Dennis Sellers

<p>Apple has again been named “the most intimate brand,” according to the <a target="_blank" href="http://mblm.com/lab/brandintimacy-study/" rel="noopener noreferrer">2018 Brand Intimacy Survey</a> by MBLM, a consulting, branding, experience and technology company. Following the tech giant in the top 10 are Amazon, BMW, Jeep, Disney, YouTube, Target, Netflix, Whole Foods Market, and Google.</p>

<p>OWC has introduced the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.owcdigital.com/products/mercury-elite-pro-quad" rel="noopener noreferrer">OWC Mercury Elite Pro Quad</a>, an external storage solution that offers four drive bays to provide massive amounts of storage from a single USB-C connection, with the flexibility to be utilized in Mac, PC and mixed Mac/PC environments. </p>

<p>Javier Ramirez has introduced <a target="_blank" href="https://wakefy.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">Wakefy</a> for macOS 10.12 or later. It’s a free app that turns your Mac into a Spotify alarm clock. </p>

<p>According to the latest research from <a target="_blank" href="http://www.counterpointresearch.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">Counterpoint Research’s</a> Refurbished Smartphone tracker, the global market for refurbished smartphones grew 13% year-over-year in 2017, reaching close to 140 million units. This was in contrast with the global new smartphone market that grew a 3% last year, thus being outpaced by refurbished “second life” smartphones.</p>

<p>Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire (pictured) says France will take legal action against Apple and Alphabet’s Google a for “abusive commercial practices,” reports <em><a target="_blank" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-03-14/france-to-take-action-v-google-apple-for-commercial-practices" rel="noopener noreferrer">Bloomberg</a></em>. He accuses the tech giants of taking advantage of French developers.</p>

<p>Apple has been granted a patent (number 9,917,340) for a “fuel cell system to power a portable computing device” such as an iPad or a Mac laptop.</p>

<p>Soundness’ SoundSoap 5.0, the latest major version of the audio noise reduction software for macOS and Windows, introduced new technology that finds and removes background noises automatically by analyzing the media file. Unfortunately, files with more than one stereo or mono audio track still aren’t supported. Supported file types for opening are determined by Apple’s AV Foundation framework.</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>The AWT News Update is on hiatus while my compadre, Steve, takes a road trip. In its place, I’ll offer a text-only (no podcast) summary of breaking stories with a tip o’ my hat to my former website, <em>Apple Daily Report</em>.</p>

<p>Apple has hired Gail Hunter, the Golden State Warriors’ vice president of public affairs and event management, as director of events, reports the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bizjournals.com/sanjose/news/2018/03/13/apple-hires-golden-state-warriors-exec-as-events.html" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Silicon Valley Business Journal</em></a>. The Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in Oakland, California. </p>

<p>Apple will host its 29th annual Worldwide Developers Conference at the McEnery Convention Center in San Jose, California, June 4-8. </p>

<p><a target="_blank" href="http://www.digitimes.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">DigiTimes Research</a> claims Apple will release its AirPower wireless charger before the end of the month. The Sellers Research Firm (that’s me) thinks the odds are favorable this will happen.</p>

<p>Mobile app data and insights company <a target="_blank" href="https://www.appannie.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer">App Annie</a> and International Data Corporation (<a target="_blank" href="https://www.idc.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer">IDC</a>), a provider of technology market intelligence services, have unveiled a special joint report entitled, "Gaming Spotlight, 2017 Review.” The big news: direct spending on mobile games exceeded the combined spending total on home console, Mac/PC, and handheld console games by more than one third in 2017, up from a single-digit margin by the same measure in 2016. </p>

<p>Apple plans to release an 11-inch iPad Pro with a display at this summer’s Worldwide Developer Conference, according to Taiwan's <a target="_blank" href="https://money.udn.com/money/story/5710/3025097" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Economic Daily News</em></a> — as noted by <a target="_blank" href="http://www.macrumors.com" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>MacRumors</em></a>. This would hint at a replacement for the company’s current 10.5-inch iPad Pro.</p>

<p>Continuing a focus on health related products, such as its HealthKit and Apple Watch, Apple has been granted a patent (number 9,916,474) for a “wellness registry” for receiving and sharing wellness data. </p>