Dennis Sellers

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">A former Apple employee, Xialang Zhang, accused of illegally downloading the tech giant's proprietary information related to self-driving cars (the rumored “Apple Car,” pictured in fanciful mock-ups) before taking a job with a Chinese self-driving car company pled not guilty in California federal court Monday to trade secret theft, according to <a href="https://www.law360.com/technology/articles/1063885/ex-apple-engineer-denies-stealing-self-driving-car-ip?nl_pk=ade0cf2b-ea3f-464b-bc93-d8e19277ac63&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=technology" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Law360</em></a>.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Director Steven Spielberg’s latest popcorn film, “Ready Player One” is now available on iTunes to buy or rent. And when I say “popcorn film,” that’s not a criticism because I love a good popcorn flick.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">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 style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Yesterday I showed you how to <a href="https://appleworld.dreamhosters.com/blog/2018/7/16/how-to-sign-up-for-apples-beta-software-program" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">enroll in Apple’s Beta Software Program</a>. But you may decide you don’t want to participate any more. If so, you can “unenroll” your Mac.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Since Steve and I can’t cover everything, at the end of each week day, we’ll offer this wrap-up of news items you should check out.</p>

More than 70 new emoji characters are coming to the iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch and Mac later this year in...

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Planning to buy one of those new MacBook Pros and deciding whether to fork out an extra $400 to upgrade to 32GB of RAM? My advice: save yourself some cash and go with 16GB instead.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://www.evehome.com/en/eve-light-switch" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Eve Light Switch</a> from Eve Systems (formerly Elgato) was the world’s first light switch with Apple HomeKit technology for a light control experience, and it’s still a solid choice. It transforms any single or multi-bulb setup into a Siri-enabled lighting system, so you can use your voice to control your existing bulbs regardless of their shape, size or color.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Dying to test out in-the-works updates for macOS, iOS, watchOS, and tvOS? You can by joining Apple’s Beta Software Program. It’s free, but remember: beta software is unfinished software so use with care. </p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">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 style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Apple has lost a trio of pivotal executives in India in recent weeks as it struggles to boost iPhone sales, reports<em> </em><a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-07-14/apple-is-said-to-lose-key-sales-execs-as-india-strategy-stumbles" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Bloomberg</em>,</a> quoting unnamed “people familiar with the matter.”</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">The gang at iFixIt, which tears apart electronic gadgets and looks at their innards so you don’t have to, is in the <a href="#">middle of tearing down the new MacBook Pros</a> and have found that Apple has cocooned their butterfly switches in a thin, silicone barrier.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Awair has launched the $199 <a href="http://www.getawair.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Awair 2nd Edition</a>, an update of its solution that empowers consumers with real time insights on air quality to help them breathe easier, reduce allergy or asthmatic symptoms and even keep their skin clearer.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Sonos has <a href="https://blog.sonos.com/en/airplay-is-here/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">announced</a> that its One, Beam, Playbase, and second-generation Play:5 speakers now support AirPlay 2.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Apple has been granted a patent (number 10,019,888) for “weather-based reminders” on its various devices. For example, an amount of rainfall as measured in inches or centimeters can be rounded up or down to the nearest whole unit of measurement. </p>