Dennis Sellers

<p>Apple has applied for yet another patent for an augmented reality (AR) headset. Patent filing number 20180039052 is for an “optical system for head-mounted display.”</p>

<p>Hope you ordered your HomePod early, as shipping times for the wireless speaker have slipped a bit. The Apple online store shows that orders placed today should arrive by Feb. 12 at the earliest.</p>

<p>Yikes! Source code for “iBoot,” one of the most critical iOS programs, was anonymously posted on GitHub, which could pave the way for hackers and security researchers to find vulnerabilities in iOS and make iPhone jailbreaks easier to achieve, according to <a target="_blank" href="https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/a34g9j/iphone-source-code-iboot-ios-leak" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Motherboard</em></a>.</p>

<p>According to an unnamed tipster at Best Buy, Apple is preparing to launch the AirPower wireless charging mat and new AirPods wireless charging case in March, claiming that Best Buy will stock AirPower from day one online and in-store., claims <a target="_blank" href="https://www.theapplepost.com/apple-reportedly-launching-airpower-in-march/" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>The Apple Post</em></a>.</p>

<p><a target="_blank" href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/duplicate-photos-fixer-pro/id963642514?mt=12" rel="noopener noreferrer">Duplicate Photos Fixer Pro </a>is a handy, inexpensive ($0.99) app for macOS (10.7 or higher) that can remove duplicate photos and videos from Photos or iPhoto (9.0 or later). When it works, that is.</p>

<p>Sure, you can send text messages on an iPhone or iPad using the virtual keyboard. However, it’s easier to do it using Siri, Apple’s “personal digital assistant.” Here’s how to do this:</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>The AWT News Update is on hiatus while my compadre, Steve, deals with a death in the family. Prayers go out to the entire Sande family. In the place of the AWT News Update, I’ll offer a text-only (no podcast) summary of breaking stories with a tip o’ my hat to my former website, <em>Apple Daily Report</em>.</p>

<p>It hasn’t started production yet, but Apple has lost the planned show runner on its upcoming <em>Amazing Stories</em> reboot. According to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/bryan-fuller-exits-apples-amazing-stories-anthology-1078055" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>The Hollywood Reporter</em></a>, the tech giant wants a family friendly show but potential helmer Bryan Fuller wanted to do a <em>Black Mirror</em>-type show. In other words, a more R-rated show.</p>

<p>Apple will <a target="_blank" href="http://schedule.gdconf.com/session/introduction-to-apples-arkit-best-practices-and-recent-updates-presented-by-apple/856740?_mc=em_x_gdcsf_le_tsnr_gdcsf_x_x-em17a-18&elq_mid=83042&elq_cid=12188019" rel="noopener noreferrer">host a session</a> at this year's Game Developers Conference for the first time. Michael Kuhn, who leads the company’s ARKit engineering team, will offer an introduction to ARKit.</p>

<p>Apple’s HomePod, which will be released Feb. 9, has faced some criticism because it only works with Apple Music, Apple’s own music streaming service. However, you can use another iOS device's AirPlay feature to stream music from services other than Apple Music.</p>

<p>Apple has released the second iOS 11.3 public beta. The public beta is available on <a target="_blank" href="https://beta.apple.com/sp/betaprogram/" rel="noopener noreferrer">Apple's Beta Software Program website</a>. Just remember that beta software, so proceed with care.</p>

<p>An Apple Store proposed for Federation Square has been labelled a "Pizza Hut pagoda" as the Melbourne (Australia) City Council voted to pressure for a redesign.</p>

<p>Goldman Sachs is reportedly in talks with Apple (NASDAQ:<a href="https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/AAPL">AAPL</a>) to finance iPhone purchases. According to <em><a target="_blank" href="https://seekingalpha.com/news/3328826-goldman-talks-finance-iphones-wsj?uprof=53&dr=1#email_link" rel="noopener noreferrer">Seeking Alpha</a>, </em>buyers would theoretically borrow from Goldman at a cheaper interest rate than the typical credit card might charge. The bank's Marcus platform on average charges 12%.</p>

<p>Apple will <a target="_blank" href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-apple/apple-brings-alibaba-linked-payment-system-into-china-stores-amid-market-push-idUSKBN1FR0FH" rel="noopener noreferrer">begin</a> accepting Alipay, a third-party mobile and online payment platform, at its local Chinese stores. The tech giant will accept Alipay payment across its 41 brick-and-mortar retail stores in China.</p>