Dennis Sellers

<p style="white-space:pre-wrap;">According to preliminary data from the International Data Corporation (<span style="text-decoration:underline">IDC</span>) <a href="https://www.idc.com/tracker/showproductinfo.jsp?prod_id=37" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><span style="text-decoration:underline">Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker</span></a>, smartphone vendors shipped a total of 375.4 million units during the fourth quarter of 2018 (4Q18), down 4.9% year-over-year and the fifth consecutive quarter of decline. </p>

<p style="white-space:pre-wrap;"><em>Bloomberg </em>has published <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-01-30/apple-is-said-to-prep-new-3-d-camera-for-2020-iphones-in-ar-push?srnd=technology-vp" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">an article</a> that says, among other things, Apple is testing a triple camera system for iOS 2019 iPhones, new low-end iPads are coming soon, an updated iPhone Xr is in the works, and iOS 13 will sport a dark mode a la macOS Mojave.</p>

<p style="white-space:pre-wrap;">New York’s new Attorney General Letitia James and Governor Andrew Cuomo have announced an investigation into Apple’s failure to warn consumers about a FaceTime Group Calling exploit that lets iPhones users listen to conversations of others who haven’t yet accepted a video call, reports <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-apple-patch/ny-ag-governor-cuomo-launch-probe-into-apples-facetime-bug-idUSKCN1PO2UU" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Reuters</em></a>.</p>

<p style="white-space:pre-wrap;">First, Facebook <a href="https://appleworld.today/blog/2019/1/30/apple-revokes-facebooks-enterprise-developer-certificates" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">was found t</a>o be violating Enterprise Developer Program guidelines. Now Google is accused of the same.</p>

<p style="white-space:pre-wrap;">For the second time in six months, the FBI is accusing a Chinese national working for Apple of attempting to steal trade secrets related to the company’s secret autonomous vehicle program, according to a <a href="https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/Another-Apple-Engineer-Accused-of-Stealing-Autonomous-Vehicle-Trade-Secrets-505055701.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">report</a> from <em>NBC Bay Area</em>’s Investigative Unit.</p>

<p style="white-space:pre-wrap;"><a href="https://appleinsider.com/articles/19/01/30/apple-has-revoked-facebooks-enterprise-developer-certificates-after-sideload-violations" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>AppleInsider</em></a><em> </em>reports that Apple has stopped Facebook from being able to use its internal apps by revoking its enterprise developer certificates following reports that the social network ignored guidelines relating to user privacy by distributing apps outside the app store. Plus it paid users to install the spyware.</p>

<p style="white-space:pre-wrap;"><a href="https://bstock.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><span style="text-decoration:underline">B-Stock</span></a> – a B2B marketplace for trade-in and overstock mobile phones and devices – reports that the used phone market is currently worth $25 billion and growing faster than the primary market. </p>

<p style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Apple can’t be held liable for slowing down iPhones with iOS updates, according to a motion to dismiss a lawsuit concerning efforts to prolong an iPhone's battery life by reducing its performance, reports <a href="https://appleinsider.com/articles/19/01/30/apple-compares-ios-updates-to-kitchen-renovations-in-motion-to-dismiss-iphone-slowdown-lawsuit" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>AppleInsider</em></a>.</p>

<p style="white-space:pre-wrap;">More than 250 students from the Sewanhaka Central High School District on Long Island were able to use Apple iPad devices for the first time to complete their Algebra I, Geometry and Algebra II Regents New York State exam. </p>

<p style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Another day, another lawsuit. Apple is being sued over the<a href="https://appleworld.today/blog/2019/1/28/be-aware-of-this-facetime-bug-on-ios-devices" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> Group Calling exploit </a>that allows a FaceTime video caller to hear the audio from a recipient's iPhone without the call even being picked up.</p>

<p style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Starting Friday, Apple Music subscribers will have access to over 50 million songs, playlists and music videos on any domestic American Airlines flight equipped with Viasat satellite Wi-Fi with no Wi-Fi purchase required. American Airlines is the first commercial airline to provide exclusive access to Apple Music through complimentary inflight Wi-Fi.</p>

<p style="white-space:pre-wrap;">OWC has released the second generation of its <a href="https://eshop.macsales.com/shop/owc-thunderblade">ThunderBlade</a> external SSD, with a lower price point and improved performance. It’s targeted to creative pros and prosumers who work to capture and process 4K or 8K video.</p>

<p style="white-space:pre-wrap;">If you want the ultimate protection for your iPad Pro, you can’t do better than the Defender Series from <a href="http://www.otterbox.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Otterbox</a>. It’s available for the 11-inch and 12.9-inch Apple tablets for $89.95 and $129.95, respectively.</p>

<p style="white-space:pre-wrap;">About four years ago, Ben Kunz writing for <em>Bloomberg Businessweek, </em>predicted that Apple devices will someday project holograms "like you’ve never seen." He may have been onto something. The company has been granted another patent (number 10,188,288) for such tech.</p>

<p style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Apple has announced the financial results for its fiscal 2019 first quarter that ended Dec. 29, 2018. The company posted quarterly revenue of $84.3 billion, a decline of 5% from the year-ago quarter, and quarterly earnings per diluted share of $4.18, up 7.5%.</p>