Dennis Sellers

<p class="">Apple has been granted a patent (number 10,607,419) for an “avatar creation user interface” for its Animoji and Memoji features.</p>

<p class="">Sky News <a href="https://news.sky.com/story/state-owned-chinese-investor-to-seize-control-of-chip-designer-imagination-11968494" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">reports</a> that a state-controlled Chinese investor is trying to seize control of Imagination Technologies Group, the British chip designer that (sometimes) works with Apple.</p>

<p class="">Apple is apparently looking to buy NextVR, a live event streaming AR/VR company being sold for around $100 million, <a href="https://9to5mac.com/2020/04/04/apple-nextr-ar-headset/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">according to</a> <em>9to5Mac.</em></p>

<p class="">Some streaming services are offering extended trials through Apple TV (the app, not the set-top box or streaming service) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Currently, you can get extended one-month trials of Showtime and other services, as well as completely free access to EPIX via the Channels feature of the app, according to <a href="https://9to5mac.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">9to5Mac</a>.</p>

<p class="">Global <a href="https://www.counterpointresearch.com/global-online-music-streaming-revenues-cross-us11-billion-h1-2019/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">online music streaming</a> subscriptions grew 32% year-on-year reaching 358 million subscriptions in calendar year 2019, according to the latest findings from Counterpoint Research.</p>

<p class="">Apple has been granted a patent for an “audio system with configurable zones” that hints at future features for paired HomePods in, among other things, a home theater set-up.</p>

<p class="">On a regular basis, <em>Apple World Today </em>posts a list of notable new apps or app updates that have been released. They may not necessarily be new, but they're popular and deserve mention. Here are this week’s picks.</p>

<p class="">Apple has acquired Voysis, an artificial intelligence start-up, to improve the natural language skills of Siri, its personal digit assistant.</p>

<p class="">Several Democratic senators asked Apple CEO Tim Cook about the privacy of the company’s new COVID-19 screening app and website, according to <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-04-03/apple-ceo-cook-questioned-by-senators-on-covid-19-screening-app">Bloomberg.</a></p>

<p class="">Here’s another reason to dislike Facebook (the world’s frenemy): according to <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/6824735-Declaration-of-Shalev-Hulio-in-Support-of.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">a declaration from NSO CEO Shalev Hulio</a>, two Facebook representatives approached NSO in October 2017 and asked to purchase the right to use certain capabilities of Pegasus. In other words, the company wanted to buy an Apple spying tool, according to <a href="https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/pke9k9/facebook-wanted-nso-spyware-to-monitor-users" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Motherboard</a>.</p>

<p class=""><a href="https://apps.apple.com/us/app/legend-of-the-skyfish-2/id1358468246" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Legend of the Skyfish 2</a> is the latest addition to the Apple Arcade line-up on the iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV (alas, there's no Mac version).</p>

<p class="">Apple has accidentally leaked some info on two unreleased Apple products: the follow-up to the iPhone SE and the “AirTags.”</p>

<p class=""><a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-04-03/apple-tells-staff-u-s-stores-to-remain-closed-until-early-may?sref=9hGJlFio" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Bloomberg</a> reports that Deirdre O’Brien, Apple’s senior vice president of Retail + People, told employees in a memo that its retail stores in the U.S. will remain closed and work-from-home procedures will stay in place until early May due to the COVID-19 pandemic. All the stores outside the Greater China area were closed on March 17.</p>

<p class="">Water resistance iPhone? Humbug! That’s nothing. Apple wants one that’s totally waterproof as evidenced by a newly granted patent (number 20200104021) for an “underwater user interface.”</p>

<p class="">Apple has filed for another patent (number 20200104038) for controlling Macs, iPads, and Apple TVs (the set-top box) by motion gestures.</p>