Dennis Sellers

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Glassdoor, a jobs and recruiting marketplace, has issued its 7th annual Employees’ Choice Awards, honoring the <a href="https://www.glassdoor.com/Award/Top-CEOs-LST_KQ0,8.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Top CEOs</a><strong> </strong>in 2019<strong>.</strong> Only two CEOs have made the list all seven years including #55 Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg (with a 94% approval rating) and #69 Apple’s Tim Cook (92% approval).</p>

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">ZAGG’s<strong> </strong>$129.99 <a href="https://www.zagg.com/us/en_us/keyboards/slim-book-go-apple-12-9-ipad-pro/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Slim Book Go</a> is a fine combo/keyboard case for the iPad Pro with some outstanding features and a couple of drawbacks. </p>

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Apple has filed for a patent (number 10,323,701) for “rendering road signs during navigation” and involves the company’s Maps app on iOS, watchOS, and macOS.</p>

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">The top 100 earning app publishers across Apple’s App Store and Google Play generated a combined average of $130.4 million in consumer spending globally during the first quarter of 2019, Sensor Tower <a href="https://sensortower.com/solutions/store-intelligence" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Store Intelligence</a> estimates reveal. The App Store’s top publishers saw average gross income of $83.8 million, which was 64% more than the average of $51 million spent across Google Play’s 100 highest-earning app makers.</p>

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Apple still leads the global premium smartphone market, but the company’s <a href="https://www.counterpointresearch.com/3-quick-takes-apples-fy2q-2019-earnings-call/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">declining</a> shipments has pulled down the global smartphone premium segment. Data from Counterpoint Research’s <a href="https://report.counterpointresearch.com/posts/report/Monitor" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Market Monitor Service</a> for quarter one (Q1) of 2019, shows that Apple’s shipments fell 20% year-on-year in Q1 2019, resulting in an 8%  year-over-year decline for the global premium segment ($400 and higher). </p>

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Apple has filed for two patents (number 10,325,416 and 10,325,417) for an “avatar creation user interface” for Animoji and Memoji.</p>

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">According to Nintendo's Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/NintendoAmerica/status/1140790733151993856" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">account</a>, Dr. Mario World will launch on iOS devices on July 10. Pre-registration is now open at the <a href="https://apps.apple.com/app/id1440129313" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Apple App Store</a>.</p>

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">A California federal judge has rejected Apple's bid to disqualify co-lead counsel in a class action suit over iPhone performance for making references to confidential materials in open court, but strongly cautioned the lawyers not to repeat the mistake, reports <a href="https://www.law360.com/technology/articles/1169768/apple-loses-atty-dq-bid-in-iphone-performance-case?nl_pk=ade0cf2b-ea3f-464b-bc93-d8e19277ac63&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=technology&read_more=1&attachments=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Law360 </em></a> (a subscription is required to read the entire article).</p>

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">If you’re a sports-playing klutz like me, it’s easy to scratch the screen of your pricey Apple Watch. If you’re playing a team sport, you should simply take it off so you don’t whack someone in the face with it. But, of course, you’ll want to leave it on during workouts, so you can track your progress.</p>

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Apple is <a href="https://www.apple.com/today/camp/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">now taking reservations</a> for this summer's free Apple Camp for kids ages eight to 12. It’s a three-day program held at your local Apple retail store. Apple Camp is designed to “broaden their [the kids] creative horizons by making movies, creating interactive books, and more using Apple products.” Campers choose one of three tracks, then spend 90 minutes a day for three days at a local Apple Store immersed in their chosen subject.</p>

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">In a note to clients — as noted by <a href="https://appleinsider.com/articles/19/06/17/2020-lte-iphone-coming-in-54--and-67-inch-sizes-61-inch-iphone-lte" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>AppleInside</em>r</a> — analyst Ming-Chi Kuo says Apple release three iPhones next year (as it will this year) with 5.4-inch and 6.7-inch models having 5G, and the 6.1-inch model sticking with LTE.</p>

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Apple has been approaching “elevated” directors and other film talent in recent months to talk about bankrolling projects with Oscar-winning potential, reports <a href="https://nypost.com/2019/06/16/apple-wants-to-make-oscar-worthy-movies-to-beef-up-streaming-service/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>The New York Post</em></a>. Unnamed Hollywood sources say the tech giant is looking to spend $5 million to $30 million per project and release about six films annually.</p>

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">As I’ve <a href="https://appleworld.dreamhosters.com/blog/2019/5/10/uags-new-apple-watch-straps-are-a-blessing-to-my-bony-wrists?rq=UAGUAG" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">mentioned before,</a> most notched watch bands are either two tight on my bony wrists or else flop around. Though I still prefer the non-notched <a href="https://www.apple.com/shop/watch/bands)" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Apple Sport Loop</a>, UAG’s new <a href="https://urbanarmorgear.com/products/nato-watch-band-for-apple-watch" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Nato Strap</a> for the Apple Watch also works well for me. </p>

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Apple has filed for a patent (number 20190180669) for “interlaced or interleaved variable persistence displays” with the goal of improving the displays on its various devices such as Macs, iPhones, iPads, and Apple Watches.</p>

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Another day, another lawsuit. As noted by <a href="https://appleinsider.com/articles/19/06/14/apples-ios-soft-keyboard-target-of-new-patent-lawsuit" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>AppleInsider</em></a>, Apple’s iOS soft keyboard is the target of a new lawsuit.</p>