Dennis Sellers

<p>According to the global research firm <a href="http://press.trendforce.com/">TrendForce</a>, Apple has settled on most of the specs for the next iPhone, which, like the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus, will come in two sizes: 4.7 inches and 5.5 inches. The major hardware highlights include expanded storage for all models and dual-camera specifically for the 5.5-inch model. </p>

<p>According to a forecast update from the International Data Corporation (<a href="http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.idc.com&esheet=51353643&newsitemid=20160601006101&lan=en-US&anchor=IDC&index=1&md5=7337427191d283f2e1b829dfd9d911ab">IDC</a>) <a href="http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.idc.com%2Ftracker%2Fshowproductinfo.jsp%3Fprod_id%3D37&esheet=51353643&newsitemid=20160601006101&lan=en-US&anchor=Worldwide+Quarterly+Mobile+Phone+Tracker&index=2&md5=2b07eb638d53e5a17f147c6b0197abe7">Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker</a>, smartphone shipments are expected to grow 3.1% in 2016, which is a substantial slowdown from the 10.5% growth in 2015 and 27.8% in 2014. </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 both Mac OS X and iOS declined in May.</p>

<p>In a note to investors (as obtained by <a target="_blank" href="http://www.businessinsider.com/iphone-7-will-see-record-sales-due-to-existing-customer-upgrades-installed-user-base-2016-5?r=UK&IR=T" rel="noopener noreferrer">Business Insider</a>) from BMO Capital Markets analyst Tim Long and his team, the iPhone 7 is “sitting in front of a massive wave of untapped sales.”</p>

<p>Apple Pay users in Canada have three more banking options now that Apple has rolled out support for the country's remaining "Big Five" banks (BMO, TD and Scotiabank), according to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.thestar.com/business/2016/05/31/all-big-five-banks-join-apple-pay-club.html" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Toronto Star</a>.</p>

<p>Don’t look for an Amazon Prime app on the Apple TV until Apple presents Amazon with "acceptable business terms,” according to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, reports <a target="_blank" href="http://www.theverge.com/2016/5/31/11826362/amazon-acceptable-business-terms-apple-tv-chromecast" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Verge</a>.</p>

<p><a target="_blank" href="http://www.twelvesouth.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">Twelve South</a> is known for creating great products to enhance the Apple experience, and that’s certainly not changed with the BookBook cases for the iPad Pro and 12-inch MacBook. While each case will set you back a pretty penny at $99.99, it’s worth every dollar. </p>

<p>Let's say that you want to stream a movie on your Mac, iOS device, or Apple TV, but you don't know if it's available for streaming. What do you do? Well, you can go to iTunes, Netflix, Hulu, and a dozen other sites and search them individually. Or you can do it the easy way and go to Can I Stream It.</p>

<p>The AWT News Update is on hiatus while my compadre, Steve, takes a road trip. In its place, I’ll offer a text-only (no podcast) summary of breaking stories with a tip o’ my hat to my former website, <em>Apple Daily Report</em>.</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>Samsung Electronics has begun mass producing what it says is the industry’s first NVMe PCIe solid state drive (SSD) — the PM971-NVMe — in a single ball grid array (BGA) package, for use in next-generation computers and “ultra-slim” laptops.</p>

<p>Apple’s long-in-the-tooth Thunderbolt Display may FINALLY be getting an upgrade at Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference in two weeks. The monitor hasn’t been upgraded since July 2011. It’s time for a 5K version to match the gorgeous display of the 27-inch iMac.</p>

<p>Okay, let’s quit calling it a hobby. Apple TV sales have propelled Apple into third place for global set-top box popularity in 2015, based on revenue, according to IHS, Inc. That’s up from ninth place in 2014, according to the research group.</p>

<p>pple 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>Escape Velocity Apps' <a target="_blank" href="http://www.cloudsliceapp.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">CloudSlice for iOS</a> lets you use your favorite cloud services in a new way. It lets you treat all of your linked cloud services as a single storage location which helps just a tiny bit to meet the need for a personal, private cloud to store your data that you'd access from your devices anywhere. </p>