Dennis Sellers

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Apple has filed for a patent (number 20200033815) for a “watch with optical sensor for user input” that hints at future Apple Watches that ditch the currentl Digital Crown for an optical one.  </p>

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">According to the latest research from Strategy Analytics, <a href="https://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.strategyanalytics.com%2Faccess-services%2Fdevices%2Fmobile-phones%2Fsmartphone%2Fsmartphones%2Freports&esheet=52165959&newsitemid=20200129005865&lan=en-US&anchor=global+smartphone+shipments+held+steady+at+zero+growth&index=1&md5=772de295eed29e9f8fa74e11f81508d9" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">global smartphone shipments held steady at zero growth</a> to reach 375 million units in the fourth quarter of 2019. Apple grabbed first position with 19%global smartphone marketshare.</p>

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Apple keeps beefing up its Apple TV+ line-up. According to <a href="https://deadline.com/2020/01/rose-byrne-star-apple-dramedy-physical-annie-weisman-series-1202845808/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Deadline</a>, the tech giant is nearing a series order for <a href="https://deadline.com/tag/physical/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Physical</a><em>,</em> a dramedy headlined by actress Rose Byrne in her first regular role on an ongoing series since FX’s <em>Damages</em>. </p>

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Carmi Zlotnick, who just resigned as president of Programming at Starz, has signed an exclusive producer deal with Apple, reports <a href="https://deadline.com/2020/01/carmi-zlotnick-exclusive-producer-deal-apple-1202843100/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Deadline</a>. Zlotnick’s deal with the tech giant will begin next month, as he transitions from his post at the Lionsgate-owned network, to develop content for the Apple TV+ streaming service.</p>

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">A California federal jury ruled today that Apple and Broadcom infringed three California Institute of Technology (CalTech) data transmission patents with Wi-Fi chips used in hundreds of millions of iPhones and other devices, awarding the university over $1.1 billion in damages, reports <a href="https://www.law360.com/technology/articles/1238923" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Law360</a> (a subscription is required to read the entire article).</p>

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Apple has hired Rusian Meshenberg, one of Netflix Inc.’s top engineers, part of a broader strategy to build out the technical team supporting Apple TV+ and its other subscription services, reports <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/apple-hires-key-netflix-engineer-in-bid-to-boost-subscription-services-11580324237" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Wall Street Journal</a>. </p>

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">In a note to clients — as noted by <a href="http://www.macrumors.com/"><span style="text-decoration:underline">MacRumors</span></a> — analyst Ming-Chi Kuo says release several new products in the first half of 2020, the follow-up to the iPhone SE 2, new iPad Pros, 13-inch MacBook Pros and MacBook Airs with new keyboards,“Apple Tags,” high-end headphones, and … an AirPower Lite?</p>

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Apple’s long-awaited online store in India in India will be operational starting in the third quarter of 2020, according to <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2020/01/28/apple-to-start-online-sales-in-india-in-q3-this-year/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">TechCrunch</a>.</p>

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Apple’s iPhone accounts for 24.3% of all smartphone sales across the five major European markets (EU5), with share also up across Urban China, the U.S., Japan and Australia, according to the <a href="https://www.kantarworldpanel.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Kantar Worldpanel ComTech research group</a>. (The EU5 is France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom).</p>

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Apple and Broadcom should pay over $1.1 billion for infringing Caltech’s patents with Wi-Fi chips installed in almost 600 million Apple devices sold in the U.S., a lawyer for the university told a California federal jury during closing arguments Tuesday that accused the tech giants of stonewalling and even hiding a witness, reports<a href="http://www.apple.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> Law360</a> (a subscription is required to read the entire article).</p>

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">This finding comes from Strategy Analytics’ latest report, <a href="https://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.strategyanalytics.com%2Faccess-services%2Fdevices%2Fconnected-home%2Fsmart-speakers-and-screens%2Freports%2Freport-detail%2F2019-smart-speaker-user-survey-us-results&esheet=52164157&newsitemid=20200127005430&lan=en-US&anchor=2019+Smart+Speaker+User+Survey+%26%238211%3B+US+Results&index=1&md5=996c222b92b8906a567358c957c05d96">2019 Smart Speaker User Survey – US Results</a>, and is based on a survey of 1136 users of smart speakers carried out in July and August 2019. This means that 1-in-8 of all TV users are now using their voice to find shows, movies or videos, change channels, change the volume or simply turn the TV on or off. </p>

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Apple held a press conference for analysts following its announcement of its financial results for its fiscal 2020 first quarter that ended Dec. 28, 2019. CEO Tim Cook and Chief Financial Officer Luca Maestri field questions and here are some highlights from the answers and comments.</p>

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Apple has announced the financial results for its fiscal 2020 first quarter that ended Dec. 28, 2019. The company posted quarterly revenue of $91.8 billion, an increase of 9% from the year-ago quarter and an all-time record, and quarterly earnings per diluted share of $4.99, up 19%, also an all-time record. International sales accounted for 61% of the quarter’s revenue.</p>

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Apple has released macOS Catalina 10.15.3.  You can install it by going to System Preferences then Software Update. </p>

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Apple has released iOS 13.3.1 and iPadOS 13.3.1. You can download them on your iPhone or iPad by going to Settings > General > Software Update. </p>