Dennis Sellers

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">The gang at iFixIt, which tears apart electronic gadgets and looks at their innards so you don’t have to, is in the <a href="#">middle of tearing down the new MacBook Pros</a> and have found that Apple has cocooned their butterfly switches in a thin, silicone barrier.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Awair has launched the $199 <a href="http://www.getawair.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Awair 2nd Edition</a>, an update of its solution that empowers consumers with real time insights on air quality to help them breathe easier, reduce allergy or asthmatic symptoms and even keep their skin clearer.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Sonos has <a href="https://blog.sonos.com/en/airplay-is-here/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">announced</a> that its One, Beam, Playbase, and second-generation Play:5 speakers now support AirPlay 2.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Apple has been granted a patent (number 10,019,888) for “weather-based reminders” on its various devices. For example, an amount of rainfall as measured in inches or centimeters can be rounded up or down to the nearest whole unit of measurement. </p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Since Steve and I can’t cover everything, at the end of each week day, we’ll offer this wrap-up of news items you should check out.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208909" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">A new support article</a> from Apple details the True Tone features of the new MacBook Pro. Surprisingly (to me, at least) you can enable TrueTone on the late, lamented Apple Thunderbolt Display from 2011 (well, if you have a Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt 2 adapter that is), as well as the LG UltraFine 5K Display and LG UltraFine 4K Display.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Apple has launched a new collaboration between its 10 Apple Developer Academies in Brazil and Malala Fund to advance girls’ education opportunities. </p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Apple has dropped the subscription price for <a href="https://www.texture.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Texture Premium</a> from $14.99 to $9.99 per month. The price change is automatic so subscribers don’t need to do anything to their account.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Yesterday the Gartner research group <a href="https://appleworld.dreamhosters.com/blog/2018/7/12/mac-sales-continue-to-tick-upwards-in-the-second-quarter-of-2018" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">released its latest findings </a>on global computer sales; today <a href="http://www.idc.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">IDC</a> released theirs. The reports are similar, though not identical, yet both show continued growth for the Mac.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Apple has filed for a patent (number 20180195872) for “context-aware voice guidance” in its Maps app. In the patent filing, the tech giant notes that many map-based applications available today are designed for a variety of different devices (e.g., desktops, laptops, tablet devices, smartphones, handheld global positioning system (GPS) receivers, etc.) and for various different purposes (e.g., navigation, browsing, sports, etc.). </p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Today is Friday the 13th, so I’m serving up a list of three iOS apps to “celebrate” the big day (sorry, Mac fans, but I couldn’t find any such apps at the Mac App Store).</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 today's picks.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Apple has announced a new investment fund in China to connect suppliers with renewable energy sources. As part of Apple’s commitment to address climate change and increase the use of renewable energy within its supply chain, 10 initial suppliers and Apple will jointly invest nearly $300 million over the next four years into the China Clean Energy Fund. </p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Since Steve and I can’t cover everything, at the end of each week day, we’ll offer this wrap-up of news items you should check out.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">The Mac continues to see sales growth, although a bit slower than in the past. Worldwide PC (as in “personal computer,” not necessarily a Windows machine) shipments totaled 62.1 million units in the second quarter of 2018, a 1.4% increase from the second quarter of 2017, according to preliminary results by <a href="http://www.gartner.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Gartner, Inc.</a>. </p>