Dennis Sellers

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), an Apple chip manufacturer, has started mass production of its next-gen 7nm processors for the Apple iPhones launching later this year, according to <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-05-23/apple-partner-tsmc-is-said-to-start-making-chips-for-new-iphones" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Bloomberg sources</a>.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of Software Engineering <a href="https://www.macrumors.com/2018/05/22/craig-federighi-apfs-support-fusion-drives/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">said</a> in an email exchange with a <em>MacRumors</em> reader that APFS for Mac Fusion drives is coming “very soon.”</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Apple has launched a <a href="https://privacy.apple.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Data and Privacy portal</a> that allows users to download all of their personal data stored on the tech giant's servers. </p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Apple is facing a second class action lawsuit over its “flawed” butterfly keyboards on some Mac laptops. Filed in the Northern District Court of California, <a href="https://www.scribd.com/document/379938991/Second-MacBook-Keyboard-Class-Action-Complaint" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the complaint</a> echoes many of the claims made in a <a href="https://appleworld.dreamhosters.com/blog/2018/5/12/apple-sued-over-mac-laptop-butterfly-keyboard-failures?rq=butterfly" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">first class action lawsuit</a> filed earlier this month.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">When Apple released <a href="https://appleworld.dreamhosters.com/blog/2018/3/29/apple-launches-macos-high-sierra-10134-with-business-chat-egpu-support-more?rq=eGPU" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">macOS High Sierra 10.13.4</a>, it added support for external graphics processors (eGPUs). One such unit is Sonnet Technologies’ <a href="http://www.sonnettech.com/product/egfx-breakaway-box.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">eGFX Breakaway Box</a> with a 350W power supply, a great choice for a no-frills Thunderbolt 3 to PCI Express (PCIe) expansion chassis.</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;">“Once Upon a Time” creators Adam Horowitz and Edward Kitsis have been named executive producers for Apple’s upcoming reboot <em>Amazing Stories, </em>reports <a href="http://variety.com/2018/tv/news/apple-amazing-stories-adam-horowitz-edward-kitsis-showrunners-once-upon-a-time-1202818557/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Variety</em></a>. They come on board following the departure of original showrunner Bryan Fuller and executive producer Hart Hanson in February.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Starbucks will remain the most popular proximity mobile payment app, staying ahead of Apple Pay and other competitors, according to <a href="http://www.emarketer.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">eMarketer’s</a> latest forecast on U.S. proximity mobile payments.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Belkin is taking pre-orders for its <a href="http://www.belkin.com/us/p/AV10172bt06-WHT/?irgwc=1&clickid=wiaRkzW1ARc2R-VwcWWW8yVoUkjUJHQN1TjLWc0&utm_campaign=Belkin%20Store%20Home%20Page&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_source=impactradius&utm_content=TEXT_LINK_225196" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">3.5mm Audio Cable with Lightning Connector</a>,  which allows iPhone users to connect directly to the car stereo or home speakers with a single cable. </p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Apple has sent out press invitations to the 2018 Worldwide Developers Conference keynote, scheduled for Monday, June 4 at 10 a.m. (Pacific) at the McEnery Convention Center in San Jose, California. The conference will run Jun 4-8.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Customer satisfaction with video streaming services far eclipses that of subscription TV service, according to the <a href="http://www.theacsi.org/news-and-resources/customer-satisfaction-reports/reports-2018/acsi-telecommunications-report-2018" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) 2018 Telecommunications Report</a>. And Apple’s iTunes is doing well.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">According to the latest research from <a href="https://www.counterpointresearch.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Counterpoint’s Market Pulse program</a>, the U.S. smartphone market saw sales of 38.7 million units during the first quarter [Q1] of 2018. That’s a 11% decrease from Q1 2017 when sales were 43.7 million smartphones. Sales hadn’t dropped below 40 million for the last three years.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">In February Apple released <a href="https://appleworld.dreamhosters.com/blog/2018/3/29/apple-launches-macos-high-sierra-10134-with-business-chat-egpu-support-more?rq=eGPU" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">macOS High Sierra 10.13.4</a>, which added support for external graphics processors (eGPUs). Now Razer has introduce the Mac compatible Core X eGPU that’s compatible with Mac Thunderbolt 3 laptops.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Apple has been granted a patent (number 9,974,467) for a physical activity and workout monitor. It involves current, and perhaps future, features of the Apple Watch and its watchOS.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Apple has updated <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/clips/id1212699939?mt=8&ign-mpt=uo%3D4" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Clips</a> for iOS to version 2.0.4, which adds soccer graphics including an animated sticker, plus a label and poster with customizable text.</p>