Dennis Sellers

<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;">Apple’s HomePod now has an installed base of 6%, or about three million, according to the latest estimates by Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP)— as noted by <a href="https://appleinsider.com/articles/18/08/02/apples-homepod-seizes-small-but-meaningful-portion-of-us-smart-speaker-market" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>AppleInsider</em></a>. </p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">The worldwide tablet market declined 13.5% during the second quarter of 2018 (2Q18) as global shipments fell to 33 million, according to preliminary data from the International Data Corporation (IDC) <a href="http://www.idc.com/tracker/showproductinfo.jsp?prod_id=81" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Worldwide Quarterly Tablet Tracker</a>. Only Apple and China-based Huawei bucked the trend.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Feral Interactive has announced that LEGO Marvel Super Heroes 2, a humorous brick-based adventure set in the Marvel Universe, is out now on macOS (10.13.5 or higher).</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Apple has filed for another patent (number 20180218859) for a “device having an integrated interface system” that hints at, among other things, a Mac laptop with a virtual keyboard. Another is patent number <a href="https://appleworld.dreamhosters.com/blog/2017/5/25/apple-patent-filing-hints-at-a-a-mac-laptop-with-a-virtual-keyboard?rq=virtual%20keyboard" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">20170147087</a>.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Apple has filed for a patent (number 20180220542) for a “compact media player.” Even though it’s a continuation and update of patents going back to 2009, I’m not sure what the tech giant is working on here.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">A federal jury in California has awarded Canadian patent licensing company WiLan $145.1 million in damages against Apple Inc for patent infringement, reports <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-apple-lawsuit-wilan/u-s-jury-awards-145-million-damages-to-canadas-wilan-against-apple-idUSKBN1KN05B" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Reuters</em></a>.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Apple is talking with Chinese telecom firms to find ways to reduce spam received through its messaging service after state media alleged it was allowing illegal content on its iMessage/Messages platform, reports <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-apple/apple-working-with-chinese-telecom-firms-to-reduce-spam-state-media-idUSKBN1KN0VB" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Reuters</em></a>.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">The South Korean government plans to “move quickly to impose taxes on Apple, Amazon, Google, and other global IT companies following growing criticism that the firms earn billions of dollars in sales here annually but pay no taxes, reports <a href="http://m.koreatimes.co.kr/pages/article.asp?newsIdx=253245" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>The Korea Times</em></a>. </p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Another day, another lawsuit. A South Carolina man says he was severely burned after an exploding iPhone 6 battery set his clothes on fire, according to a new <a href="https://www.law360.com/technology/articles/1069081/apple-hit-with-suit-over-sc-man-s-exploding-iphone?nl_pk=ade0cf2b-ea3f-464b-bc93-d8e19277ac63&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=technology" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">product liability suit</a> filed against Apple in federal court. In a Tuesday complaint, Ronnie Portee said the iPhone was defective and “unreasonably dangerous.”</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">MyCharge’s <a href="https://www.target.com/bp/myflipshade" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">myFlipShade</a> is a disappointing implementation of a good idea to a common problem.</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;">Top10VPN’s new <a href="https://www.top10vpn.com/privacy-central/cybersecurity/dark-web-market-price-index-hacking-tools-us-edition/">Dark Web Market Price Index</a> suggests Apple users are becoming the most popular targets for online scammers. In March, the index reported that Apple ID data trades hands at $15 per account.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Apple usually announces new iPhones in September, so there’s no reason to think that this year will be an exception. And <a href="https://www.cnet.com/news/when-will-apple-announce-the-new-2018-iphones/#ftag=CAD590a51e" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>CNET</em></a> thinks the date will be Tuesday, Sept. 11 or Wednesday, Sept. 12. Here’s why:</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">According to the <a href="http://www.ihsmarkit.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">IHS Market</a> research group's preliminary smartphone data, global smartphone shipments reached 344.6 million units in the second quarter of 2018 – a 1.8% decline year-over-year, and also down slightly from the previous quarter. </p>