Dennis Sellers

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">The HomePod, Apple's wireless speaker from Apple, will be available in mainland China and Hong Kong markets starting Friday, Jan. 18. It will be available in white and space gray.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">There are rumors that Apple will release Apple-branded over-the-ear headphones this year along with its AirPods and Beats-branded product. And the tech giant has been granted a patent (number 10,178,463) for such a product.</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>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://www.engadget.com/2019/01/10/lady-gaga-pulls-rkelly-song-from-itunes-apple-music/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Engadget </em>reports</a> that Lady Gaga has removed a song from her 2013 album <em>Artpop </em>on iTunes and Apple Music. The song in question, "Do What U Want," features a performance from disgraced hip-hop performer R. Kelly, who is accused of multiple sexual crimes, and can no longer be streamed or purchased from Apple's music services. <em>Artpop</em> is still available on both, but the album just moves from track six to track eight, as if the song never existed.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Apple’s general counsel Kate Adams took home about $5 million in pay last year, in addition to earning stock in the Cupertino, California-based computer giant, according to <a href="https://www.law360.com/technology/articles/1117443/apple-gc-earned-5m-in-2018-over-20m-stock-on-horizon?nl_pk=ade0cf2b-ea3f-464b-bc93-d8e19277ac63&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=technology" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Law360</em></a><a href="https://www.law360.com/technology/articles/1117443/apple-gc-earned-5m-in-2018-over-20m-stock-on-horizon?nl_pk=ade0cf2b-ea3f-464b-bc93-d8e19277ac63&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=technology">.</a> With all the lawsuits the tech giant faces, I’d say she’s worth it.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Apple will release three new iPhone models again this fall, including a successor to the” struggling Xr, the lower priced 2018 device with a liquid-crystal display that has fallen short of Apple’s sales expectations,” reports the <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/apple-plans-new-lcd-iphone-this-year-despite-xrs-stumble-11547199263" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Wall Street Journal</em></a>, quoting unnamed “people familiar with the matter.”</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Apple has filed for a patent (number 20190012072) for “character recognition on a computing device” that shows the company is working on further improvements to the handwriting tech on iOS devices — and is even considering bringing it to macOS.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">At this week’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES), LG was showcasing its  <a href="https://www.lg.com/us/laptops/lg-17Z990-RAAS8U1-ultra-slim-laptop"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">ultralight $1700 17-inch Gram laptop</span></a> that, as I’ve noted previously, makes me long for a new 17-inch MacBook Pro. </p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">As noted by <a href="https://9to5mac.com/2019/01/10/apple-maps-turn-by-turn-directions-now-available-in-india/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>9to5 Mac</em></a>, Apple has launched support for turn-by-turn directions in Apple Maps for India. Indian iPhone customers or tourists can now get precise routing throughout the country. Apple also launched support for ride-hailing apps Uber and Ola, so you can request rides from inside of Maps using the two biggest taxi app in India.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Globally, Gartner says Apple sold 18 million Macs during 2018. That’s down from 18.9 million in. That gives the Mac 6.9% share of the worldwide PC market compared to 7.2% in the year-ago period. </p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">CompuCom, a subsidiary of Office Depot, has launched <a href="https://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.compucom.com%2Fdaas-for-apple&esheet=51924128&newsitemid=20190110005442&lan=en-US&anchor=Device+as+a+Service+for+Apple&index=2&md5=e8cfd1761ad005f7a10b693633a15f89" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Device as a Service for Apple</a>, providing customers with managed services, consulting services and end-user support with Apple hardware for one fixed monthly fee.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Apple has filed for two more patents related to fabric, which makes me thing the tech giant is at least considering “smart” clothing and even “smart” furniture. iWear, anyone?</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">I’m still dubious that Apple will release an automobile it makes itself. But if it does how about a Transformer-type vehicle. After all, Hyundai <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-46794087" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">just debuted</span></a> a small model of a car, the Elevate, that can activate robotic legs to climb walls, jump over gaps and navigate rough terrain.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">If you travel a lot and need to power up a lot of gadgets, the Nekteck USB-IF Wall Charger is convenient. With 90W of power delivery, it offers fast charging and comes with a handy six-foot Type-C integrated cable with a new design that’s fully reversible. </p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Elgato has released the $150 <a href="https://www.elgato.com/thunderbolt-3-mini-dock" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Elgato Thunderbolt 3 Mini Dock</a>, which features HDMI 2.0, DisplayPort 1.2, USB 3.1 Gen 1, and Gigabit Ethernet ports in a compact body.</p>