Dennis Sellers

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">As <em>9to5</em>’s Ben Lovejoy pointed out in a <a href="https://9to5mac.com/2019/12/23/stereo-paired-homepods/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">“feature request" article</a>, Apple really needs to add stereo-paired HomePods as a Mac sound output. Apple’s iOS/iPadOS audio apps will happily allow you to select stereo-paired HomePods as a single output device. </p>

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Apple has been granted a patent (number 10,542,280) for “OLED based touch sensing and user identification” that hints at OLED screens with TouchID in future iPhones, iPads, and even touchscreen Macs.</p>

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Consumer Intelligence Research Partners has released analysis of the results from its research on Apple for the fiscal quarter that ended December 28, 2019.</p>

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Apple has honored Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. with a <a href="http://www.apple.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">full-page tribute</a> on its website. It has a photo of the civil rights leader and the following quote: </p>

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">An ex-Apple exec who worked on the chips that power iPhones and iPads has had a request to toss a breach-of-contract lawsuit brought by the company rejected by the court in a tentative ruling, reports <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-01-20/apple-gains-footing-in-court-feud-with-ex-executive-turned-rival?srnd=technology-vp" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Bloomberg</a>.</p>

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Apple TV+’s <em>The Morning Show</em> is doing well this awards season. At Sunday's 26th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards in Los Angeles Jennifer Aniston won an SAG Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series for her leading role as morning news anchor Alex Levy in the series.</p>

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">I’m skeptical that Apple will ever make its own accessory lenses for the iPhone or iPad, but you never know. The tech giant has been granted a patent (number 10,534,154) for “interlock arrangement for attaching a lens barrel to a lens carrier” that will, at least, make it easier for third parties to make photographic accessories for iOS and iPad OS devices.</p>

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Apple has announced details about lots of its Apple TV+ series:</p>

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Northeast Mississippi Community College has been recognized as an Apple Distinguished School – a prestigious designation achieved by only seven other colleges and universities in the country, reports the <a href="https://www.djournal.com/news/nemcc-receives-prestigious-apple-distinguished-schools-designation/article_222d994b-ab32-57d1-be07-a6012903f5ed.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Daily Journal</a>.</p>

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Future Apple Watches may be able to tell if you’re right or left-handed. Apple has been granted another patent (number 10,531,808) for a "method of detecting the wearing limb of a wearable electronic device.” The goal is to improvement the smartwatch’s health/fitness features.</p>

<p class="" 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 class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"><em>MacVoices</em> has a slew of reports from the recent Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. Check 'em all out at <a href="https://www.macvoices.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">www.macvoices.com.</a></p>

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Apple has announced “Dear…,” a new documentary series executive produced by Emmy and Peabody Award winner R.J. Cutler (“The September Issue,” “Untitled Billie Eilish Documentary”). The series will premiere globally this spring on Apple TV+, a new home for the world’s most creative storytellers.</p>

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus (<em>Veep, Seinfeld</em>) has reportedly inked an overall deal with Apple TV+ to develop new projects exclusively for the platform as executive producer and star though no initial project has been announced.</p>

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/privacy-advocates-say-fbi-not-apple-undermining-public-safety-2020-1?r=US&IR=T" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Business Insider</a> says privacy advocates are backing Apple in its brouhaha with the FBI.The iPhone maker appears to be headed toward a legal battle with the Trump administration over its refusal to create a so-called "backdoor" that would let the FBI crack encryption on devices like the iPhone.</p>