Dennis Sellers

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">The sooner the Mac Pro shows up, the better. Apple says it will arrive next year; hopefully, that will be <strong>early </strong>2019. The creative community wants an affordable, modular desktop Mac that will fill their horsepower needs, as well as reinforcing the company’s claims that it hasn’t turned its back on creatives.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Apple will offer over 2,000 free coding sessions during EU Code Week, running Oct. 6-21, with at least one free session every day in every Apple store throughout Europe. </p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Before you install a case on your new iPhone, you should consider a screen protector since many cases don’t include one. OtterBox’s $39.95 <a href="https://www.otterbox.com/en-us/alpha-glass?scid=&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI8d7W59no3QIVlkoNCh1wagKQEAAYASAAEgKoQ_D_BwE" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Alpha Glass Screen Protector</a> is a good choice.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Sapphire screens may be coming to iPhones, iPads, Apple Watches— and perhaps even Mac laptops. Apple has filed for a patent (number 20180284843) for a “sapphire cover for electronic devices.”</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://www.macrumors.com/2018/10/03/iphone-xs-lte-connectivity-apple-investigation/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Apple is contacting</a> some iPhone XS and XS Max owners suffering from LTE connection problems that have been ongoing since the devices shipped last month</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Apple says the October 2018 issue of <em>Bloomberg Businessweek</em> incorrectly reports that the tech giant found “malicious chips” in servers on its network in 2015. Apple says it has repeatedly explained to <em>Bloomberg </em>reporters and editors over the past 12 months, there is no truth to these claims. The company says it provided <em>Bloomberg Businessweek</em> with the following statement before their story was published:</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Apple has filed for a patent (number 20180284946) for “ultrasonic touch detection on a stylus” that hints that the company is at least investigating ways for the Apple Pencil to work with iPhones and touchscreen Macs, as well as iPads.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Interbrand has announced that Apple, Google, and Amazon are the three most valuable brands in its 2018 Best Global Brands report with the first topping the list for the sixth time in a row.</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)" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Bloomberg </em>report </a>claims Apple, Amazon, and almost 30 other companies have been the subject of hacking by Chinese spies embedding chips in hardware for surveillance purposes. However, Apple says this simply isn’t true.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://www.law360.com/technology/articles/1088811/apple-denied-bid-to-pull-back-docs-in-qualcomm-fight?nl_pk=ade0cf2b-ea3f-464b-bc93-d8e19277ac63&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=technology" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Law360</em></a> reports that a California federal judge has ruled that Apple can’t “claw back” dozens of documents turned over in its patent battle with Qualcomm, the world’s dominant supplier of baseband processors.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Charlie Sloth, the “tastemaking presenter of hip-hop shows on both BBC Radio 1 and 1Xtra,” is leaving its UK network for Apple Music, notes <a href="https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/apple-music-poaches-the-bbcs-leading-hip-hop-dj-charlie-sloth/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Music Business Worldwide</em></a>. He’ll host a new worldwide show on Beats 1, and will contribute to the creation and curation of playlists, the article adds.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Another day, another lawsuit. As noted by <a href="https://appleinsider.com/articles/18/10/03/apple-sued-over-airdrop-technology" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>AppleInsider</em></a>, patent troll Uniloc is back, this time suing Apple over its AirDrop technology.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">I get to review a LOT of iPhone cases, and it’s rare to receive one that’s truly different. WaterField Designs’ <a href="https://www.sfbags.com/products/fused-suede-case-for-iphone" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Fused Suede Case</a> is. How? It’s more of a sleeve than a case.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Announced in an update to its Investor Relations <a href="https://investor.apple.com/investor-relations/default.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">webpage</a>, Apple's fourth quarter conference call is scheduled for Thursday, Nov. 1, at 2 p.m. (Pacific).</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">The analytics firm of <a href="http://www.flurrymobile.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Flurry Insights</a> looked at device activations of the iPhone Xs and iPhone Xs Max from Friday, Sept. 21, through Thursday, Sept. 27. During their first full week, the new Apple smartphones gained a market share of 0.42% and 0.68%, respectively, for a total of 1.1%.</p>