Dennis Sellers

<p><a target="_blank" href="http://www.canalys.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">Canalys</a> predicts that the worldwide market for 3D printers, and associated materials and services will reach a value of $4.9 billion by the end of 2016, so you have to wonder if Apple has any interest in the technology.</p>

<p>Apple files for — and is granted — lots of patents by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office. Many are for inventions that never see the light of day. However, you never can tell which ones will materialize in a real product, so here are today’s patent highlights: </p>

<p>According to <a target="_blank" href="http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20160517PD201.html?mod=3&q=APPLE" rel="noopener noreferrer">Digitimes</a>, the next generation of iPhones — probably to be dubbed the iPhone 7 — will ship at the end of September. (The fanciful iPhone mock-up in this article are courtesy of <a href="http://tinyurl.com/p7qdhls">Web Design Co.</a>)</p>

<p>Would you like a Mac that could change color? Probably won't happen, but Apple has considered the idea. In 2003, Apple filed a patent (number 20020190975) for just such technology.</p>

<p>On a regular basis, Apple World Today 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>It was <a target="_blank" href="https://appleworld.dreamhosters.com/blog/2016/5/16/berkshire-hathaway-takes-a-new-1-billion-position-in-apple" rel="noopener noreferrer">announced earlier</a> that Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway took a new $1 billion position in Apple in the first quarter. Now <a target="_blank" href="http://fortune.com/2016/05/16/leon-cooperman-apple/" rel="noopener noreferrer">Fortune reports</a> that hedge funder Leon Cooperman, CEO of Omega Advisors is buying in as well.</p>

<p style="margin-left:0px; margin-right:0px">Apple will open three retail stores in India before the end of 2027, <a target="_blank" href="http://factordaily.com/apple-store-open-delhi-bengaluru-delhi-end-2017/" rel="noopener noreferrer">reports FactorDaily</a>, quoting an unnamed “source familiar with the decision.” The retail stores will reportedly open in Delhi, Bangalore and Mumbai within the the next 18 months.</p>

<p style="margin-left:0px; margin-right:0px">Apple has released a plethora of software updates for iTunes, OS X, iOS, watchOS and tvOS.</p>

<p>Catchpoint Systems, a digital performance analytics company, has released its Ecommerce Web Performance Benchmark report for the first quarter of 2016, ranking desktop websites based on their performance (speed or load time).</p>

<p>Divya Nag, health tech lead at Apple placed second on the annual ranking of the <a target="_blank" href="http://www.fastcompany.com/most-creative-people/2016" rel="noopener noreferrer">100 Most Creative People in Business for 2016</a>, the annual ranking by Fast Company. Nag was named "for moving Apple into the doctor's office.”</p>

<p>A combination of device releases, price reductions, and company rationalizations marked the first quarter of 2016 (1Q16) in the worldwide wearables market. According to data from the International Data Corporation (<a href="http://www.idc.com/">IDC</a>) <a href="http://www.idc.com/tracker/showproductinfo.jsp?prod_id=962">Worldwide Quarterly Wearable Device Tracker</a>, total shipment volumes reached 19.7 million units in 1Q16, an increase of 67.2% from the 11.8 million units shipped in 1Q15.</p>

<p>Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway took a new $1 billion position in Apple in the first quarter, according to <a href="http://www.wsj.com/articles/buffetts-berkshire-takes-1-billion-position-in-apple-1463400389">The Wall Street Journal.</a></p>

<p style="margin-left:0px; margin-right:0px">Siri, Apple’s “personal digital assistant,” is pretty cool, but it does look a little … dated after the preview of Viv this week. Since the team behind Viv is the same team who originated Siri, perhaps history could repeat itself, and Apple could scoop up Viv.</p>

<p>Sometimes you gotta wonder why Apple seems so determined to eliminate ports on all its devices. The fourth-generation Apple TV debuted without an audio output port. Why?</p>

<p>Apple <a href="http://thenextweb.com/apple/2016/05/14/apple-confirms-itunes-music-deletion-issue-no-idea-whats-causing/">issued a statement Friday</a> acknowledging an issue of Apple Music deleting music from some subscribers’ accounts. The company said it doesn’t know what’s causing the problem, but is investigating the situation.</p>