Dennis Sellers

<p>A new report from <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ubs.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">UBS</a> — which provides financial advice and solutions to “wealthy, institutional and corporate clients worldwide, as well as private clients in Switzerland” — says Apple needs to jump into “bot” platform development or its app-based software ecosystem will be threatened.</p>

<p style="margin-left:0px; margin-right:0px">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>Apple’s price cut on the Apple Watch in April helped average daily sales rise 250% sequentially, according to new data from <a target="_blank" href="http://intelligence.slice.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">Slice Intelligence</a> — as reported by the <a href="http://finance.yahoo.com/news/price-cut-increased-apple-watch-050735755.html">Market Realist</a>.</p>

<p style="margin-left:0px; margin-right:0px">FileMaker, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Apple, has released <a href="http://www.filemaker.com/r/fm15_pr.html">FileMaker 15</a>. The company says the upgraded platform improves upon the fundamentals of custom app development with new features in five key areas: mobility, automation/integration, ease of use, security and performance. </p>

<p>Apple files for — and is granted — lots of patents by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office. Many are for inventions that never see the light of day. However, you never can tell which ones will materialize in a real product, so here are today’s patent highlights: </p>

<p>Worldwide notebook shipments in the first quarter of 2016 arrived at 35.62 million units, according to <a href="http://www.trendforce.com/">TrendForce</a>. What’s more, the global market research firm says Apple saw a 40% quarterly decline in Mac laptop sales.</p>

<p><a href="http://www.ampple.com/">Ampple</a> has introduced <a target="_blank" href="http://igg.me/at/Ampple" rel="noopener noreferrer">an Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign</a> for its high-definition sound system for the iPad Air 2 and iPad Mini 4 that’s delivered in the form of a portable, protective case. The crowdfunding campaign, which has a funding goal of $50,000, features a limited amount of early bird specials of $95 (over 35% off the expected retail price of $149 for the shipping product.</p>

<p>Voip-Pal.com has announced that they’ve completed legal service on Apple, Verizon, and AT&T in the company’s combined $7 billion patent infringement lawsuits filed in February 2016 in the United States District Court, District of Nevada.</p>

<p>There are higher quality earphones and earbuds you can buy for use with your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. However, Apple's own EarPods are ubiquitous as they come with every iDevice. </p>

<p>Remember when Apple rolled out its Apple Car? Me neither because it hasn’t happened yet. But that hasn’t stopped <a target="_blank" href="//www.thedrive.com/the-drive-50/3362/the-10-most-influential-people-in-automotive-technology" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Drive</a>, a site devoted to automotive culture, from naming Apple CEO Tim Cook and Chief Design Officer Jony Ive to its list of“the 10 most influential people in automotive technology.” It’s a list of “people with serious crystal balls.”</p>

<p>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>Smartphone makers (including Apple and Google) and mobile carriers (including AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, and T-Mobile) are facing an inquiry by U.S. regulators as to how they review and release security updates to combat cyberthieves and Internet vandals, <a target="_blank" href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-05-09/apple-google-and-wireless-carriers-asked-by-u-s-about-security" rel="noopener noreferrer">according to Bloomber</a>g.</p>

<p>As noted by <a target="_blank" href="http://appleinsider.com/articles/16/05/09/apple-launches-red-cross-donations-via-itunes-to-help-victims-of-fort-mcmurray-forest-fires" rel="noopener noreferrer">AppleInsider</a>, folks shopping on Apple's Canadian iTunes storefront can now donate to relief for victims of the forest fires in Fort McMurray, Alberta.</p>

<p>Mobile device users installed nearly 156 billion mobile applications worldwide in 2015, generating $34.2 billion in direct (non-advertising) revenue. A new forecast from International Data Corporation (<a href="http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.idc.com&esheet=51336701&newsitemid=20160509005043&lan=en-US&anchor=IDC&index=1&md5=86bb29acba40a1e3239af311b37cd48c">IDC</a>) estimates that these figures will grow to more than 210 billion installs and nearly $57 billion in direct revenue in 2020.</p>

<p>Worldwide shipments of PCs — as in personal computer, not just Windows systems — totaled 101 million units in quarter one (Q1) of 2016, as total volumes dipped by 13% year-on-year to their lowest point since Q2 2011, according to <a target="_blank" href="http://www.canalys.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">Canalys</a>.</p>