Dennis Sellers

<p>Samsung’s Galaxy S9 and S9+ smartphones (pictured) top <em>Consumer Repor</em>t’s latest <a target="_blank" href="https://www.consumerreports.org/cro/cell-phones-services.htm" rel="noopener noreferrer">smartphone ratings</a>, beating out Apple’s iPhones.</p>

<p>Is it too late to convince Apple to add mouse support in iOS 12? Let’s hope not. As <a target="_blank" href="https://appleworld.dreamhosters.com/blog/2017/12/26/the-129-inch-ipad-proios-11-combo-has-replaced-my-12-inch-macbook#disqus_thread" rel="noopener noreferrer">I’ve written</a>, the 12.9-inch iPad Pro/iOS 11 combo has replaced my 12-inch MacBook.</p>

<p>While we’re waiting (and waiting and waiting) for Apple’s AirPower charger, the competition is heating up. Case (or Case-Mate) in point: the Power Pad from Case-Mate.</p>

<p>Apple will repair some Apple Watch Series 2 models that don’t power on or have a swollen battery free of charge as part of a new service policy. </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>A bipartisan group of lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives has sent a letter to FBI Director Christopher Wray questioning the law enforcement agency’s decision to take Apple to court to force the company to help unlock a mass shooter’s iPhone, reports <a target="_blank" href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-apple-fbi/lawmakers-question-fbi-over-san-bernardino-suit-against-apple-idUSKBN1HK2I6" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Reuters</em></a>.</p>

<p>In an internal memo, Apple told employees <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-04-13/apple-warns-employees-to-stop-leaking-information-to-media" rel="noopener noreferrer">it caught 29 leakers</a> — in other words, folks who divulged company secrets — in 2017, and 12 of that group were arrested. </p>

<p>Apple said an unauthorized repair shop owner in Norway violated its trademark by using aftermarket iPhone parts, but a court decided in favor of the shop owner, notes <a target="_blank" href="https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/a3yadk/apple-sued-an-independent-iphone-repair-shop-owner-and-lost" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Motherboard</em></a>.</p>

<p>Sales of the iPhone X are disappointing so Apple may raise the price of the follow-up to the high-end smartphone later this year, according to UBS.</p>

<p>The iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus (PRODUCT)RED Special Edition are now available at Apple retail stores. </p>

<p>In a note to clients — as noted by <a target="_blank" href="http://www.macrumors.com" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>MacRumors</em></a> — KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reiterates recent reports that Apple’s HomePod sales are disappointing. He says the tech giant is considering a lower-priced wireless speaker to deal with the situation.</p>

<p>The ongoing legal brouhaha between Apple and Smartflash turn another turn in the former’s favor this week, notes <a target="_blank" href="https://appleinsider.com/articles/18/04/13/apple-gets-another-court-win-in-smartflash-suit" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>AppleInsider</em></a>. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit this week upheld an earlier ruling by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board.</p>

<p>Apple has begun trial production of the iPhone 6s Plus — one of its highest selling models in India — at the Bengaluru facility of Wistron, Apple’s primary assembler in the country, which may lead to a “price correction,” reports <em><a target="_blank" href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/hardware/in-2-weeks-apple-could-start-making-iphone-6s-plus-here/articleshow/63741022.cms" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Economic Times</a></em>, quoting two unnamed “senior industry executives.”</p>

<p>Another day, another lawsuit. Even though <a target="_blank" href="https://appleworld.dreamhosters.com/blog/2018/4/10/apple-gets-an-a-on-the-gender-pay-scorecard?rq=Gender" rel="noopener noreferrer">Apple received an A-</a> on the Gender Pay Scoreboard (pictured), Carney Shegerian, trial lawyer and founder of the Los Angeles-based employment discrimination firm Shegerian & Associates, has announced a class action lawsuit against the company alleging that the tech giant has and continues to violate the California Equal Pay Act and the Fair Employment and Housing Act by paying women Experts less than it pays men for equal or similar work. </p>

<p>Yikes! Shortly after finding Apple infringed VirnetX network security patents, a jury in the Eastern District of Texas on Wednesday found the infringement was willful, a decision that has the potential to put the iPhone maker on the hook for more than $1.5 billion in damages, according to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.law360.com/technology/articles/1032626/apple-s-infringement-in-502m-security-ip-row-willful-jury?nl_pk=ade0cf2b-ea3f-464b-bc93-d8e19277ac63&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=technology" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Law360</em></a>.</p>