Dennis Sellers

<p>Apple has released the second public betas of macOS Sierra and iOS 10 to public beta testers. The finished versions of the operating system updates are due this fall.</p>

<p>Apple says it paid Japanese suppliers more than $30 billion in 2015, “highlighting its economic contributions to the country in an effort to drum up support in tough times,” according to <a target="_blank" href="http://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Companies/In-PR-push-Apple-counts-the-ways-it-helps-Japan-s-economy" rel="noopener noreferrer">Nikkei Asian Review.</a></p>

<p>Apple may sell as many as six million Apple Watch 2 unit’s within its first few weeks of release, if a new <a href="http://www.nextworth.com/">NextWorth</a> survey — as noted by <a target="_blank" href="http://www.computerworld.com/article/3103000/apple-ios/apple-may-sell-6-million-apple-watch-2-units-in-weeks.html/" rel="noopener noreferrer">Computerworld</a>. Of course, Apple hasn’t even announced an Apple Watch 2 yet, but I’m predicting (hoping?) that we’ll see it along with an “iPhone 7” announcement sometime between Sept. 9 and Sept. 12.</p>

<p>For small businesses struggling to go digital and mobile, FileMaker, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Apple, has released the <a target="_blank" href="http://info2.filemaker.com/service-business-lp.html?language=en&CID=701i0000001S2wD" rel="noopener noreferrer">Service Business Toolkit</a> and <a target="_blank" href="http://www.filemaker.com/c/ios/us/index.html" rel="noopener noreferrer">Idea to iPad Bundle</a>. </p>

<p>Apple files for — and is granted — lots of patents by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office. Many are for inventions that never see the light of day. However, you never can tell which ones will materialize in a real product, so here are today’s patent highlights: </p>

<p>Logitech has announced the <a href="http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.logitech.com%2Fnews%2FCREATE&esheet=51393357&newsitemid=20160802005550&lan=en-US&anchor=CREATE+Backlit+Keyboard+Case&index=1&md5=61a8d266548b16196ede9c13f47fa02b">CREATE Backlit Keyboard Case</a> with Smart Connector for the the 9.7-inch iPad Pro. Already offered for the 12.9-inch Apple tablet, the CREATE Keyboard Case provides a protective case, backlit keyboard, and integrated holder for the Apple Pencil all in one package. </p>

<p>If you want a quality pair of headphones but aren’t willing to shell out mad cash for sound quality that is only noticeably better for studio engineers . . . yeah, I said what everyone is thinking …. then Coloud’s No. 8 and No. 16 headphones could be a great option for you.</p>

<p><a target="_blank" href="https://appleworld.dreamhosters.com/blog/2016/8/1/the-ipad-still-leads-as-global-tablet-market-growth-continues-to-decline" rel="noopener noreferrer">As we reported yesterday,</a> the worldwide tablet market fell an additional 16% in the second quarter of 2016, as shipments dropped to their lowest point in three years. </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 introduced its Apple TV Remote app for iOS devices using iOS 9.3.2 or later. It’s designed to “deliver the best of the Siri Remote.”</p>

<p>Apple has revved iTunes for Mac OS X to version 12.4.3.</p>

<p>China’s Didi Chuxing, in which Apple has invested, has announced a strategic agreement with Uber under which Didi Chuxing will acquire all assets of UberChina--including its brand,business operations and data--for operation within mainland China.  </p>

<p>VirnetX, an Internet security software and technology company, says that on July 29, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, Tyler Division, has issued a new order in the company's pending litigation against Apple, vacating its previous order consolidating the two cases and ordering the parties to retry them as separate cases. </p>

<p>Worldwide tablet shipments reached 38.7 million in the second quarter of 2016 (2Q16) according to preliminary data from the International Data Corporation (<a href="http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.idc.com%2F&esheet=51392557&newsitemid=20160801005182&lan=en-US&anchor=IDC&index=1&md5=89c78457e222b74e09b9e225f04ff8cd">IDC</a>) <a href="http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.idc.com%2Ftracker%2Fshowproductinfo.jsp%3Fprod_id%3D81&esheet=51392557&newsitemid=20160801005182&lan=en-US&anchor=Worldwide+Quarterly+Tablet+Tracker&index=2&md5=8c33e88c6ed296ad052625de7cbeb912">Worldwide Quarterly Tablet Tracker</a>. Growth continues to decline with the market receding 12.3% year-over-year “as vendors begin to refocus their product lines and consumers hold off on purchases,” according to the research group.</p>

<p>According to the latest market share survey from <a target="_blank" href="http://netmarkeshare.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">NetMarketShare</a>, the market share for Mac OS X dipped again in July, while iOS rose a bit.</p>