Dennis Sellers

<p class="">Apple has updated the 13-inch <a href="https://www.apple.com/macbook-pro/">MacBook Pro</a> with the new Magic Keyboard and doubled the storage across all standard configurations.</p>

<p class="">Apple wants to beef up the features of its Apple TV app, as evidenced by a new patent filing (number 2020133631) for a “multi-TV user interface.</p>

<p class="">Apple has been granted another patent (number 10,637,017) for a “flexible battery structure” that hints at either/both “bendable" iPhones and iPads or devices with batteries less likely to be damaged if dropped.</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="">A new document published by the Centers for Disease Control outlines what it sees as the critical features for digital contact tracing apps. Notably, the document recommends a system for contact tracing that leaves the door open to the project backed by Apple and Google, according to a <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/05/01/cdc-contact-tracing-criteria-opens-door-for-apple-google-approach.html?__source=twitter%7Cmain" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">CNBC</a> report.</p>

<p class="">Apple and Visa’s attempt to get an invalidation of a lawsuit that challenges ownership of Apple Pay's core technologies has failed. A United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit dismissed Apple and Visa's appeal motion in a series of nonprecedential decisions, <em>Law360</em> <a href="https://www.law360.com/articles/1269025" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">reported</a> (a subscription is required to read the entire article).</p>

<p class="">Annie Weisman, creator, executive producer and showrunner of Apple’s upcoming dramedy series Physical, has signed an overall deal with the tech company and will develop television projects exclusively for the AppleTV+ streaming service. reports <a href="https://deadline.com/2020/05/annie-weisman-overall-deal-apple-1202923333/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Deadline</a>.</p>

<p class="">In an email to Apple Card users about their April statements, Apple says "we understand that the COVID-19 situation poses unique challenges for everyone and some customers may have difficulty making their monthly payments.”</p>

<p class="">Brad Freitag, CEO of Claris, a wholly owned subsidiary of Apple, told <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/05/01/an-apple-business-you-dont-know-that-bets-on-big-coronavirus-growth.html"><span style="text-decoration:underline">CNBC</span></a> that says low-code application development software such as the company's FileMaker will gain popularity as the business world continues to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic.</p>

<p class="">Valve <a href="https://steamcommunity.com/games/250820/announcements/detail/2216278054495230718" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">has ended Mac support</a> for SteamVR so its team can focus on Windows and Linux.</p>

<p class="">The newest game added to Apple Arcade is <a href="https://apps.apple.com/us/app/neversong/id1492757836" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Neversong</a>, which is available for the iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV (the set-top box) — alas, but not for the Mac.</p>

<p class="">A California federal judge is mulling whether to dismiss Apple and Intel's lawsuit accusing investment management firm Fortress Investment of funding an anti-competitive patent aggregation scheme, a case that's also pitted the technology giants against the U.S. Department of Justice, reports <a href="https://www.law360.com/technology/articles/1269171/apple-intel-try-to-storm-a-doj-backed-patent-fortress-?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 entire article).</p>

<p class="">Joe Biden has tapped a group of legal experts (including one from Apple) and political allies to oversee his search for a running mate, in his latest move to prepare for a potential future administration, reports <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/joe-biden-names-advisers-to-oversee-search-for-running-mate-11588239005" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Wall Street Journal.</a></p>

<p class="">The new series, <em>Trying,</em> debuts today on Apple TV+. Co-starring BAFTA Award winner Imelda Staunton, Ophelia Lovibond, and Oliver Chris, and written by Andy Wolton, it's a comedy series from Apple ’s streaming service and BBC Studios about a thirtysomething couple and their friends learning to grow up, settle down, and find someone to love.</p>

<p class="">Driven by a surge in use and adoption of the device during the COVID-19 pandemic, quarterly first-time downloads of apps for Apple’s iPad surpassed 1.1 billion worldwide in the first quarter of 2020, marking the first year-over-year growth in this metric since the fourth quarter of 2013 and a 40% increase from quarter one of 2019.</p>