Dennis Sellers

<p style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Apple has cut prices on iPhones, iPads, Macs, and AirPods in China by nearly 6%, reports <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/01/apple-slashes-iphone-prices-in-china-by-as-much-as-5percent.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>CNET</em></a>. The price cuts come as Apple has seen sales drop in China, leading to lower-than-expected revenue in the fourth quarter of 2018.</p>

<p style="white-space:pre-wrap;">In a note to clients — as noted by <a href="https://appleinsider.com/articles/19/04/01/2019-iphone-should-be-able-to-power-the-airpods-wireless-charging-case" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>AppleInsider</em></a> — analyst Ming-Chi Kuo says this year’s iPhone line-up will provide two-way wireless charging.</p>

<p style="white-space:pre-wrap;">The Azrieli Group, the property developer and mall owner, has dropped efforts to open an official Apple Store in Tel Aviv after negotiation with the U.S. company broke down over financial terms. It would have been the tech giant’s first retail store in the country.</p>

<p style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Cord-cutters take note:<a href="https://www.directvnow.com/accounts/select-plan" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> DirectTV is offering</a> a free Apple TV 4K if you pay for four months of service in advance.</p>

<p style="white-space:pre-wrap;"><a href="http://www.brandtotal.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">BrandTotal</a>, a social analytics platform, has released data about Apple TV+, Apple’s upcoming video streaming service. </p>

<p style="white-space:pre-wrap;">According to the latest market share survey from <a href="http://netmarkeshare.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">NetMarketShare,</a> the market share for both macOS and iOS both rose last month.</p>

<p style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Apple has filed for a patent (number 20190096228) for the “establishment and detection of breakage of wireless leash between devices.” It would allow Macs, iPhones, iPads, Apple Watches, and upcoming devices to better communicate with each other and automatically sync under certain conditions such as when an item is lost.</p>

<p style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Let the Apple Car rumors keep rolling. <a href="https://electrek.co/2019/03/30/apple-car-tesla-electric-powertrain/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Electrek</em> reports </a>that Apple has hired Michael Schwekutsch, Tesla’s engineering vice president in charge of powertrains, leading to renewed hope/speculation that the company plans a complete auto of its own.</p>

<p style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Gerard Williams III, lead designer of Apple's custom iOS chips from A7 to A12X, has left the company, <a href="https://www.cnet.com/news/apple-loses-engineer-overseeing-the-processors-powering-iphones-ipads/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">according to </a><a href="https://www.cnet.com/news/apple-loses-engineer-overseeing-the-processors-powering-iphones-ipads/"><em>CNET</em></a>. The reason for his departure is unknown, but the article says his work will “likely show upon in future Apple processors as he’s listed as the inventor on more than 60 Apple patents.”</p>

<p style="white-space:pre-wrap;">When Apple’s video streaming service, Apple TV +, finally rolls out this fall, it will have plenty of competition.Three out of every four Americans has at least one online subscription, according to a new <a href="https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=2413532-1&h=2023569951&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.comparecards.com%2Fblog%2F3-in-4-americans-have-online-subscription-study%2F&a=report" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">report</a> from CompareCards.com. Video streaming is the most popular choice among subscribers.</p>

<p style="white-space:pre-wrap;">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 style="white-space:pre-wrap;"><em>iFixit</em>, which tears down tech items so you don’t have to, had published a <a href="https://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/AirPods+2+Teardown/121471" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">teardown of the second-generation AirPods</a>, providing a closer look at the H1 chip with Bluetooth 5.0 and the same 93 milliwatt hour battery in each of the AirPods in line with the original pair.</p>

<p style="white-space:pre-wrap;">It’s official; the AirPower is dead (though it never actually lived).. Dan Riccio, Apple’s senior vice president of hardware engineering, made the announcement in a statement to <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2019/03/29/apple-cancels-airpower-product-citing-inability-to-meet-its-high-standards-for-hardware/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>TechCrunch</em></a>.</p>

<p style="white-space:pre-wrap;"><a href="http://www.jamf.com/">Jamf</a>, which specializes in Apple management, is partnering with Google Cloud to provide both schools and enterprises with a simple, unified authentication process. With <a href="https://www.jamf.com/products/jamf-connect/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Jamf Connect</a>, users can unbox their Apple device, power it on and access their corporate and learning applications after signing on with Cloud Identity (or G Suite) credentials.</p>

<p style="white-space:pre-wrap;">The global market for smart home devices is expected to grow 26.9% year over year in 2019 to 832.7 million shipments, according to the International Data Corporation (<span style="text-decoration:underline">IDC</span>) <a href="https://www.idc.com/tracker/showproductinfo.jsp?prod_id=1781" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><span style="text-decoration:underline">Worldwide Quarterly Smart Home Device Tracker</span></a>. </p>