Dennis Sellers

<p>Some iPhone 8 owners have a problem with the phone’s earpiece. When making a call, the earpiece makes a disruptive “crackling” or “static” sound that disrupts the audio.</p>

<p>In a note to clients — as noted by <a target="_blank" href="http://appleinsider.com/articles/17/09/27/kgi-iphone-8-sales-in-line-with-expectations-analysts-overplay-short-apple-store-lines" rel="noopener noreferrer">AppleInsider</a> — KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo says that iPhone 8 and 8 Plus sales are off to a solid and stable start despite claims from analysts and media citing a lower than usual turnout at Apple store locations as evidence of decreased interest in the new lineup. </p>

<p>Downloaded an app to your Apple TV, but don’t use it any more and are tired of seeing it take up space on the tvOS interface? No problem. You can move and hide apps with ease.</p>

<p>Apple has filed for a patent (number 9,772,720) for “flexible room controls” that shows the company has big plans for its HomeKit technology. HomeKit is a framework that allows control of compatible home automation devices through iOS and Siri.</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 Food and Drug Administration, which oversees new drugs, medical devices and much of the U.S. food supply, has selected nine tech companies, including Apple, for a pilot program that may let them avoid some regulations that have tied up developers working on health software and products, according to <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-09-26/apple-fitbit-will-join-fda-program-meant-to-speed-health-tech"><em>Bloomberg</em></a>.</p>

<p>Apple has released iOS 11.0.1. It’s a maintenance release with “bug fixes and improvements for your iPhone or iPad,” according to Apple.</p>

<p>Shutterfly and Mimeo have announced an integration with the Apple Photos app for macOS High Sierra. </p>

<p>The Keychain password vulnerability affecting macOS —including High Sierra —was reported to Apple on Sept. 7, and should be fixed by the tech giant soon, Patrick Wardle, the research who first publicized the issue, <a href="http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/2017/09/high-sierra-reportedly-has-a-password-problem/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+uk%2Fgizmodo+%28Gizmodo+UK%29">told</a> <em>Gizmodo</em>. </p>

<p>KKR & Co. — an American multinational private equity firm, specializing in leveraged buyouts — is trying to persuade Apple to switch sides and join the private equity firm in a bid for Toshiba Corp.’s flash memory chip business. According to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-09-25/kkr-said-to-be-wooing-apple-to-switch-sides-in-toshiba-bid" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Bloomberg</em></a>, Toshiba told creditors that the Bain-backed winning consortium wasn’t finalized yet, because Apple hadn’t agreed to all the terms.</p>

<p>Apple’s new iPhone X, which goes on sale in October, will sport cutting-edge facial recognition technology dubbed “Face ID” KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo predicts that, if it’s a hit, we’ll see it replacing Touch ID on future iPhones and iPads. If it’s not a big hit, expect to see iOS devices sporting Face ID and Touch ID.</p>

<p>As macOS High Sierra <a target="_blank" href="https://appleworld.dreamhosters.com/blog/2017/9/25/macos-1013-high-sierra-now-available" rel="noopener noreferrer">became available yesterday</a>, some folks (like me) were disappointed that the new Apple File System (APFS) wouldn’t be implemented on traditional hard drives or Fusion Drives (which is what my iMac has). But there’s good news.</p>

<p>Apple’s iPhone 8 Plus, equipped with 64GB of NAND flash memory, carries a bill of materials (BOM) cost that comes out to $288.08 higher than any previous versions of the company’s smartphones, according to a preliminary estimate from <a target="_blank" href="http://ihsmarkit.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">IHS Markit</a>, which specializes in “critical information, analytics and solutions.”</p>

<p>Apple has sold 33 million Apple Watches since the launch of the line over two years ago — and 15 million in the past year, according to <a target="_blank" href="http://www.asymco.com/2017/09/25/a-small-screen-ipod/" rel="noopener noreferrer">estimates</a> from Asymco’s Horace Dediu. The analyst says the unit sales in the past year add up to $4.9 billion in revenue.</p>

<p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.jamaudio.com/speakers/jam-symphony-wireless-wifi-speaker" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Jam Symphony</a> is a Wi-Fi only (at least when it comes to wireless) speaker. There’s nothing wrong with that — except for one flaw: you’ll have to make sure that your iPhone is connected to 2.4GHz Wi-Fi, not 5GHz, to use the Jam WiFi app. </p>