Dennis Sellers

<p>Did you know you can change Siri’s voice on your HomePod? You can. Here’s how:</p>

<p>Apple has reported that men earned 5% more on average than women at its UK operations, although the median pay gap was 2% in favor of women, notes <a target="_blank" href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-apple-pay-gender/apple-discloses-gender-pay-gap-at-uk-operations-idUSKCN1HA2GS" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Reuters</em></a>.</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 has hired John Giannandrea, former head of Google's search and artificial intelligence unit, reports <a target="_blank" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/03/business/apple-hires-googles-ai-chief.html" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>The New York Times</em></a>. He’ll run Apple's overall "machine learning and A.I. strategy," reporting directly to CEO Tim Cook, the article adds. </p>

<p>Following <a target="_blank" href="https://appleworld.dreamhosters.com/blog/2018/4/2/it-makes-sense-that-apple-would-begin-making-its-own-macs-processors-by-2020" rel="noopener noreferrer">t</a>hat Apple will replace Intel chips in Macs with its own custom-made chips in 2020, Bank of America Merrill Lynch <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/04/03/bank-of-america-says-apple-could-save-500-million-a-year-making-its-own-pc-chips.html" rel="noopener noreferrer">estimates</a> the company can save $500 million each year if it goes this route for even half its Macs.  </p>

<p>Apple has released the first public betas of iOS 11.4 and tvO 11.4, both of which add support for AirPlay 2.</p>

<p>Apple Music for Android <a target="_blank" href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.apple.android.music" rel="noopener noreferrer">version 2.4.2</a> is available on the Google Play Store. It requires Android 4.3 (Jelly Bean) or later. To check your Android version, go to Apps > Settings > About device.</p>

<p>The Weeknd’s latest project, <em>My Dear Melancholy, </em>pulled in over 26 million streams in its first 24 hours on Apple Music, with the lead song “Call Out My Name” pulling in 6 million of those streams, the company tells <a target="_blank" href="https://www.theverge.com/2018/4/3/17192342/apple-music-the-weeknd-my-dear-melancholy-spotify" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>The Verge</em></a>. </p>

<p>This will certainly add fuel to the rumor that Apple will build its own automobile (an Apple Car): the tech giant has filed for an assembly for an “energy absorbing assembly” for a vehicle.</p>

<p>The gang at iFixIt — which tears down electronic devices and looks at their innards so you don’t have to — has torn down Apple’s new 9.7-inch iPad 6.</p>

<p><a target="_blank" href="http://www.intel.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">Intel </a>has unveiled the Intel Core i9 processor for laptops. The chip manufacturer says the 8th Gen Intel Core i9 processor is the highest-performance laptop processor Intel has ever built to deliver the best gaming and content creation experience on the go. Sounds like a candidate for the MacBook Pro update that will probably be announced at June’s Apple Worldwide Developer Conference.</p>

<p>Apple is working with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSMC) — a key supplier of mobile processors — to develop micro LED panels on silicon-based backplanes for use in the Apple Watch and an augmented reality (AR) wearable device, according to <a target="_blank" href="http://www.digitimes.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">DigiTimes Research</a> senior analyst Luke Lin. </p>

<p>Last week Apple made its space grey accessories for the iMac Pro available to everyone. They look fantastic, but all of them aren’t for everyone. </p>

<p>Pages in macOS automatically detects website addresses (URLs) and email addresses you type and formats them as active links. You can edit these links or deactivate them so they appear and behave as normal text.</p>

<p>Apple will report its quarterly earnings for its second fiscal quarter of 2018 on Tuesday, May 1, at 2 p.m. (Pacific). The tech giant will live stream the announcement. </p>