Dennis Sellers

<p>Though everyone knows by now that Apple is working on some sort of automotive technology, no one knows if it’s a full blown “Apple Car” or hardware/software for vehicles. However, <a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/3063342/platform-wars/survey-says-yes-us-consumers-will-buy-cars-from-apple-and-google">a new survey</a> suggests that more than half of U.S. consumers would be interested in cars developed by tech giants Google and Apple.</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><a target="_blank" href="http://www.firstannapolis.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">First Annapolis</a> has released the third edition of the S<em>tudy of Mobile Banking & Payments</em>, a semi-annual consumer research study that tracks consumer adoption and use of the mobile channel for banking and payments. The study shows that 89% of U.S. consumers with Apple Pay compatible devices use the service at least once a week.</p>

<p>In a note to clients — as noted by MacRumors — MGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo says Apple is working on its own Bluetooth-like communication chip and its own Bluetooth headphone that will likely be included in the wireless earbuds (“AirPods”) the company is reportedly developing. </p>

<p>The Apple TV "Apple Events" channel has returned in time for the “See you on the 7th” media event tomorrow. You can view it on, well, your Apple TV.</p>

<p>The latest smartphone operating system data from <a target="_blank" href="http://www.kantarworldpanel.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">Kantar Worldpanel ComTech</a> shows year-on-year sales growth for iOS in the three months ending July 2016 in most regions, including the U.S., EU5 (Great Britain, Germany, France, Italy, and Spain), and Australia. In the U.S., Android posted a year-on-year decline in sales of 0.6 percentage points to 65%.</p>

<p>According to the latest research from <a target="_blank" href="http://www.strategyanalytics.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">Strategy Analytics</a>, Apple’s iPhone 6s was the world’s top-selling smartphone model in the second quarter of 2016. Apple currently accounts for two of the three top-selling smartphone models shipped worldwide, according to the research group.</p>

<p>Shipments of wearable devices such as the Apple Watch reached 22.5 million in the second quarter of 2016 (2Q16) according to the International Data Corporation (<a href="http://www.idc.com/">IDC</a>) <a href="http://www.idc.com/tracker/showproductinfo.jsp?prod_id=962">Worldwide Quarterly Wearable Device Tracker</a>. Despite a decline in shipments for one of the largest vendors, the overall market for wearable devices grew 26.1% year over year as new use cases are slowly starting to emerge.</p>

<p>Apple has been granted a patent (number 9,439,305) for a “glass enclosure” that hints at future iPhones encased in glass bodies. In the patent filing, Apple says that one design challenge associated with portable electronic devices is in techniques for mounting structures within the portable computing devices. </p>

<p>Do you want/need an iPhone-enabled alarm clock, speaker, radio, USB charger, and disco ball all in one? Then you need the <a target="_blank" href="http://wittidesign.com/en/beddi/" rel="noopener noreferrer">BEDDI</a> from WITTIDesign. It packs a serious amount of features for a $99 device.</p>

<p>Executives from Audi, BMW, Fiat Chrysler, Ford, General Motors and Mercedes-Benz expect an “Apple Car” will launch by 2021 as a precursor to a fully autonomous successor model to be introduced around 2026 as regulatory conditions are altered to allow features such as fully automated parking, according to <a target="_blank" href="http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/industry/how-apple-icar-could-crack-automotive-industry" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>AutoCar UK</em></a>.</p>

<p>According to <a target="_blank" href="http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20160904PD201.html" rel="noopener noreferrer">DigiTimes</a> Intel has begun delivering its next-generation notebookuse Kaby Lake processors and will start shipping comparable desktop-use CPUs by year-end 2016. </p>

<p>It’s easy to use Siri, Apple’s “personal digital assistant,” on your iPhone or iPad to get directions. Here’s how:</p>

<p>As noted by <a target="_blank" href="https://9to5mac.com/2016/09/05/apple-music-discounted-membership/" rel="noopener noreferrer">9to5Mac</a>, Apple stores and select retailers have rolled out a new 12-month Apple Music gift card, priced at $99. </p>

<p style="margin-left:0px; margin-right:0px">Today is Labor Day here in the U.S. of A. Apple World Today will be running on a very limited schedule as Steve and I celebrate the holiday with our families. Whether you’re off work today or not, we wish you a fantastic Monday.</p><p> </p>