Dennis Sellers

<p>According to the latest research from <a target="_blank" href="http://www.counterpoint.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">Counterpoint’s Market Pulse program</a><strong>,</strong> Apple sold a record 22.39 million iPhones in the U.S. market during the holiday season quarter of 2017. The tech giant grew their sell-through market share from 37% to 44%, notes the research group. This is the highest ever market share for Apple in its home market.</p>

<p>Amazon is the world’s most valuable brand, ahead of Apple and Google, according to the latest <a target="_blank" href="https://eu.vocuspr.com/Tracking.aspx?Data=HHL%3d93%3b29%26JDG%3c%3b1%3e466%40%26SDG%3c%3a0%3c2&RE=MC&RI=3956681&Preview=False&DistributionActionID=32597&Action=Follow+Link" rel="noopener noreferrer">Brand Finance Global 500 report</a>. The e-commerce giant’s brand value increased by 42% year on year to $150.8 billion. Apple was in first place in 2016, but was overtaken by Google in 2017.</p>

<p>I really like my Apple Pencil —and really dislike the process of charging it. We need a better solution. How about an Apple Pencil that works with the upcoming AirPower?</p>

<p>Are you a news junkie? If so, you’ll want to check out AppGeneration’s <a target="_blank" href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/mynews-free/id882762430" rel="noopener noreferrer">myNews Pro</a> for macOS (10.10 and later) offers easy access to news of all kind from all over the world — more than 5,000 online newspapers from 80 countries, to be exact. </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>Two former Apple TV designers, Ben Keighran and Sam Roberts, have raised $46 million in  in two rounds of funding led by Silicon Valley VC firms Andreessen Horowitz and Greylock Partners to launch Caffeine, a startup looking to take on Amazon-owned Twitch with a new social-broadcasting service, reports <a target="_blank" href="http://variety.com/2018/digital/news/caffeine-apple-tv-execs-funding-live-broadcasting-1202682809/" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Variety</em></a>.</p>

<p>Dubset Media Holdings has partnered with Apple Music to provide hundreds of DJ mixes to the streaming platform, including three never-before-heard DJ sets from <a target="_blank" href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/the-retrospective-mix-2011-2017/1339218947" rel="noopener noreferrer">Steve Aoki</a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/sigalas-picks/1338903805" rel="noopener noreferrer">Sigala</a>, and <a target="_blank" href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/hip-hop-classics-part-1-hip-hop-classics-part-1/1338982765" rel="noopener noreferrer">DJ Suss One</a>. </p>

<p><a target="_blank" href="http://www.kensington.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">Kensington</a> has introduced the $219.99 SD4700P Universal USB-C and USB 3.0 Docking Station, which gives organizations full support for both USB-C and USB 3.0 devices from laptops using both macOS and Windows.</p>

<p>Apple has retained the lead in India's premium smartphone market thanks to the iPhone X, according to new data from <a target="_blank" href="http://www.counterpointresearch.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">Counterpoint Research</a>. </p>

<p>Despite reports saying that some key features in<a href="https://appleworld.dreamhosters.com/blog/2018/1/30/apple-to-focus-on-security-stability-instead-of-new-features-in-ios-12"> iOS 12</a> and, to a lesser degree, <a target="_blank" href="https://appleworld.dreamhosters.com/blog/2018/1/30/next-rev-of-macos-to-also-concentrate-on-stability-and-security-less-than-new-features" rel="noopener noreferrer">the next version of macOS</a> have been delayed to allow Apple to improve performance and squash bugs, both <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-01-30/apple-is-said-to-push-back-some-key-iphone-software-features" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Bloomberg News</em></a> and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.axios.com/apple-still-working-to-make-ipad-apps-run-on-macs-this-year-1517340185-de66e445-19de-43be-bdfd-4e0dbba164a8.html" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Axios</em></a> say the tech giant still plans “universal apps” for 2018.</p>

<p>Fanatic Software has announced the availability of Informant for macOS (10.11 or higher) in the <a target="_blank" href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/informant/id1320231745?mt=12" rel="noopener noreferrer">Mac App Store</a>. </p>

<p>Wistron, Apple’s primary assembler in India, is close to finalizing a land deal in India’s tech hub of Bengaluru with the company likely to invest about $157 million to develop the site, reports <em><a target="_blank" href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-wistron-india-apple/apple-supplier-wistron-nears-land-deal-in-india-sources-idUSKBN1FK13Y" rel="noopener noreferrer">Reuters</a></em>, quoting two unnamed government officials.</p>

<p>Yesterday <a target="_blank" href="https://appleworld.dreamhosters.com/blog/2018/1/30/us-doj-sec-investigating-apple-over-batterygate" rel="noopener noreferrer">it was reported</a> that the U.S. Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission are investigating whether Apple violated securities laws concerning its disclosures about a software update that slowed older iPhone models. Apple has confirmed it has gotten some government questions regarding the so-called “Batterygate.”</p>

<p>Apple has been granted two patents (numbers 9,883,274 and 9,883,277) for an “earbud case with charging system” and “case with inductive charging system to charge a portable device.” Both involve the case for the company’s AirPods case. </p>

<p>Not everyone will need it, but Paper Software’s Turner is handy macOS software for creating and analyzing contracts. It offers a proofreader, streamlined navigation tools, search features, editing tools, file format support, and more.</p>