Dennis Sellers

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"><a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/10/07/devoted-medicare-advantage-plan-covering-apple-watch-as-a-benefit.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">CNBC</a> reports that <a href="https://www.devoted.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Devoted Health </a>says it’s the first Medicare Advantage plan to offer Apple Watch as a benefit to its members. Its marketing materials show that it will help members pay for the cost of the device up to $150. </p>

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Apple has updated <a href="https://www.apple.com/final-cut-pro/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Final Cut Pro X</a> to version 10.4.7 with a new Metal engine that purportedly delivers performance gains across a wide range of Macs and takes advantage of the upcoming Mac Pro and the Apple Pro Display XDR. </p>

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">macOS Catalina is now available as a free software update for Macs introduced in mid-2012 or later. It adds support for the new Apple Arcade service, new Mac versions of Apple Music, Apple Podcasts and Apple TV apps, a new feature called Sidecar, and more.</p>

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to hear a bid by the University of Wisconsin’s patent licensing arm to reinstate its legal victory against Apple in a fight over computer processor technology that the school claimed the company used without permission in certain iPhones and iPads, according to a <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-court-apple/u-s-supreme-court-snubs-university-of-wisconsin-appeal-in-patent-fight-with-apple-idUSKBN1WM1F8" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Reuters</a> report.</p>

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">According to a report from the <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/85967cd2-e86b-11e9-a240-3b065ef5fc55" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Financial Times</a> (a subscription is required to read the article), Apple is in discussion with records labels to bundle Apple Music and the upcoming Apple TV+ into a “super-bundle” of music, movies, and TV shows.</p>

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Japan Display is looking to finalize a deal this month for least 50 billion yen (about $470 million) in funding after an investment group suddenly pulled out of a bailout plan for the Apple supplier, reports <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-display-funding/apple-supplier-japan-display-says-aiming-for-a-bailout-deal-this-month-idUSKBN1WM0D9?feedName=technologyNews&feedType=RSS&utm_campaign=Feed%3A%20reuters%2FtechnologyNews%20%28Reuters%20Technology%20News%29&utm_medium=feed&utm_source=feedburner" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Reuters</a>. As a result, Apple may double its investment in the company.</p>

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Apple was expected to debut a sleep tracking feature for the Apple Watch Series 5, but it didn’t. However, it could still happen soon.</p>

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">In a note to clients — as noted by <a href="https://appleinsider.com/articles/19/10/06/kuo-apple-unlikely-to-cut-iphone-11-shipments-in-october" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">AppleInsider</a> — TF International Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo says Apple is unlikely to cut iPhone 11 shipments this month as is often the case in October after the debut of an updated smartphone line-up.</p>

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">There are minimalist cases and then there are Totallee’s cases for the new <a href="http://tx.bz-mail-us1.com/1/l/6ddafb20224949c28bddb5515065f2e8?rl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.totalleecase.com%2Fproducts%2Fthin-iphone-11-case" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">iPhone 11</a>, <a href="http://tx.bz-mail-us1.com/1/l/11c227e3efdd438e9432cfb02dfd114a?rl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.totalleecase.com%2Fproducts%2Fthin-iphone-11-case" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">iPhone 11 Pro</a>, and iPhone <a href="http://tx.bz-mail-us1.com/1/l/e76248042e6045849272bccbbb05aff9?rl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.totalleecase.com%2Fproducts%2Fthin-iphone-11-pro-max-case" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">11 Pro Max</a>. Let’s call them “ultra-minimalist” cases. </p>

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Another day, another lawsuit. Blix, the company behind BlueMail — a free email app for iOS, Windows, Linux, and Android — and Followup —a patient communication service — is suing Apple over its “Sign in with Apple” feature.</p>

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Apple is launching a repair program for iPhone 6s and 6s Plus devices that have “no power” issues. The tech giant says it’s determined that certain models of those smartphones may not power on due to a component that may fail. </p>

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"><a href="https://u3570308.ct.sendgrid.net/wf/click?upn=STix-2FhZIsagFH4GZuSRY4LXCEE5mIGM3jZy-2BD5GLxio6jEIWCB0BHkAJnUruEco2vTLqBnE728WWHWeRZ75qPA-3D-3D_vr4CQd6f5d5U92w1G2ot038qxj2d-2BHc-2FraM9ysVslbPDKIeFUMk4BwHWizqVUobJdCBmgbth0y5Ao-2FvmxY2iMwMcR7UUWC6FrldrmCelSarugIbsH3eLqc72zGU3vpuEJw5S7A-2FBg57ymAr0CXPGgkiG4Wl3V5U-2FQGdg3TTfzvNmuXb4zwvYPjUctA7A9KRUon-2Ba-2F8YckS29FOfI75LxycKCPP1tBg6Q-2Fpeoo69R-2FdQ-3D" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">KeySmart</a>'s $59.99 NanoTorch Twist is a magnetic 90° swivel LED flashlight that’s pricey, but can come in very handy.</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="" data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"></p>

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Apple has filed a countersuit against a company that claims the tech giant violates one of its “soft keyboard” patents.</p>

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Apple’s iPhone 11 Pro Max tops the smartphone ratings from <a href="https://www.consumerreports.org/smartphones/apple-iphone-11-pro-max-tops-consumer-reports-smartphone-ratings/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Consumer Reports</a>. The iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 also got good marks.</p>