Dennis Sellers

<p>The <a target="_blank" href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/apple-assembles-first-iphones-in-india-1495016276?mod=e2tw" rel="noopener noreferrer">Wall Street Journal</a> says Apple has confirmed that its manufacturing partners in India have started domestic production of the iPhone SE. Previously, Apple produced most of its smartphones iPhones in China with a few older models assembled in Brazil.</p>

<p>Thursday, May 18, is Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD). Apple stores globally will host accessibility workshops on May 18. Check your <a target="_blank" href="https://www.apple.com/retail/" rel="noopener noreferrer">local store page</a> to see if your store is participating and to book a seat in one of these workshops.</p>

<p>Apple Pay went live for Italian customers yesterday with initial support from Carrefour, UniCredit and prepaid card marketed by Boon, notes <a target="_blank" href="http://appleinsider.com/articles/17/05/16/apple-pay-goes-live-in-italy-with-support-for-boon-carrefour-and-unicredit" rel="noopener noreferrer">AppleInsider</a>.</p>

<p>Apple has been granted a patent (number 9,652,134) for “avatars reflecting user states.” An avatar is an icon or figure representing a particular person in video games, Internet forums, etc. The patent could mean more responsive, interactive avatars in apps such as Messages and Mail.</p>

<p>MacDaddy’s Mac Backup Guru may encourage you to back-up your data more frequently — and if you’re not already backing up, start doing so immediately. </p>

<p>You can have multiple calendars in the Calendar app in macOS Sierra. When you move an event to a different calendar, the event’s color changes to match the new calendar. If you want color-coded events, such as red mandatory events and yellow optional events, create a calendar for each type of event and move events between the calendars.</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><em>Bloomberg</em> <a target="_blank" href="https://appleworld.dreamhosters.com/blog/2017/5/16/bloomberg-reporting-wwdc-2017-macbook-updates)" rel="noopener noreferrer">is reporting </a>that Apple plans to unveil three new laptops at next month’s Worldwide Developer Conference: updated MacBook Pros, MacBook Airs and 12-inch MacBooks. The Sellers Research Firm (that's me) disagrees with that prediction.</p>

<p>Apple is reportedly planning to phase the iPad mini out of its lineup due to, among other things, decreased sales due to bigger smartphones such as the iPhone 7 Plus, according to <a target="_blank" href="https://bgr.com/2017/05/16/ipad-mini-ipad-pro-10-5-inch-wwdc/" rel="noopener noreferrer">a BGR report</a>.</p>

<p>It may be controversial, but the MacBook Pro with Touch Bar has won a Display Industry Award from the Society for Information Display (SID), a professional organization focused on the display industry. The awards are granted to “display products that incorporate the most significant technological advances and/or outstanding features.”</p>

<p>When it comes to mobile phones, Apple is the most trusted brand, according to the annual Most Trusted Brand in America by <a target="_blank" href="http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=http%3A%2F%2Frd.com%2F&esheet=51559440&newsitemid=20170516005212&lan=en-US&anchor=Reader%27s+Digest&index=1&md5=49032f6b576eee99483805795e0ade22" rel="noopener noreferrer">Reader’s Digest</a>. Interestingly, Dell topped the list when it comes to computers.</p>

<p>Looking at the fourth quarter of 2017 alone, the iPhone 7 was the 2016 best-selling iPhone, followed by the iPhone 7 Plus, based on research from the IHS Markit <a target="_blank" href="https://technology.ihs.com/575894/" rel="noopener noreferrer">Smartphone Shipment Database</a>, which tracks quarterly shipment data for more than 350 smartphone models. Apple is in the second spot among smartphone makers, shipping 50.8 million phones, down 0.8% from a year ago.</p>

<p>Former Apple exec Sal Soghoian has announced the first-ever <a target="_blank" href="http://www.cmddconf.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">CMD-D: Masters of Automation Conference</a> (pronounced “Command-D") on Wednesday, Aug 9, in Santa Clara, California. It’s for anyone who uses automation, creates automation or develops software. Registration is now underway.</p>

<p>Apple has been granted three patents that hint at “bezel-free” iPhones and iPads —  such as the anticipated <a target="_blank" href="https://appleworld.dreamhosters.com/blog/2017/5/13/kgi-analyst-still-expects-a-10-5-inch-ipad-pro-siri-speaker-at-wwdc?rq=10-inch%20iPad%20Pro" rel="noopener noreferrer">10.5-inch iPad Pro</a> — and devices with Touch ID built into the screen. For example, patent number 9,652,096 is for “reducing the border area of a device.” </p>

<p>Application specific passwords are set to become a mandatory requirement for third-party apps that access iCloud user data, according to an Apple Support email — as noted by <a target="_blank" href="http://www.macrumors.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">MacRumors</a>. Here’s the email:</p>