Dennis Sellers

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Top10VPN’s new <a href="https://www.top10vpn.com/privacy-central/cybersecurity/dark-web-market-price-index-hacking-tools-us-edition/">Dark Web Market Price Index</a> suggests Apple users are becoming the most popular targets for online scammers. In March, the index reported that Apple ID data trades hands at $15 per account.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Apple usually announces new iPhones in September, so there’s no reason to think that this year will be an exception. And <a href="https://www.cnet.com/news/when-will-apple-announce-the-new-2018-iphones/#ftag=CAD590a51e" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>CNET</em></a> thinks the date will be Tuesday, Sept. 11 or Wednesday, Sept. 12. Here’s why:</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">According to the <a href="http://www.ihsmarkit.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">IHS Market</a> research group's preliminary smartphone data, global smartphone shipments reached 344.6 million units in the second quarter of 2018 – a 1.8% decline year-over-year, and also down slightly from the previous quarter. </p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">According to the latest market share survey from <a href="http://netmarkeshare.com/">NetMarketShare,</a> the market share for macOS was up but iOS was down last month.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Apple has applied for a patent (number 10,038,845) for “modeless video and still frame capture.” If it ever becomes reality, it will further enhance the photo/video capturing abilities of the iPhone and iPad.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">At $99.95, mophie’s <a href="http://www.mophie.com/shop/powerstation-plus-xl-apple-lightning-10k" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">powerstation plus XL</a> will put a minor dent in your wallet, but it could also put a major dent (in a good way) in your on-the-go charging needs. </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>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">In its fiscal 2018 third quarter that ended June 30, Mac sales fell to 3.72 million units from 4.29 million units in the year-ago quarter. That’s not too surprising as there were no refreshes in the line-up. </p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">In its fiscal 2018 third quarter that ended June 30, the tech giant reported $3.74 billion in revenue from its "other products" division, which includes sales of Apple Watches, AirPods, Beats products, and iPods. Revenue was up 60% year-over-year.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Apple has announced financial results for its fiscal 2018 third quarter that ended June 30. The company posted quarterly revenue of $53.3 billion, an increase of 17% from the year-ago quarter, and quarterly earnings per diluted share of $2.34, up 40%. International sales accounted for 60% of the quarter’s revenue.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">According to the latest research from <a href="https://www.counterpointresearch.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Counterpoint</a>’s Market Monitor service, smartphone shipments in China declined 7% annually but grew sequentially in quarter two of 2018. The top five brands — which includes Apple — captured a record 84% of the market (Apple has 8%).</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Apple has released the fourth public betas of iOS 12 and tvOS 12. The public betas are available on <a href="https://beta.apple.com/sp/betaprogram/">Apple's Beta Software Program website</a>. Just remember that beta software, so proceed with care.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://www.upwork.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Upwork</a>, a global freelancing website, has released its newest quarterly index of the hottest skills in the U.S. freelance job market. Apple’s Xcode ranks 15th on the list of the top 20 fastest growing skills needed; that’s out of the 5,000 the website tracks.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Zulily.com is having a <a href="https://www.zulily.com/search?q=Apple&fromSearch=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">close-out sale</a> on Macs, iPhones, and accessories. Most of the items are refurbished, but you can get some pretty good deals, though none are the latest models.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Twelve South has announced <a href="https://www.twelvesouth.com/product/airsnap" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">AirSnap</a>, a full-grain leather case to keep your Apple AirPods connected and protected. You don’t have to remove it to have access to your ear buds and the charging port.</p>