Dennis Sellers

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Apple has hired Rusian Meshenberg, one of Netflix Inc.’s top engineers, part of a broader strategy to build out the technical team supporting Apple TV+ and its other subscription services, reports <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/apple-hires-key-netflix-engineer-in-bid-to-boost-subscription-services-11580324237" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Wall Street Journal</a>. </p>

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">In a note to clients — as noted by <a href="http://www.macrumors.com/"><span style="text-decoration:underline">MacRumors</span></a> — analyst Ming-Chi Kuo says release several new products in the first half of 2020, the follow-up to the iPhone SE 2, new iPad Pros, 13-inch MacBook Pros and MacBook Airs with new keyboards,“Apple Tags,” high-end headphones, and … an AirPower Lite?</p>

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Apple’s long-awaited online store in India in India will be operational starting in the third quarter of 2020, according to <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2020/01/28/apple-to-start-online-sales-in-india-in-q3-this-year/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">TechCrunch</a>.</p>

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Apple’s iPhone accounts for 24.3% of all smartphone sales across the five major European markets (EU5), with share also up across Urban China, the U.S., Japan and Australia, according to the <a href="https://www.kantarworldpanel.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Kantar Worldpanel ComTech research group</a>. (The EU5 is France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom).</p>

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Apple and Broadcom should pay over $1.1 billion for infringing Caltech’s patents with Wi-Fi chips installed in almost 600 million Apple devices sold in the U.S., a lawyer for the university told a California federal jury during closing arguments Tuesday that accused the tech giants of stonewalling and even hiding a witness, reports<a href="http://www.apple.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> Law360</a> (a subscription is required to read the entire article).</p>

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">This finding comes from Strategy Analytics’ latest report, <a href="https://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.strategyanalytics.com%2Faccess-services%2Fdevices%2Fconnected-home%2Fsmart-speakers-and-screens%2Freports%2Freport-detail%2F2019-smart-speaker-user-survey-us-results&esheet=52164157&newsitemid=20200127005430&lan=en-US&anchor=2019+Smart+Speaker+User+Survey+%26%238211%3B+US+Results&index=1&md5=996c222b92b8906a567358c957c05d96">2019 Smart Speaker User Survey – US Results</a>, and is based on a survey of 1136 users of smart speakers carried out in July and August 2019. This means that 1-in-8 of all TV users are now using their voice to find shows, movies or videos, change channels, change the volume or simply turn the TV on or off. </p>

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Apple held a press conference for analysts following its announcement of its financial results for its fiscal 2020 first quarter that ended Dec. 28, 2019. CEO Tim Cook and Chief Financial Officer Luca Maestri field questions and here are some highlights from the answers and comments.</p>

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Apple has announced the financial results for its fiscal 2020 first quarter that ended Dec. 28, 2019. The company posted quarterly revenue of $91.8 billion, an increase of 9% from the year-ago quarter and an all-time record, and quarterly earnings per diluted share of $4.99, up 19%, also an all-time record. International sales accounted for 61% of the quarter’s revenue.</p>

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Apple has released macOS Catalina 10.15.3.  You can install it by going to System Preferences then Software Update. </p>

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Apple has released iOS 13.3.1 and iPadOS 13.3.1. You can download them on your iPhone or iPad by going to Settings > General > Software Update. </p>

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"><a href="https://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.curve.app%2Fen%2Fsignup&esheet=52164444&newsitemid=20200128005315&lan=en-US&anchor=Curve&index=1&md5=f260cd126e81fa00f2da79d87270e075" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Curve</a>, an “over-the-top" banking platform that consolidates multiple cards and accounts into one smart card and app, has added support for Apple Pay, Apple’s mobile payment service.</p>

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Worldwide sales of smartphones to end users are on track to reach 1.57 billion units in 2020, an increase of 3% year over year, according to <a href="http://www.gartner.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Gartner, Inc</a>. The research group says that strong demand for 5G phones in general, together with expectations of Apple’s first 5G iPhone, will bolster demand for smartphones, particularly in Asia/Pacific and Greater China.</p>

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">With the 2016 MacBook Pro line, Apple ditched the beloved MagSafe connector, which disengaged with the slightest amount of pressure. The connector saved many Mac laptops from a disastrous plummet when someone accidentally snagged the power cable. However, a new patent filing (number 10,547,151) for a “magnetic adapter” hints that it could return.</p>

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">iPhones and iPads may one day be able to dock to Mac laptops, as evidenced by a newly granted Apple patent (number 10,545,542) for an “electronic accessory device.”</p>

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Apple and A24 have scooped up the global rights to “Boys State,” a political documentary and coming-of-age tale following a group of politically active 17-year-old boys from Texas, according to <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/apple-a24-nab-hot-doc-boys-state-10m-sundance-1273684" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Hollywood Reporter</a>. It will stream on (at least I presume so), the Apple TV+ streaming service.</p>