Dennis Sellers

<p style="white-space:pre-wrap;">HITCASE has released the Ferra, a handcrafted, full grain leather drop resistant case for iPhone X, Xs, and Xs Max. </p>

<p style="white-space:pre-wrap;">I suggested this idea four years ago. It never came to fruition, but I still think it’s a timely idea: Apple should open small retail stores — Apple mini stores, if you will — in towns that are too small for the traditional, bigger Apple retail stores and Mac Specialists.</p>

<p style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Apple has filed for a patent (number 10,216,147) for a “tactile switch for an electronic device” — the device being an Apple Watch. The plan seems to be to add even more functionality to the smartwatch’s Digital Crown and screen.</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 creators of the upcoming Apple TV series inspired by Hilde Lysiak, the 12-year-old investigative reporter who exposed a murder in her Pennsylvania hometown when she was 9 in her self-started newspaper, have been keeping up with her work. Most recently, that included standing her ground against an Arizona town marshal, according to <a href="https://deadline.com/2019/02/hilde-lysiak-journalist-apple-series-latest-scoop-1202563511/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Deadline</em></a>.</p>

<p style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Another day, another lawsuit. As reported by<em> </em><a href="https://appleinsider.com/articles/19/02/26/apples-iphone-ipad-more-targeted-in-new-lawsuit-over-lte-patents" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>AppleInsider</em></a>, a group of firms operating under the name Optis Wireless Technology are suing Apple over seven patents connected to LTE cellular standards.</p>

<p style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Apple is expected to debut “Apple Glasses,” an augmented reality/virtual reality head-mounted display (HMD), perhaps as early as next year. And the company has been granted another patent (number 10,217,288) dubbed “methods for representing points of interest in a view of a real environment on a mobile device.” The patent could also apply to AR features on an iPhone or iPad.</p>

<p style="white-space:pre-wrap;">You may one day be able to control your Mac — and perhaps your Apple TV — by gestures. Apple has been granted yet another patent (number 10,218,963) for a “gesture-based user interface” that hints at gesture controls for Macs. This one is dubbed “scanning projectors and image capture modules for 3D mapping.”</p>

<p style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Apple is testing a sleep tracking app for the Apple Watch, according to report by <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-02-26/apple-is-said-to-plan-sleep-tracking-feature-for-future-watch" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Bloomberg</em></a>'s Mark Gurman, who has a good track record regarding Apple rumors.</p>

<p style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Eighty percent of compatible iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch devices are now running iOS 12 Apple announced in a support <a href="https://developer.apple.com/support/app-store/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">webpage</a>.</p>

<p style="white-space:pre-wrap;">In a 2013 article for <em>Pajiba </em>in the long ago days of 2013, Steve Lloyd Wilson said that Netflix could democratize television by becoming the “white knight” that rescues beloved TV series canned by the networks. But why not Apple instead?</p>

<p style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Need a secondary display for use with your Mac — or perhaps simply a display for that new Mac mini? Own an iPad? If so, you’re in luck because the $79.99 <a href="https://lunadisplay.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Luna Display</a> can turn an Apple tablet into a wireless second display for your Mac. </p>

<p style="white-space:pre-wrap;">mophie has released a new juice pack access battery case made to protect and wirelessly charge Apple’s latest smartphones. The juice pack access provides a impact protection for the iPhone Xs Max, Xs/X, and XR and features extra battery, wireless charging and full access to the iPhone Lightning port.</p>

<p style="white-space:pre-wrap;">A <a href="https://itunespartner.apple.com/en/apps/news/100002429" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><span style="text-decoration:underline">post</span></a> on Apple’s App Store Connect notes that app developers are getting the ability to offer discounts to existing and lapsed subscribers. App Store Connect, formerly known as iTunes Connect, is a suite of web-based tools for managing content sold on iTunes, the iBooks Store, and the various app stores.</p>

<p style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Fourteen members of Congress wrote to Apple and Google's CEOs on Thursday demanding they remove Absher (pictured), an app which allows men in Saudi Arabia to track and control where women travel, reports <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/absher-14-members-of-congress-demand-apple-google-remove-saudi-app-2019-2?r=US&IR=T" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Business Insider</em>.</a></p>

<p style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Although global smartphone demand declined 3% in 2018 to 1.44 billion, sales remain strong and reached $522 billion with “premium” models such as most of Apple’s iPhones driving revenue, according to <a href="http://www.gfk.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">GfK</a>.</p>