Dennis Sellers

<p>So far Apple has made it more and more difficult to upgrade its various devices. However, a newly granted patent (number 9,904,333) involves Macs — especially Mac laptops — with easily replaced solid state drives (SSDs).</p>

<p>I really like my Apple TV 4K and use it daily. However, when it was sitting on my TV stand, my two-year granddaughter thought it was a toy. Not good. Enter the $29.95 <a target="_blank" href="https://www.apple.com/shop/product/HJKP2LL/A/innovelis-totalmount-pro-mounting-system-for-apple-tv" rel="noopener noreferrer">TotalMount Pro</a>, which attaches the Apple set-top box to the back of your television.</p>

<p>If your HomePod isn’t responding, you should unplug it from its power source, then plug it in again. If that doesn’t work — and ONLY if that doesn’t work — should you reset it to its factory settings. </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>According to <a href="http://variety.com/2018/tv/news/m-night-shyamalan-apple-series-1202711707/"><em>Variety</em></a>, Apple has given a straight-to-series order for a psychological thriller written by Tony Basgallop, who has written for a variety of TV shows such as <em>24:Legacy</em> and <em>Hotel Babylon</em>, and produced by M. Night Shyamalan (pictured), known for movies like <em>Sixth Sense, Signs, Sixth Sense, Unbreakable, The Village, The Visit,</em> and <em>Split.</em></p>

<p>In a note to clients — as noted by <a target="_blank" href="https://9to5mac.com/2018/02/27/iphone-battery-availability-worsens/" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>9to5Mac</em></a> — Barclays analyst Mark Moskowitz says the current wait times for iPhone battery availability have gone up to 3-4.5 weeks after a series of calls to Apple Stores. The longest wait of any Apple Store was found to be 9-10 weeks.</p>

<p>Michael Abbott, Twitter’s former vice president of engineering, has been scooped up by Apple, according to the French site, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.macg.co/aapl/2018/02/apple-aurait-recrute-michael-abbott-lancien-patron-de-webos-101513" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>MacGeneration</em></a>. </p>

<p>Coming off of the first year-over-year decline in iPhone shipments in 2016, Apple returned to growth in 2017 albeit only 0.2%, according to <a target="_blank" href="http://www.idc.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">IDC</a>. The tech giant shipped 215.8 million iPhones in 2017 with 64% of those coming from “plus-size” smartphones such as the iPhone X. </p>

<p><a target="_blank" href="http://www.joyoshare.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">Joyoshare</a> has announced Screen Recorder for Mac, a video capture tool that can record screen videos with audio simultaneously on macOS.</p>

<p>Apple has “internally” announced that it’s launching a pilot program that will permit its retail stores and Apple Authorized Service Providers to continue offering repair service for 21.5-inch and 27-inch iMac models released in mid-2011, despite the fact they will be classified as vintage in March, reports <a target="_blank" href="http://www.macrumors.com" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>MacRumors</em></a>.</p>

<p>Apple has filed for a patent (number 9,901,147) for a “case for a wearable electronic device.” It’s for a wireless charging case for the Apple Watch.</p>

<p>Future Mac laptops could sport dual displays if a new granted Apple patent (number 9,904,502) ever comes to fruition. In one embodiment, such a device would replace the physical keyboard with a second display that could show a virtual keyboard.</p>

<p>Apple is launching a group of medical clinics called AC Wellness to deliver the "world's best healthcare experience" to its employees and their families, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/02/27/apple-launching-medical-clinics-for-employees.html" rel="noopener noreferrer">CNBC reports</a>. The initiative includes two clinics in Santa Clara County, California, so far.</p>

<p>Apple hasn’t shown the Mac mini love in a long time, but the tiny computer still has its fans. And those fans may find the $18.75 <a target="_blank" href="https://eshop.macsales.com/item/NewerTech/ADP4KHEAD/" rel="noopener noreferrer">NewerTech HDMI Headless Video Accelerator</a> useful.</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>