Dennis Sellers

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">In a note to clients — as noted by <a href="https://appleinsider.com/articles/18/07/11/apple-product-pipeline-stacked-with-ipad-macbook-mac-mini-updates-says-analyst" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>AppleInsider</em></a> — TF International Securities' Ming-Chi Kuo predicts that Apple will update … well, pretty much everything (except the iMac Pro) before the end of the year. Following is his prognostications and what the Sellers Research Group (that’s me) thinks will happen. </p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Another day, another lawsuit. Apple has been sued by SMTM Technology, widely regarded as a “patent troll,” for allegedly infringing on a patent with its “Do Not Disturb” iOS feature, as reported by <a href="https://appleinsider.com/articles/18/07/11/apple-sued-by-patent-troll-over-do-not-disturb-while-driving-tech" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>AppleInsider</em></a>. With the feature, iOS 11 can “sense” when you might be driving and help keep you from being distracted by calls, texts, and notifications. </p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Japanese regulators at the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) say Apple may have breached antitrust rules by forcing mobile service providers to sell its iPhones cheaply and charge higher monthly fees, denying consumers a fair choice, reports <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-apple-japan-antitrust/japan-watchdog-apple-may-have-breached-antitrust-rules-with-iphone-idUSKBN1K10MI" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Reuters</em></a>.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Apple has been granted a patent (number 10,021,337) for “systems and methods for saving and restoring scenes in a multimedia system.” It involves using your iPhone as an advanced remote for watching movies, TV shows, and videos.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Pet “parents” looking to take their training on-the-go need to look no further than the phone they’re carrying, thanks to the SMART DOG Trainer by PetSafe.</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;">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;"><em>Aquaman</em> and<em> Frontier</em> star Jason Momoa has been tapped as the lead of Apple's original drama series <em>See</em>, from <em>Peaky Blinders</em> creator Steven Knight, director Francis Lawrence (<em>The Hunger Games: Catching Fire and Mockingjay Parts 1 & 2</em>) and the scripted drama venture of Peter Chernin's Chernin Entertainment and Endeavor Content, reports <a href="https://deadline.com/2018/07/jason-momoa-star-see-apple-series-steven-knight-francis-lawrence-1202423719/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Variety</em></a>. </p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Apple has updated its Apple Leadership page to include John Giannandrea, who now serves as Apple's chief of Machine Learning and AI Strategy. </p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">The majority of smartphone owners use navigation apps and most prefer Google Maps, according to new survey data from <a href="http://themanifest.com/app-development/popularity-google-maps-trends-navigation-apps-2018" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>The Manifest</em></a>. It has 67% of the market compared to 12% for Waze, 11% for Apple Maps, and 8% for MapQuest.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://www.philo.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Philo </a>—  a live streaming television service focused on entertainment, lifestyle and knowledge programming — has launched on the Apple TV, giving consumers access to 40 top channels for $16 per month. </p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">SurveyMonkey, a “people powered data platform,” in collaboration with Fortune, has released the third edition of its annual U.S. consumer rankings of Fortune 500 companies. Americans were asked to rank the top 75 companies from the list based on their employer appeal, impact on the country and innovation (willingness to change in pursuit of success), among other dimensions.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Apple has been granted a patent (number 10,018476) for “live traffic routing’ on its Maps app for the iPhone and Apple Watch. It would allow the mapping app to generate alternate routes based on the user's current location, live traffic conditions and estimated time of arrival at certain locations along the route.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">BlueFin Research is out with its <a href="https://www.barrons.com/articles/apple-betting-big-on-production-of-forthcoming-iphones-says-bluefin-1531163452" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">latest investor note</a> in which its analysts claim Apple will discontinue the iPhone SE and iPhone X this year as focus shifts towards the “iPhone 9, iPhone 11, and iPhone 11 Plus.”</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Apple has <a href="https://developer.apple.com/news/?id=07092018a" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">announced</a> the availability of searchable transcripts for its June 2018 World Wide Developer Conference session videos. </p>