Dennis Sellers

<p>The AWT News Update is on hiatus while my compadre, Steve, deals with a death in the family. Prayers go out to the entire Sande family. In the place of the AWT News Update, I’ll offer a text-only (no podcast) summary of breaking stories with a tip o’ my hat to my former website, <em>Apple Daily Report</em>.</p>

<p>Veteran music journalist Alex Gale has been named head of editorial for Apple Music, reports <a target="_blank" href="http://variety.com/2018/music/news/apple-music-alex-gale-head-of-editorial-1202687925/" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Variety</em></a>. Apple’s music streaming service now has over 36 million subscribers.</p>

<p>Apple and Apple Authorized Service Providers will offer some customers who own a 16GB iPhone 5c that's in need of replacement a 32GB model instead, reports <a target="_blank" href="https://www.macrumors.com" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>MacRumors</em></a>.</p>

<p>Good news for the iPad Pro: the worldwide detachable tablet market (those with attachable/detachable keyboards) grew to 6.5 million units in the fourth quarter of 2017 (4Q17), an increase of 10.3% from the previous holiday season, according to preliminary data from the International Data Corporation (IDC) <a target="_blank" href="http://www.idc.com/tracker/showproductinfo.jsp?prod_id=81" rel="noopener noreferrer">Worldwide Quarterly Tablet Tracker</a>. Apple maintained a solid lead in the holiday quarter driving growth both through its lower-priced 9.7-inch iPad as well as its newly refreshed iPad Pro products, notes the research group.</p>

<p><a target="_blank" href="http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20180205PD210.html" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>DigiTimes</em></a> says some Apple suppliers are poised to benefit from new or increased orders from the tech giant to help produce next-generation iPad, MacBook, and Apple Watch models this year. The article than says that new versions of the devices will debut starting in March.</p>

<p>Competition seems to be heating up among the two of the biggest music streaming services: Apple Music and Spotify. Citing unnamed"people in the record business," the <em>Wall Street Journal</em> <a target="_blank" href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/apple-music-on-track-to-overtake-spotify-in-u-s-subscribers-1517745720" rel="noopener noreferrer">reports</a> that Apple has been adding 5% to its U.S. subscriber base every month versus "just" 2% for Spotify. </p>

<p>Apple, Cisco, Aon and Allianz have  announced a new cyber risk management solution for businesses, comprised of cyber resilience evaluation services from Aon, secure technology from Cisco and Apple, and options for enhanced cyber insurance coverage from Allianz. </p>

<p>Apple has been granted a patent (number 20180027931) for “dynamic fit adjustment for wearable electronic devices.” It refers to current and future versions of its Apple Watch bands. </p>

<p>If you fancy yourself a pinball wizard, you can give the game a whirl on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch with <a target="_blank" href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/developer/barnstorm-games/id385706699?mt=8" rel="noopener noreferrer">Pro Pinball</a>, which is based on the classic pinball series from the ‘90s.</p>

<p>You can change your iCloud name and photo, and your iCloud contact, security, devices, and payment information in iCloud preferences in macOS High Sierra.</p>

<p>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 today's picks.</p>

<p>Apple hopes to be ready to open its <a target="_blank" href="http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2018-02/03/c_136946978.htm" rel="noopener noreferrer">first data center in China</a> in 2020, <em>Xinhua </em>reports. The tech giant will launch the work on the 67-hectare site later this year.</p>

<p>Apple is launching a free repair program to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-02-02/apple-says-small-percentage-of-iphone-7s-need-component-repair" rel="noopener noreferrer">address a component failure</a> afflicting a "small percentage" of iPhone 7 devices. The glitch makes it appear the phone isn’t connected to cellular networks even when service is available. </p>

<p>There’s a lot happening in the world of Apple news this week. Following are the hottest articles for the week of Jan. 22-27.</p>

<p>The AWT News Update is on hiatus while my compadre, Steve, deals with a death in the family. Prayers go out to the entire Sande family. In the place of the AWT News Update, I’ll offer a text-only (no podcast) summary of breaking stories with a tip o’ my hat to my former website, <em>Apple Daily Report</em>.</p>