Dennis Sellers

<p style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Another day, another lawsuit. Rembrandt Wireless Technologies, Pennsylvania-based business technology company, is suing Apple for patent infringement involving the underlying technology used for Bluetooth, reports <a href="https://appleinsider.com/articles/19/01/24/apple-sued-over-bluetooth-communications-in-devices-going-back-to-iphone-3gs" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>AppleInsider</em></a>. </p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP) has released analysis of the results from its research on Apple for the fiscal quarter that ended Dec. 29, 2018. The research group found that the iPhone Xs and Xs Max models combined accounted for 26% of U.S. iPhone sales in Apple’s first fiscal quarter. The iPhone Xr, though not released until Oct. 26, 2018, accounted for 39% of sales for the entire quarter.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Tired of the irritating beeping noise when your carbon monoxide detector’s battery is low? Soon that could be a thing of the past with your iPhone and/or Apple Watch detecting and alerting you to dangerous gases.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-01-24/sonos-is-said-to-plan-headphones-in-move-outside-the-home" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Bloomberg</em></a>'s Mark Gurman has reiterated that Apple is planning its own over-ear headphones for as early as the second half of this year. </p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Personally, I prefer Apple’s iWork products (Pages, Numbers, Keynote), but  for those who feel otherwise, Office 365 is available for the first time on the Mac App Store, making it easy to download Word, Outlook, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, and other Microsoft apps. </p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">The Verizon-backed <a href="https://www.globenewswire.com/Tracker?data=Ayf9bZ6Afm7eoglZNVcu2yG16N46U8cWxPzy6EfReQGau2wAChCbSmyVj7toCWqx" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Visible</span></a>, the “no contract, unlimited everything for only $40, digital mobile carrier,” says it’s now offering 0% APR financing on all iOS device sales, and no down payment required for qualifying members. </p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Your Apple Watch may soon provide even better workout-tracking features, especially for those tackling multiple activities such as a run followed by a swim. Apple has filed for a patent (number 20190025995) for “displaying a scrollable list of affordances associated with physical activities.”</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://www.globenewswire.com/Tracker?data=dJi0dzqeFLbywCovojwS_0QMrDnMRrnSkbYcXpUvCz1K4js3l1ITu4KH-OjCqdCx" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Jamf</span></a>, which specializes in Apple management solutions, says it’s further expanding into identity authentication and security with <a href="https://www.globenewswire.com/Tracker?data=FtzWrx6FL7qmK6dkwdTwkGheoeaOxzehhPtXmVQG3Sc6usvPMhMYcIpJ9pgtf7KSA9PsZPZsI7-Y0ulI4nN3UKZ-Yc2dOZWDLroIWUAa91w="><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Jamf Connect</span></a>’s integrations with cloud-based identity providers such as Microsoft <a href="https://www.globenewswire.com/Tracker?data=yZgUBI1c0yGH4G8W-dpZkD6jMeXCO5ub1azLIcGtkRmayk4wfbnAOAzO_fxwI2gnQHs77B69B-AgPdllhmkyttDMJu6ct3ST0h4HOhWc9QA=" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Azure Active Directory</span></a>. With Jamf Connect, an end user can unbox their Mac, power it on and access their corporate applications after signing on with Azure Active Directory credentials.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Apple is teaming up with Under Armour — which makes footwear, sports, and casual apparel— for a new Apple Pay promo: use the latter’s mobile payment service in the Under Armour app — available at the Apple App Store — and save 10% on your purchase.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Happy birthday, Mac. Apple CEO Tim Cook has <a href="https://twitter.com/tim_cook/status/1088393240569671681">tweeted</a> a photo of the first Mac, which was unveiled by Steve Jobs on January 24, 1984 – in celebration of the 35th anniversary of the Mac.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">I’ve long said that I didn’t believe Apple would ever make its own vehicle from scratch, and a new report seems to back me up. Apple has cut over 200 employees from Project Titan, its stealthy autonomous vehicle initiative, reports <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/01/24/apple-lays-off-over-200-from-project-titan-autonomous-vehicle-group.html)" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>CNBC</em>.</a></p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Apple has hired Soonho Ahn, a former executive from Samsung SDI, the battery production unit of Samsung Electronics, to help lead its own battery work, reports <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-01-23/apple-hires-samsung-battery-executive-to-help-lead-its-own-work" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Bloomberg</em></a>.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Do you often forget where your parked your car in the mall parking lot? If you’ve got an iPhone running iOS 11, no problem.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Egypt wants to see a more direct physical presence from tech giant Apple even as the two are caught up in conflict over local iPhone sales, reports <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/01/23/egypt-wants-an-apple-hub-despite-ongoing-fight-over-iphone-prices.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>CNBC</em></a> . </p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Apple’s second get AirPods will arrive in the first half of 2019 with health tracking features, according to a <a href="https://www.digitimes.com/news/a20190123PD209.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>DigiTimes</em> report</a> that quotes unnamed “industry sources.” The article says the updated earbuds should receive an “enthusiastic market response,” even as competition heats up.</p>