Dennis Sellers

<p style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Worldwide shipments of devices — personal computers (PCs), tablets and mobile phones — are on pace to reach 2.21 billion units in 2019, exhibiting flat growth year over year, according to <a href="http://www.gartner.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Gartner, Inc</a>. The PC market is expected to continue its downward trend, while the mobile phone market is set to return to growth in 2020.</p>

<p style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Now that the AirPower has been canceled, it would be kinda cool if Apple gave us an “iDesk” as envisioned by the folks at Geeky Gadgets and, some years ago, by <em>Mac/Life. </em>It would doubtless be pricey and have a niche audience, but I think there’s a market for such a product. And it’s something I’ve dreamed about over the years.</p>

<p style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Apple wants to get into your head — acoustically, that is. The tech giant has filed for a patent (number 2019014366) for a “system to move sound into and out of a listener’s head using a virtual acoustic system.” It likely involves upcoming tweaks to the company’s AirPods.</p>

<p style="white-space:pre-wrap;">According to recent update to the official Netflix Help Center <a href="https://help.netflix.com/en/node/49" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">webpage</a>, Airplay is no longer supported for use with Netflix due to “technical limitations.” AirPlay lets you share videos, photos, music, and more from Apple devices to your Apple TV, favorite speakers, and soon, popular smart TVs.</p>

<p style="white-space:pre-wrap;">When macOS 10.15 is previewed at June’s Worldwide Developer Conference, and arrives for end users in the fall, it may see iTunes broken up into separate apps as is currently the case with iOS.</p>

<p style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Provision Living conducted a recent study on smartphone screen time. The company, which “provides exceptional services to older adults and their families,” surveyed 1,000 millennials and 1,000 baby boomers to find out exactly how Americans spend hours a day on their devices. </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;">According to <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/politics/victoria/heritage-authority-refuses-fed-square-demolition-permit-for-apple-store-20190405-p51b97.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><span style="text-decoration:underline"><em>The Sydney Morning Herald</em></span></a><em>,</em> a plan to build an Apple store at Federation Square in Melbourne, Australia, has been shelved, after heritage authorities refused an application to demolish part of the existing square. The tech giant won’t proceed with its plan, and the Andrews government will now review the operation of Federation Square.</p>

<p style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Apple Music has overtaken Spotify when it comes to the number of paid U.S. subscribers, reports <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/apple-music-overtakes-spotify-in-u-s-subscribers-11554475924" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>The Wall Street Journal</em></a> .</p>

<p style="white-space:pre-wrap;">If, like me, you have an Apple Pencil or Apple Pencil 2 and a compatible iPad, but aren’t a great artist, you should download Pigment from the <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/pigment-only-true-coloring/id1062006344?mt=8" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">App Store</a>. It allows you to color pictures just  like you did as a kid. (Of course, kids can use it, as well.)</p>

<p style="white-space:pre-wrap;">With iOS 13 certain to be unveiled at June’s Worldwide Developer Conference, several folks and publications — such as <a href="https://www.cultofmac.com/546401/ios-13-will-boast-great-updates-for-ipad-users/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Cult of Mac</em></a> — expect some serious operating system updates for the iPad Pro, such as mouse support and an improved file system. Others want Apple to go even further.</p>

<p style="white-space:pre-wrap;">The AirPower may be dead, but Apple hasn’t given up on making its own charging systems.The company has been granted a patent (number 20190203751) for “smart charging systems for portable electronic devices” such as iPhones, iPads, Apple Watches,and Mac laptops.</p>

<p style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Apple supplier Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) has seen 7nm chip orders ramp up and the process capacity utilization rate start picking up recently, according to <a href="https://www.digitimes.com/news/a20190403PD209.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>DigiTimes</em></a>. In fact, it may see its 7-nanometer chip capacity pushed to max as it prepares for the 2019 iPhones.</p>

<p style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Ian Goodfellow, one of the top minds in artificial intelligence at Google, has joined Apple in a director role, reports <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/04/apple-hires-ai-expert-ian-goodfellow-from-google.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>CNBC</em></a>.</p>

<p style="white-space:pre-wrap;">In a note to clients — as noted by <a href="https://www.barrons.com/articles/the-apple-goldman-sachs-credit-card-could-be-worth-1-5-billion-in-5-years-analyst-says-51554400003" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Barron’s</em></a><em> </em>— HSBC, a British multinational banking and financial services holding company (and the seventh largest bank in the world) says Apple’s upcoming credit card, the <a href="https://appleworld.dreamhosters.com/blog/2019/3/25/apple-gets-into-the-credit-card-business-with-apple-card?rq=Apple%20Card" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Apple Card</a>, could become a “significant player in the U.S. card market,” HSBC says in new note.</p>