation of OLED iPhones expected in September by US$100. This would bring the starting point for the next-generation 5.8-inch OLED iPhone down to US$899 for a 64 GB model.

It has been reported that Apple will unveil the iPhone X Plus in September. There has already been mention of three new iPhone variants coming this year from the Cupertino-based manufacturer, including a “giant high-end iPhone,” a less expensive version of the flagship smartphone, and an upgrade of the iPhone X. It is believed the iPhone X Plus might feature a 6.2-inch OLED display.

Apple is hard at work developing its own next generation of Retina displays according to a new report. The company is prototyping its own MicroLED technology in a US factory before potentially partnering to mass produce the panels in the next two to three years.

Fortnite Battle Royale's popularity has skyrocketed of recent, and it's sure to grow even further, with Epic Games confirming that the battle royale shooter is coming to both iOS and Android, and with cross-play support across all platforms.

Essential has filed a patent with the USPTO for “image capture with a camera integrated display.” Could this mean the American technology company is working on a method to remove the selfie camera from the polarizing top notch position that many manufacturers have currently adopted? Would new sensor-positioning technology be introduced in a future Essential smartphone release?

Serial leakster Evan Blass is at it again, this time spoiling the official unveiling of the Huawei P20 line up. As rumored, the three model range all feature iPhone X-style notches, once the source of ridicule among the Android faithful.

Apple could be looking to play the waiting card until Intel gets its 5G modem ready, which implies Qualcomm is being given the slip. We might not be seeing a 5G enabled iPhone in 2019 although Apple is already testing the technology.

The most controversial design element of the iPhone X has now been embraced by Oppo, and by default, OnePlus for their next flagship smartphones. Both the Oppo R15 and the OnePlus 6 will feature a “me too” notch when they arrive in the coming months.

Apparently the 911 emergency services communication center in Elk Grove, California has been receiving hundreds of calls coming from an Apple repair and refurbishing site in the vicinity. Since October, 2017 the total of 911 calls traced to the facility has reached over 1,600. The calls are believed to be accidental and possibly being caused by the SOS mode that the iPhone and Apple Watch feature.

Apple CEO Tim Cook has revealed that it is working on products now that won't ship until well into the 2020s. Although it is obvious Apple works on products in advance of their launch, the company has never been quite this specific about its product planning.

Apple has released a patch that will fix the so-called 'Telugu bug' on iOS, MacOS, tvOS and WatchOS. When users receive a message or notification that contains a certain Indian character, the app crashes and becomes unusable. In some cases, the bug even results in the device entering a bootloop.

HP will be reselling Apple's iPhone, iPad and Macs to its enterprise customers. The new program is aimed at giving its customers a one-stop solution for the deployment and support of multiple devices and operating systems in the workplace.

Apple Park may look like a futuristic marvel but apparently it has been causing a number of painful incidents for workers due to its abundance of glass features. It seems distracted Apple employees are walking straight into the surrounding glass panels.

A leading market intelligence research company has issued a report forecasting smartphone market share gains for Apple in 2018. Samsung remains in the top spot but could see a drop in overall market share.

Apple is looking to revamp its software development workflow to balance introduction of new features and ironing out existing bugs. The upcoming iOS 12 internally codenamed 'Peace' will be the first result of this strategy.

Leaked code for the iBoot section of iOS 9 was uploaded to GitHub this week, leading to concerns that the software may have fallen into the wrong hands. Apple has already made maneuvers to try to limit the damage caused, but the company should be worried about such leaks happening in the first place.

In a letter to the Senate Commerce Committee chairman, Apple has hinted at possibly offering a rebate to customers who bought replacement batteries at full price because of the "Batterygate" controversy. Apple reduced battery prices from $79 to $29 in an attempt to appease users who saw an iOS update throttle their devices. Users were not notified beforehand that the software would slow down performance.

Reports by Strategy Analytics and IDC have provided data that gives a clearer idea of the state of the global smartphone market over 2017. Samsung rests cozily at the top, Apple follows steadily, and Xiaomi sees incredible growth.

DigiTimes claims that component suppliers are getting increased orders from Apple and that new iOS and MacBook devices are slated for debut starting March 2018.