Dennis Sellers

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">A new report from <a href="https://www.theinformation.com/articles/apple-developing-modem-as-chip-efforts-expand" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>The Information</em></a> says Apple is working on its own cellular modem, although it could take up to three years before they appear in iPhones and other products. That sounds right.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">A new report from <a href="http://www.juniperresearch.com/CMSModules/Newsletters/CMSPages/Redirect.ashx?linkguid=111e606a-a87e-48b0-8314-e22272e95fae&email=submitnews%40applecentral.com&hash=898d7744c1fb18e3162d64eeaff77c4d3cc1a3b3101c2b7a131d8a324f3f7a58"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Juniper Research</span></a> has found that there will be an estimated 417 million hearables in use by 2022. This includes fitness-focused devices, hearing augmentation and purely audio-focused devices such as Apple’s AirPods.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Writing for<em> </em><a href="https://9to5mac.com/2018/12/12/17-inch-macbook-pro/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>9to5Mac</em></a>, Ben Lovejoy says that LG’s <a href="http://www.lgnewsroom.com/2018/12/lg-to-unveil-new-gram-laptops-evolved-to-a-whole-new-scale-at-ces-2019/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">new gram 17</span></a> laptop shows how “lovely” a 17-inch MacBook Pro could be. I think he’s onto something.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Apple is preparing to relaunch <a href="https://www.texture.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Texture</a> in spring 2019 and make it a premium product within Apple News, reports <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-12-12/apple-s-netflix-for-magazines-is-said-to-rankle-publishers?cmpid%3D=socialflow-twitter-tech&utm_campaign=socialflow-organic&utm_source=twitter&utm_content=tech&utm_medium=social" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Bloomberg</em></a>, quoting unnamed “people familiar with the matter.” </p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">If you’re an Apple Music subscriber in the UK, you can get a discount on Apple’s HomePod speaker until Dec. 16. </p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Future Apple Watches could come with watchbands that automatically adjust their tightness, or allow you to do so with the touch of the screen, to fit different activities. Apple has filed for a patent (number 10,149,521) for “dynamic fit adjustment for wearable electronic devices.”</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">There are several ways to customize the Finder toolbar in macOS Mojave. To start, open a Finder window by clicking the Finder icon at the left end of the Dock. </p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Egypt, where iPhone prices are up to 50% higher than elsewhere in the Middle East, has given Apple 60 days to end what it claims are unfair restrictions on local distributors or face legal action, according to <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-12-11/apple-accused-by-egypt-of-violating-competition-laws" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Bloomberg</em></a>.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Apple has released the first public betas of macOS 10.14.3, iOS 12.1.2, and tvOS 12.1.2. The public betas are available on <a href="https://beta.apple.com/sp/betaprogram/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Apple's Beta Software Program website</a>. Just remember that beta software, so proceed with care.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Satechi has released the Aluminum Type-C Mobile Pro Hub Adapter, which is compatible with the new iPad Pro, as well as other Type-C devices smartphones and tablets.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">According to the International Data Corporation (<span style="text-decoration: underline;">IDC</span>) <a href="http://www.idc.com/tracker/showproductinfo.jsp?prod_id=37" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker</span></a>, worldwide smartphone shipments are expected to decline by 3% in 2018 before returning to low single-digit growth in 2019 and through 2022. iPhones are forecast to drop by 2.5% in 2018 to 210.4 million, though the research group is forecasting Apple smartphone shipments to grow at a five-year compound annual growth rate of 0.1%, reaching volumes of 217.3 million in 2022.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Apple has been granted a patent (number 10,154,316) for a “motion-based configuration of a multi-user device.” The details in the patent seem to involve a TV set, but more likely involve a Mac or a new Apple TV set-top box.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">There have been a flurry of reports about Apple suppliers that make iPhones and iPhone parts are hurting because of poor iPhone sales. Those reports may have been a teeny bit overblown.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">A <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2018-10-04/the-big-hack-how-china-used-a-tiny-chip-to-infiltrate-america-s-top-companies?srnd=premium)"><em>Bloomberg </em></a><a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2018-10-04/the-big-hack-how-china-used-a-tiny-chip-to-infiltrate-america-s-top-companies?srnd=premium)" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">report </a>in October claimed that Apple, Amazon, and almost 30 other companies have been the subject of hacking by Chinese spies embedding chips in hardware for surveillance purposes. Apple says this simply wasn’t true, and a new report backs up the Cupertino, California-based company.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Apple Pay is now available in Germany with support for 15 banks and services such as Comdirect and Deutsche Bank.</p>