Dennis Sellers

<p>Apple’s iPhone has become a key factor for global economic growth, claims the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.imf.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer">International Monetary Fund</a> (IMF), a report by the organization that fosters “global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, international trade, high employment, and sustainable economic growth” around the world. However, that could be changing.</p>

<p>Despite continued rumors that a merger of macOS and iOS is in the works, Apple CEO Tim Cook said mobile devices and desktop/laptop computers should remain in separate worlds with their own operating systems, according to the <em><a target="_blank" href="https://www.smh.com.au/technology/users-don-t-want-ios-to-merge-with-macos-apple-chief-says-20180416-p4z9t9.html" rel="noopener noreferrer">Sydney Morning Herald</a>.</em></p>

<p>A <a target="_blank" href="https://seekingalpha.com/news/3346811-taiwan-semi-trims-revenue-outlook-softer-smartphone-demand" rel="noopener noreferrer">miss and dim guidance</a> from Taiwan Semiconductor (TSMC) — which pointed to a "very high-end smartphone" as part of demand softness -- is dinging Apple while other chipmakers move down.</p>

<p>Studio19 has debuted the Solo E500T and E500X-EQ speakers that are built using patented Dual Pressure Air Compression (DPAC) “super-bass” technology and Enhanced 360° Optimized Sound.</p>

<p>America's top companies are investing in solar in record amounts, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association's brand new <a href="http://www.seia.org/solarmeansbiz"><em>Solar Means Business 2017</em></a> report, which tracks on-site commercial solar installations and ranks top corporate solar users. Apple is among the companies honored.</p>

<p>Apple has filed for a patent (number 20180108346) for a “method and apparatus for discovering trending terms in speech requests,” part of an effort to improve Siri, its personal digital assistant.</p>

<p>Apple is teaming up with McDonald’s offering an order of free medium fries with any purchase made by Apple Pay users using the restaurant chain’s <a target="_blank" href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/mcdonalds/id922103212?mt=8&ls=1&app=iTunes" rel="noopener noreferrer">free mobile app</a>.</p>

<p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-04-18/qualcomm-cutting-jobs-to-live-up-to-promise-of-slashing-costs" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Bloomberg</em> </a>reports that Qualcomm is slicing around 1,500 jobs in California as part of a broader workforce reduction aimed at meeting a commitment to investors to pare costs by $1 billion.</p>

<p>Apple has applied for two more patents involving water resistant improvements for its various devices — the iPhone being the most obvious candidate for such enhancements.</p>

<p>Timo Josten’s <a target="_blank" href="https://getdropsha.re" rel="noopener noreferrer">Dropshare</a>, a file sharing tool, is a useful menu bar application for drag and dropping to upload files, screenshots and even directories to your own server, Amazon S3 and Rackspace Cloud Files. Landing pages can be synchronized with Dropshare Sync.</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>Apple has released its second public beta of macOS High Sierra 10.13.5. Among other things it reintroduces Messages on iCloud, which allows you to store “iMessages” in iCloud.</p>

<p>Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP) has released analysis of the results of its research on mobile phone operating systems and brands for the calendar quarter that ended March 31, 2018. The research shows that, during this time period, Samsung accounted for 39% of US mobile phone activations in the third quarter. Apple had 31%, with LG next at 14%. All other brands accounted for 17% of activations.</p>

<p><a target="_blank" href="http://www.youmail.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer">YouMail</a>, a provider of free robocall blocking software and the <a target="_blank" href="http://www.robocallindex.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer">YouMail Robocall Index</a>, has released an analysis of the over 3.1 billion robocalls made in the U.S. in March, showing that iPhone users get more robocalls than Android users. </p>

<p>TD Ameritrade is launching Apple Business Chat support to deliver financial market updates, investor education, research and trading information to customers using the Messages app on iPhones and iPads. </p>