Dennis Sellers

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://crunchbase.com/organization/epic-games-2" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Epic Games </a>— an American video game development company that creates games such as Fortnite and offers its game engine technology to other developers — plans to launch a desktop games store built to take on Valve’s Steam Store.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">OWC has launched a refreshed <a href="https://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/TCDRVDCK/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">OWC Drive Dock</a> that supports up to two, simultaneous drives and connects to any Mac or PC with the latest USB-C or Thunderbolt 3 port for data rates of up to 981MB/second.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Apple has filed for a patent (number 10,149,041) for “earbuds with compliant member” that hints at features we could see in upcoming versions of the company’s AirPods, such as some of the biometric readings available with the Apple Watch.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">With Christmas just around the corner, it's time to buy a special gift for the person most important in your life. In my case, that would be me.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">In writing for <a href="http://www.osnews.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">OS News</a> last year, Thom Holwerda said that Apple was exploring MacBook Pro features such as hooking an iPad up to a Mac to use it as a Cintiq-like device. That’s a great idea.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">In  a weekend note to clients — as noted by <a href="http://www.macrumors.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>MacRumors</em></a>—Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo updated his predictions for Apple’s AirPods, with a relatively minor upgrade expected in the next six months, and a more pronounced revision with design changes launching before the end of 2020.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Apple has launched a <a href="https://www.apple.com/us_epp_805199/shop" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Veterans and Military Purchase Program </a>that provides a 10% discount on select products for U.S. activity military and veterans, National Guard, and Reserve — and members of their households. </p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Select categories in the the 61st Grammy Awards nominations will be announced live on “CBS This Morning” and on Apple Music at 8:30 a.m. (Eastern), reports <a href="https://variety.com/2018/music/news/grammy-nominations-announcement-moved-to-dec-7-1203078160/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Variety</em></a>. Then, at 8:45 a.m., the Recording Academy will announce nominations across all 84 categories.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">In the third quarter of 2018, Chinese brands Huawei and Xiaomi, helped drive global smartphone sales, according to <a href="http://www.gartner.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Gartner, Inc.</a> Apple’s performance was flat in the period with 0.7% growth. </p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> Apple sold 4.1 million smartwatches during the third quarter, a 54% increase year-over-year. The tech giant now has 13.1% of the wearable market and 17% of the smartwatch market.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Don’t look for a 5G iPhone until at least 2020, according to a <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-12-03/apple-is-said-to-miss-rapid-5g-takeoff-sitting-out-tech-shift" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Bloomberg </em>report</a>, quoting unnamed “people familiar with [Apple’s] plans.”</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 macOS was up, but iOS was down last month.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Alas, AirPower, we never knew you. If, like me, you’ve given up on Apple’s wireless charging pad ever seeing the light of day, you’re probably investigating other options. Worth your consideration: Satechi’s cumbersomely named <a href="https://satechi.net/pages/search-results-page?q=Aluminum+Type-C+PD+%26+QC+Wireless+Charger" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Aluminum Type-C PD & QC Wireless Charger</a>. </p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">U.S. consumers spent an estimated $52 million on Apple’s App Store on Black Friday, setting a new single-day revenue record for the store. This marked an increase in spending of 31.6% over 2017’s Black Friday, when gross revenue on the store hit an estimated $39.5 million, and 31% more than Christmas 2017’s $39.8 million tally, according to new Sensor Tower <a href="https://sensortower.com/solutions/store-intelligence" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Store Intelligence</span></a>.</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>