Dennis Sellers

<p><a href="http://www.dashlane.com/">Dashlane</a> has released a list of the top ten websites with safe password practices, just in time to help parents navigate online safety risks during the busy back-to-school season. <a target="_blank" href="http://apple.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">Apple’s website</a> tops the list.</p>

<p>Apple plans to open an Apple Store in the World Trade Center Transportation Hub (pictured), Jason Barlia, head of Apple's marketing for New York stores, while speaking at the opening of Apple's first Brooklyn store.</p>

<p>The latest report from the global market research firm <a target="_blank" href="http://www.trendforce.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">TrendForce</a> finds that worldwide tablet shipments for this second quarter totaled 33.54 million units, representing a quarterly drop of 4.8% and a year-on-year decline of 8.8%. Apple retains its top position in the quarterly ranking with 9.95 million iPads shipped. This figure translates to a 2.9% dip from the first quarter and a 9% drop from a year ago.</p>

<p>Apple held onto fifth place in the Chinese smartphone market for the first half od 2016, ahead of Samsung, with around a 9% market share, according to <a target="_blank" href="http://www.canalys.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">Canalys</a>. The iPhone SE has done little to increase overall shipment numbers in China, claims the research group.</p>

<p>Phil Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing, has joined the Illumina board of directors. <a href="http://www.illumina.com">Illumina</a> is a company devoted to “improving human health by unlocking the power of the genome.”</p>

<p>Earlier this week, mobile phone blogger, Evan Blass, said the “iPhone 7” would launch the week of Sept. 12. Now <a target="_blank" href="http://appleinsider.com/articles/16/07/28/iphone-7-preorders-rumored-to-kick-off-on-sept-9-" rel="noopener noreferrer">he adds</a> that pre-orders will start on Friday, Sept. 9. I think he’s right. I’m also predicting that the second generation Apple Watch will arrive at the same time.</p>

<p>The <a target="_blank" href="http://www.808audio.com/speakers/hex-sl/" rel="noopener noreferrer">808 Audio Hex SL</a> packs a lot of audio punch for an "ultra-portable" speaker. And the price is reasonable: about $60.</p>

<p>Bits&Coffee' BatchPhoto is a useful all-in-one photo manipulation program for Mac OS X and PC systems; it lets photographers, web designers, business people, and families enhance photos. It adds an updated visual drag-and-drop zones for the Annotate filters and an enhanced Auto Crop filter to show the original image in the background.</p>

<p>At an employee meeting in Cupertino, California, this morning, CEO Tim Cook announced that Apple recently sold the billionth iPhone.</p>

<p>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>As shown in <a href="http://investor.apple.com/sec.cfm">Apple's SEC 8-K</a> filing, Apple's R&D spending increased by over 25% year-over-year in its latest fiscal quarter to $2.56 billion. As a percentage of revenue (at 6%) it’s the highest it's ever been. It’s spent $7.5 billion on research for the year, and is on track to outpace last year’s spend, according to its <a href="http://images.apple.com/pr/pdf/q3fy16consolidated-financial-statements_v2.pdf">earnings statement</a>.</p>

<p><a target="_blank" href="http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20160726PD206.html" rel="noopener noreferrer">DigiTimes</a> is reporting that the USB Type-C interface that debuted with the 12-inch MacBook will be added to the MacBook Air. I think the publication is wrong; here’s why.</p>

<p>Although the Apple Car — which, remember, Apple has never even confirmed — reportedly wont’ <a href="https://appleworld.dreamhosters.com/blog/2016/7/21/well-darn-the-apple-car-wont-roll-out-until-at-least-2021?rq=2021">roll out until 2021,</a> according to <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ihs.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">IHS Automotive forecasts</a>, 55% of annual global new vehicle sales in 2020 will be vehicles that are connected.</p>

<p>Parkopedia, a global parking services provider, says it’s providing its parking services to Apple Maps on OS X and iOS devices. Apple Maps users will be able to view key information about parking garages and lots around the world.  </p>

<p>Apple plans to open its first retail store in Mexico later this year at the Centro Santa Fe mall, reports <a target="_blank" href="http://appleinsider.com/articles/16/07/27/apple-preps-first-mexican-apple-store-ahead-of-push-into-latin-america)" rel="noopener noreferrer">AppleInsider</a>. </p>