Dennis Sellers

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Another day, yet another lawsuit. <a href="https://www.patentlyapple.com/patently-apple/2019/12/former-apple-store-genius-bar-staffer-sues-apple-for-inadequately-supporting-his-disability-as-required-by-law.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Patently Apple</a> reports that Canadian Robert Shaw, an ex-Apple Store Genius Bar employee, is suing Apple for “constructive dismissal.”</p>

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Overall, global smartphone profits declined 11% year-over-year to $12 billion in the third quarter of 2019. However, Apple still dominates the global handset market by capturing 66% of industry profits and 32% of the overall handset revenue., according to <a href="https://www.counterpointresearch.com/apple-continues-lead-global-handset-industry-profit-share/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Counterpoint Research</a>.</p>

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Westpac is the final big four bank in Australia to allow its customers to support Apple Pay and will rolling out access to Apple's mobile payment service across its various brands by mid-2020, reports <a href="http://www.apple.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Sydney Morning Herald</a>.</p>

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Another day, another lawsuit. As reported by <a href="https://appleinsider.com/articles/19/12/18/lawsuit-alleges-apple-music-streams-songs-without-proper-license" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">AppleInsider</a>, a new lawsuit accuses Apple of violating the U.S. Copyright Act for streaming copyrighted music through Apple Music without first obtaining a license from the copyright owner. </p>

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Just Mobile’s<a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/justmobile/just-mobiletm-shuttergrip-2?goal=0_105d86588b-b21a0c9a10-108208249&mc_cid=b21a0c9a10&mc_eid=f8e43ece4a&utm_campaign=GP-200&utm_medium=email&utm_source=e-blsat" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> ShutterGrip2</a> isn't due until February, but <em>AppleWorld.Today</em> received an advance copy. Like its predecessor, it’s a nifty accessory for smartphone owners who take lots of photos.</p>

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Apple has announced that the comedy series, “Mythic Quest: Raven’s Banquet” from Rob McElhenney and Charlie Day (“It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia”) will debut globally on Friday, Feb.7, exclusively on Apple TV+. </p>

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Twelve South's newest addition to its AirSnap line of protective cases for AirPods, AirSnap Pro, is designed and tailored to fit the AirPods Pro.</p>

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Apple has hired Zach Kahn, formerly with Vox Media, to head public relations for its podcast business, reports <a href="https://variety.com/2019/digital/news/apple-podcast-zach-kahn-hire-1203445249/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Variety</a>.</p>

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Apple and two of its executives, CEO Tim Cook and chief Financial Officer Luca Maestri, accused investors of filing a “perplexing novel of a lawsuit” and asked a California federal judge to end allegations that the tech giant ultimately hurt its own sales with an alleged scheme to sell more iPhones by slowing down its old ones with a software update, reports <a href="https://www.law360.com/technology/articles/1229091/apple-dubs-investors-suit-a-sprawling-190-page-riddle-?nl_pk=ade0cf2b-ea3f-464b-bc93-d8e19277ac63&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=technology" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Law360 </a>(a subscription is required to read the whole article).</p>

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Apple, Cisco, Daimler and BMW have urged the European Commission to put the brakes on on patent abuses that are hampering the development of self-driving cars and other connected devices, reports <a href="https://www.irishtimes.com/business/innovation/apple-cisco-daimler-and-bmw-complain-to-brussels-over-patents-1.4118617" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Irish Times</a>.</p>

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Apple, Amazon, Google, and the Zigbee Alliance have announced a new working group that plans to develop and promote the adoption of a new, royalty-free connectivity standard to increase compatibility among smart home products, with security as a fundamental design tenet. </p>

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">There are earbuds, and there are different earbuds. Xen by Neuvana Life are the latter, designed to help you de-stress.</p>

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Apple may have canceled plans for its AirPower wireless charger, but the company is apparently still interested in such technology as evidenced by a newly granted patent (number 10,511,197) for a “wireless charging system with object detection.”</p>

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">The gang at iFixIt, which tears apart tech gadgets and examined their innards, calls the new modular Mac desktop “a masterclass in repairability." You can find their full teardown of the new Mac Pro <a href="https://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Mac+Pro+2019+Teardown/128922" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">here</a>.</p>

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Launched in 2014, Apple Pay has evolved into a major mobile payment market player in the U.S., according to <a href="http://www.researchandmarkets.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Research and Markets</a>. </p>