Dennis Sellers

<p>Apple plans to invest in LG Innotek in order to secure a steady supply of 3D sensing modules for this year’s iPhones and iPads, according to <a target="_blank" href="http://www.theinvestor.co.kr/view.php?ud=20180109000879" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>The Investor</em></a>. The sensing module, which enables a mobile device to capture 3-D data and recognize a user even in a dark environment, is a key component of iPhone X’s facial recognition solution.</p>

<p>A new study from <a href="http://www.juniperresearch.com/CMSModules/Newsletters/CMSPages/Redirect.ashx?linkguid=c2cf0483-82c8-4f6c-ad80-5c0e5bb282b3&email=submitnews%40applecentral.com&hash=898d7744c1fb18e3162d64eeaff77c4d3cc1a3b3101c2b7a131d8a324f3f7a58">Juniper Research</a> has found that the global number of registered mobile domestic money transfer users is expected to reach 2.5 billion this year, up from an estimated 1.7 billion in 2016.</p>

<p><a target="_blank" href="http://www.frontiersmart.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">Frontier Smart Technologies</a> is adding support for AirPlay 2 to its SmartSDK (software development kit). The company is previewing its AirPlay 2 implementation at this year’s CES.</p>

<p><a target="_blank" href="http://www.amalgaminsights.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">Amalgam Insights</a>, a consulting and strategy firm, predicts that Apple stands to lose as much as $10 billion in 2018 from delayed revenues associated with “Batterygate” — its disclosure about batteries in older iPhones.</p>

<p>Following <a target="_blank" href="https://appleworld.dreamhosters.com/blog/2018/1/8/some-apple-shareholders-want-apple-to-think-differently-about-kids" rel="noopener noreferrer">the request</a> by a couple of Apple shareholders asking the company to study the impact of heavy smartphone use by children and teenagers, as well as offer more parental restrictions on iPhones, the tech giant said it plans new features to help parents control how children use its smartphones.</p>

<p>You can use the Disk Utility in macOS High Sierra to create a secure disk image for confidential documents that you don’t want others to see without your permission, you can put them in an encrypted disk image. Here’s how:</p>

<p>There are a variety of tools to help you manage and repair your iTunes library. If, like me, you buy the bulk of your music online, eventually you're going to need such an utility. One of the simplest, and fastest, is Leawo Tunes Cleaner.</p>

<p>This week the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is in full swing in Las Vegas. There are too many announcements to list each one in a separate article, so here are some of today’s highlights:</p>

<p>A French prosecutor has launched a preliminary investigation of Apple over alleged deception and planned obsolescence of its products following a complaint by a consumer organization, reports <a target="_blank" href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-apple-france-investigation/french-prosecutor-launches-probe-into-apple-planned-obsolescence-judicial-source-idUSKBN1EX27V" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Reuters</em></a>. The investigation will be led by French consumer fraud watchdog DGCCRF, part of the Economy Ministry.</p>

<p>In a note to clients — as noted by <a target="_blank" href="https://9to5mac.com/2018/01/08/homepod-launch-date-gbh/" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>9to5Mac</em></a> — GBH Insights says it expects Apple’s HomePod to arrive in 4-6 weeks, but that it will face an uphill climb as it seeks to compete with competitors such as Amazon and Google’s Alphabet division. The research group writes: </p>

<p>Apple has released macOS High Sierra 10.13.2 and iOS 11.2.2 with, among other things, security fixes for the recently reported Spectre vulnerability. </p>

<p>Though Apple is offering $29 battery replacements to any customer with an iPhone 6 or newer regardless of diagnostic test results, this policy can only be taken advantage of once, according to new fine print on its <a target="_blank" href="https://support.apple.com/iphone/repair/service/pricing" rel="noopener noreferrer">iPhone service pricing</a> page — as noted by <a target="_blank" href="http://www.macrumors.com" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>MacRumors</em></a>.</p>

<p>This week the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is in full swing in Las Vegas. There are too many announcements to list each one in a separate article, so here are some of today’s highlights:</p>

<p>As noted by <a target="_blank" href="http://appleinsider.com/articles/18/01/07/shareholders-ask-apple-to-study-impact-of-iphone-addiction-on-young-users" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>AppleInside</em>r</a>, a couple of Apple shareholders have issued an open letter asking the company to study the impact of heavy smartphone use by children and teenagers, as well as offer more parental restrictions on iPhones. The letter, <a target="_blank" href="https://thinkdifferentlyaboutkids.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer">shared online</a> by Jana Partners and the California State Teachers' Retirement System, says , in part: </p>

<p>A federal magistrate judge in California said Friday he’ll sanction Apple to the tune of $300,000 for missing a document production deadline in antitrust suits brought against Qualcomm by the Federal Trade Commission and a putative class of cellphone buyers, reports <a target="_blank" href="https://www.law360.com/technology/articles/999185/apple-hit-with-300k-sanction-in-qualcomm-antitrust-row?nl_pk=ade0cf2b-ea3f-464b-bc93-d8e19277ac63&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=technology" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Law360</em></a>.</p>