Dennis Sellers

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Apple India plans to end its distribution agreement with HCL Infosystems next year, according to <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/hardware/apple-to-terminate-the-distribution-arrangement-with-hcl-infosystems-from-next-year/articleshow/64483524.cms" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>The Economic Times</em></a>,  citing an HCL filing. The distribution arrangement will end on March 30, 2019. </p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Lennox Industries has announced that the Lennox iComfort S30 and E30 thermostats are now compatible with Apple’s HomeKit. The company says its iComfort S30 ultra smart thermostat also is the first communicating thermostat to be HomeKit compatible.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Well, of course they do: two months after winning a major patent infringement verdict against Apple, VirnetX has asked an Eastern District of Texas judge to double the damages award to $1 billion, saying Apple’s behavior “shocks the conscience,” while Apple said the whole award must be thrown out, reports <a href="https://www.law360.com/technology/articles/1050541/virnetx-wants-damages-in-apple-patent-case-doubled-to-1b?nl_pk=ade0cf2b-ea3f-464b-bc93-d8e19277ac63&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=technology" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Law360</em></a>.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://www.vava.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">VAVA’</a>s $69.99 Voom 20 is a powerful, portable Bluetooth speaker with dual 8W drivers, two passive subwoofers, and 10 hours of battery life.</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;">At this week’s Worldwide Developer Conference, Apple announced a Password Manager API [application programming interface] that will allow third party apps like <a href="https://www.dashlane.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Dashlane</a>, to autofill in Safari and other included apps in iOS 12. </p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">G-Technology’s <a href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.g-2Dtechnology.com_products_portable_g-2Ddrive-2Dmobile-2Dusb-2Dc&d=DwMFaQ&c=9wxE0DgWbPxd1HCzjwN8Eaww1--ViDajIU4RXCxgSXE&r=e4G-NkDxWEj8o7bBwtfvH-rxkx5R72Oohp7COB9OMcg&m=MC3dW-Nibibz_4HwAPyM0grZOb7FugoBPYEBGJvwacI&s=GWtSxQE8XkOR4cbnYugORPKCog9Jk0IYW_PQX94s1aA&e=" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">G-DRIVE mobile USB-C </a> is now available with a smaller ID and up to 2TB capacity. This fast-portable drive is built to store your data in a stylish, compact design.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Apple has announced the <a href="https://developer.apple.com/design/awards/">2018 Apple Design Awards</a> at this year’s Worldwide Developer Conference. The awards “recognize the creative artistry and technical achievements of developers who reflect the best in design, innovation and technology on Apple platforms.”</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Dean Hager, CEO of <a href="http://www.jamf.com/">Jamf</a> has discussed Apple’s announcements yesterday at the Worldwide Developer Conference with <em>Apple World Today</em>. Here are his thoughts:</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">FaceTime on macOS and iOS may eventually be able to “hide” your background during a call. Apple has been granted a patent (number 9,992,450) for “systems and methods for background concealment in a video conferencing session.”</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">As noted by <a href="https://appleinsider.com/articles/18/06/04/new-app-store-guidelines-prohibit-remote-mirroring-apps-from-eroding-in-app-purchases" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>AppleInsider</em></a><em>,</em> Apple introduced developers to App Store Connect at this week’s Worldwide Developer Conference. It’s a rebranding and revamping of iTunes Connect.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Here are some random observations and questions following yesterday’s Apple Worldwide Developer keynote:</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Today at its Worldwide Developer Conference, Apple delivered a Health Records API [application programming interface] for developers and researchers to create an ecosystem of apps that use health record data to better manage medications, nutrition plans, diagnosed diseases and more.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Alongside macOS Mojave, today at its Worldwide Developer Conference keynote, Apple previewed an all-new Mac App Store featuring a new look and rich editorial content deigned to make it easier to find “great” Mac apps, according to Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. </p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Today at its Worldwide Developer Conference, Apple introduced ARKit 2, an update of the platform that allows developers to integrate shared experiences, persistent AR experiences tied to a specific location, object detection and image tracking to make AR apps even more dynamic. </p>