Dennis Sellers

<p>Global sales of smartphones to end users totaled 344 million units in the second quarter of 2016, a 4.3% increase over the same period in 2015, according to Gartner, Inc. However, the second quarter was Apple’s third consecutive one of slowing iPhone demand. That should pick up with the introduction of the “iPhone 7,” according to the Sellers Research Firm (that’s me).</p>

<p>It’s a scale. It’s a device charger. It’s both in one. “It” is the <a target="_blank" href="http://oaxis.com/airscale/" rel="noopener noreferrer">AirScale</a> from Oasix, a combination luggage scale and USB power bank that will appeal to road warriors. It can weigh luggage up to 88 pounds and can re-charge an iPhone or iPad.</p>

<p>Ravpower’s <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ravpower.com/apple-lighting-cable-3ft.html" rel="noopener noreferrer">USB-C Quick Charge Cable</a> helps eliminate cable fray for 12-inch MacBook owners. And I suspect it will be handy for those who buy the next gen MacBook Pros that I expect to roll out no later than October. </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>Electric car company<a target="_blank" href="https://electrek.co/2016/08/16/david-erhart-tesla-apple-reliability/" rel="noopener noreferrer"> Tesla has hired</a> David Erhart, Apple’s (former) director of Reliability Engineering, to lead its own liability team. His new title? Senior director of Reliability and Test at Tesla.</p>

<p>At the company’s IDF Developer Conference in San Francisco, Intel pushed for mobile devices to ditch analog audio and embrace digital headsets using USB-C. Yep. USB-C, not Lightning.</p>

<p>Let me say upfront that, in all my years of reviewing products, there have been few from WaterField Designs that haven’t impressed me. That hasn’t changed with the <a href="http://www.sfbags.com/products/bolt-briefcase#product-tabs1">WaterField Designs Bolt Briefcase</a>.</p>

<p>The TiVo Roamio (love the name) OTA 1TB is a great gadget to watchlive, recorded, on-demand and over-the-top television. Perhaps Apple should be "inspired" by some of its features and include them in an high end version of its Apple TV set-top box. </p>

<p>Apple has added 37 new banks and credit unions to the the list of financial institutions supporting Apple Pay. You can find the list here (<a href="https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204916">https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204916</a>).</p>

<p>TunesKit Studio has debuted <a target="_blank" href="http://www.tuneskit.com/apple-music-converter-for-mac.html" rel="noopener noreferrer">TunesKit Apple Music Converter</a>, a new DRM removal product for Mac OS X and Windows. It allows you to remove DRM from any Apple Music track and old iTunes M4P songs.</p>

<p>AppYogi Software has introduced One Chat 1.0, their new social networking app developed for Mac OS X. It’s designed to combine chat and messaging services into one simple app.</p>

<p>Apple has entered into an agreement with Cash Money Records — whose artists include Drake, Lil Wayne, Nicki Minaj, Young Money and Birdman — to create a documentary about Cash Money and Birdman, which will air exclusively on Apple Music, reports <a target="_blank" href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-08-17/apple-is-going-to-make-a-documentary-with-drake-s-record-label" rel="noopener noreferrer">Bloomberg</a>. However, the deal is NOT an agreement to secure all of Cash Money's new albums exclusively, the article adds, quoting unnamed “people familiar with the deal.”</p>

<p>As noted by <a target="_blank" href="https://9to5mac.com/2016/08/17/apple-store-vienna-austria/" rel="noopener noreferrer">9to5Mac</a>, Austrian newspaper <a href="http://derstandard.at/2000042922257-375/Kaerntner-Strasse-hofft-auf-Apple"><em>derStandard</em></a> is reporting that Apple is close to finalizing contracts to open its first Apple Store in the country. It will be located on the upmarket shopping street Kärntner Straße in Vienna, but no opening date is mentioned in the article.</p>

<p>Despite earlier rumors, the upcoming iPhone upgrade will simply be dubbed the “iPhone 7” and “iPhone 7 Plus.” There won’t be an “iPhone 7 Pro,” according to a <em>Macotakara</em> <a href="http://www.macotakara.jp/blog/rumor/entry-30511.html">report </a>— as noted by <a target="_blank" href="http://appleinsider.com/articles/16/08/17/iphone-7-expected-to-continue-apples-normal-naming-conventions-no-pro-model" rel="noopener noreferrer">AppleInsider</a>.</p>

<p>Apple has announced a “significant commitment” by major supplier Lens Technology to run its Apple operations on entirely renewable energy. This unprecedented commitment, combined with zero waste compliance from all final assembly sites, furthers Apple’s efforts to help manufacturers lower their carbon footprint and reduce waste in China, helping to advance China’s transition to a new green economy, according to Lisa Jackson, Apple’s vice president of Environment, Policy and Social Initiatives.</p>