Dennis Sellers

<p>Kanex has shipped the $99.95 <a target="_blank" href="http://www.kanex.com/gopowerwatch" rel="noopener noreferrer">GoPower battery pack</a> for the Apple Watch. It contains a 4,000mAh cell, which can recharge the smartwatch around 10 times before it’s entirely out of juice.</p>

<p>The Apple Watch was the runner-up in the “Overall Best Smartwatch” category by <a target="_blank" href="http://pastemagazine.com" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Paste Magazine</em></a>. Here’s what the mag had to say about the Apple smartwatch: </p>

<p><a href="http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.promise.com%2FApollo&esheet=51406086&newsitemid=20160823005269&lan=en-US&anchor=Apollo+Cloud&index=1&md5=daffc04ff6c25ea33fbc14c130b88ad9">Apollo Cloud</a>, Promise Technology’s first consumer product, brings new digital content management ability to users of the personal cloud device and app with a free software upgrade that includes Time Machine support.</p>

<p>A U.S. International Trade Commission judge handed Apple a win Friday, <a target="_blank" href="http://www.law360.com/technology/articles/831199?nl_pk=ade0cf2b-ea3f-464b-bc93-d8e19277ac63&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=technology" rel="noopener noreferrer">ruling </a>that a media player patent that netted Creative Technologies, a Singapore software company a $100 million settlement with Apple is invalid.</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>A new study released by <a target="_blank" href="http://www.musicwatchinc.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">MusicWatch</a>, a company providing consumer research for the music industry,  profiled the usage patterns, playlist preferences, discovery habits and creation habits of music streamers. The study, which is based on 500 online interviews with users of Apple Music or Spotify who participate in listening to or creating playlists. </p>

<p>Digital media is a wonderful thing, but it has limitations, including sound. Enter the $299 <a target="_blank" href="https://www.meridian-audio.com/products/computer-audio/explorer2/" rel="noopener noreferrer">Merdian Explorer USB DAC.</a></p>

<p>If you need a high quality capsule microphone, <a target="_blank" href="http://www.mxlmics.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">Marshall Electronics' MXL AC-404 USB</a> provides excellent voice quality on conference calls at a reasonable price (about $90). If you take advantage of free or subscription Internet conferencing services such as FaceTime or Skype, it's worth a look.</p>

<p>Apple has released the seventh beta of macOS Sierra for developers and the six beta for public beta testers. The final version is due this fall.</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 will debut three new iPhone models next year, presumably the “iPhone 8” and “iPhone 8 Plus,” as well as a third model that will sport a curved OLED screen similar to the Edge versions of Samsung's Galaxy phones, claims the Japanese site, <em>Nikkei</em> (as noted by <a target="_blank" href="http://appleinsider.com/articles/16/08/22/apple-may-launch-three-new-iphones-in-2017-limiting-curved-oled-to-one-model---report" rel="noopener noreferrer">AppleInsider</a>).</p>

<p>Apple has <a href="https://www.applemusicfestival.com/en-us">announced</a> its 2016 <a href="http://www.macrumors.com/roundup/apple-music/">Apple Music</a> Festival, a free annual concert series that will be held Sept. 18-30 at the London Roundhouse. The performing acts haven’t yet been named. Last year Pharrell Williams, One Direction, Florence + The Machine and Disclosure, Mumford & Sons, Carrie Underwood and Ellie Goulding, and others performed.</p>

<p>ZEISS has announced the official in-store launch of its $129 <a target="_blank" href="http://zeissvrone.tumblr.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">VR ONE Plus virtual reality headset</a> in select Best Buy stores nationwide, and <a target="_blank" href="http://www.BestBuy.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">online</a>. The VR ONE Plus will be featured as part of an hands-on display, allowing general consumers to experience its quality hardware and lenses for the first time, according to the folks at ZEISS.</p>

<p>Apple hasn’t even confirmed that an “iPhone 7” is coming, but that hasn’t stopped <a target="_blank" href="http://vrdesign.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">VRS Design</a> from announcing their case line-up for the next gen smartphone. </p>

<p>A Barbra Streisand update may be coming to iPhones, iPads and even Macs soon. The singer and actress recently said she asked that Apple fix Siri, its personal digital assistant (which will debut on the Mac with macOS Sierra this fall) to pronounce her last name right, according to <a target="_blank" href="http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/7480218/barbra-streisand-apple-siri-update" rel="noopener noreferrer">Billboard</a>.</p>