Dennis Sellers

<p>Apple has raised concerns about the delay in Ireland’s planning process in correspondence relating to the application for a data center in Athenry, Ireland, according to the <a target="_blank" href="http://connachttribune.ie/documents-reveal-apples-concern-about-athenry-data-centre-delays/" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Connacht Tribune</em></a>. The tech giant has been seeking planning permission for an 850 million euro data center development in Athenry for almost three years.</p>

<p>The iPhone 7 Plus gained 2.8% of all smartphone sales in China, according to Counterpoint Research — as noted by <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/01/15/apple-iphone-7-plus-second-best-selling-phone-in-china-in-2017.html?__source=twitter%7Cmain" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>CNBC</em></a>. The tech giant was the only foreign brand to have a smartphone model in the top 10 best-selling handsets in China in 2017.</p>

<p>A group of Israelis has filed a request with the Haifa District Court of Israel to file a class-action lawsuit against Apple, Intel, and ARM because of the "Spectre" and "Meltdown" <a target="_blank" href="https://appleworld.dreamhosters.com/blog/2018/1/4/some-ios-tvos-devices-could-be-affected-by-a-chip-bug" rel="noopener noreferrer">processor exploits</a>. The six District Courts in Israel serve both as the appellate courts and also as the court of first instance for some cases (e.g. real estate or IP). </p>

<p>Apple has no plans to make any “major upgrades” to its MacBook Pro lineup in 2018, though the company expects to sell lots of laptops, according to <a target="_blank" href="http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20180115PD209.html" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>DigiTimes</em></a>. </p>

<p>Apple is honoring the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. with a full-page tribute <a target="_blank" href="https://www.apple.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer">on its website</a>. There’s a black-and-white picture of the civil rights leader. It also lists one of his many famous quotes: “The time is always right to do what’s right.”</p>

<p>WaterField Designs' <a target="_blank" href="https://www.sfbags.com/products/bolt-briefcase" rel="noopener noreferrer">Bolt Briefcase</a> is designed to meet the evolving needs of tech professionals and business travelers. Such folks carry a range of gadgets, each requiring different degrees of accessibility and protection. </p>

<p>On Jan. 10, it was reported that Apple will hand its China cloud operations over to a state-owned partner Guizhou-Cloud Big Data Industry Co. (GCBD) on Feb. 28. This was only meant to affect customers in mainland China, some users outside of China also received an email telling them their data was affected and being given to GCBD. </p>

<p>Four U.S. House Republicans, including the chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee, wrote Apple CEO Tim Cook on Thursday, asking him to answer questions about the company’s disclosure that it slowed older iPhones with flagging batteries, reports <a target="_blank" href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-apple-batteries/house-republicans-want-answers-on-apple-throttling-older-iphone-speeds-letter-idUSKBN1F12OY" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Reuters</em></a>.</p>

<p>There’s a lot happening in the world of Apple news this week. Following are the hottest articles for the week of Jan. 8-13.</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>During this week’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES), representatives Apple, Facebook, and Google met with suppliers “that make the nuts and bolts required to power AR glasses,” according to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-01-12/vr-lives-another-day-as-amazon-apple-explore-ar" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Bloomberg</em></a>, quoting unnamed sources.</p>

<p>Apple remained in the fourth position for global market share among personal computer makers  and grew its shipments 7.3% in the fourth quarter of 2017, according to IDC The tech giant shipped about 5.8 million Macs during the quarter, per the research group.</p>

<p>As noted by <a target="_blank" href="http://appleinsider.com/articles/18/01/11/apple-features-subscription-apps-offering-free-trials-in-new-app-store-section" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>AppleInsider</em></a> Apple has added a new section to the Apple App Store that spotlights iOS subscription-based apps that offer free trials to new users.</p>

<p>Apple has published an updated version of its iOS Security Guide White Paper, adding info that covers features introduced in iOS 11.1 and iOS 11.2, like Face ID and Apple Pay Cash. </p>

<p>Apple is working to reverse a Patent Trial and Appeal Board ruling upholding the validity of certain patents owned by VoIP-Pal. The tech giant claims that its opponent contacted senior administration officials and the judges presiding over the case, swaying the outcome of an inter partes review proceeding, according to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.law.com/therecorder/sites/therecorder/2018/01/11/apple-alleges-secret-lobbying-campaign-swayed-pto-trial/?slreturn=20180012084558" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>The Recorder</em></a>. </p>