Dennis Sellers

<p>In the U.S., day one pre-orders of Apple’s HomePod were higher than all other smart speaker first day pre-orders, except Amazon’s Echo Dot, according to NPD’s Checkout service1. With Siri, Apple Music, and HomeKit, according to a new report from the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.npd.com/wps/portal/npd/us/blog/2018/with-homepod-apples-audio-ambitions-come-in-crystal-clear/" rel="noopener noreferrer">NPD Group</a>. What’s more, if taken together, Beats and Apple were the top-selling headphone brand of 2017, accounting for 44% of all dollar sales (not just wireless), notes the research group.</p>

<p>Apple will release three new iPhones this fall, according to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-02-26/apple-is-said-to-plan-giant-high-end-iphone-lower-priced-model" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Bloomberg</em></a>, quoting unnamed sources. This report is pretty much in line with what KGI securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo <a target="_blank" href="https://appleworld.dreamhosters.com/blog/2018/1/23/analyst-lower-end-61-inch-iphone-for-2018-will-cost-700-800?rq=Ming-Chi%20Kuo" rel="noopener noreferrer">has predicte</a>d.</p>

<p>Cellebrite, a Petah Tikva, Israel-based vendor that's become the U.S. government's company of choice when it comes to unlocking mobile devices, is telling customers its engineers can now circumvent the security of devices running iOS 11. </p>

<p>A class action lawsuit was commenced on Friday, Feb. 23, in the Ontario Superior Court alleging that Apple substantially slowed iPhones without warning to or consent from consumers. This is part of the ongoing "Batterygate" brouhaha.</p>

<p>The European Union (EU) is preparing legislation to force companies such as Apple, Google and Microsoft to turn over customers’ personal data when requested even if it is stored on servers outside the bloc. The proposed law would apply to any company that does business within Europe, no matter where its data centers are based, according to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-eu-data-order/europe-seeks-power-to-seize-overseas-data-in-challenge-to-tech-giants-idUSKCN1GA0LP?feedType=RSS&feedName=technologyNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FtechnologyNews+%28Reuters+Technology+News%29" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Reuters</em></a>.</p>

<p>Apple CEO Tim Cook will co-chair the Chinese government’s showcase global business forum, the China Development Forum (CDF), in March, reports <a target="_blank" href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/apples-china-lesson-think-different-but-not-too-different-1519642914" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>The Wall Street Journal</em></a>. It will be his fifth appearance at a newsmaking event in China in little over a year.</p>

<p>Developers, take note: <a target="_blank" href="http://www.khronos.org" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Khronos Group</a><strong>,</strong> an open consortium of leading hardware and software companies creating advanced acceleration standards, has announcesd that the Vulkan Working Group’s Portability Initiative has been working with Khronos members Valve, LunarG, and The Brenwill Workshop to enable Vulkan applications to be ported to Apple platforms.</p>

<p>Apple has been granted a patent (number 20180052002) for “live traffic routing” designed to improve its Maps app on iPhones, iPads, and Apple Watches.</p>

<p>Belkin’s $79.99 <a target="_blank" href="http://www.belkin.com/us/p/P-F8J184-APL/" rel="noopener noreferrer">Car Power Valet</a> and $99.99 <a target="_blank" href="http://www.belkin.com/us/p/P-F8J185-APL/" rel="noopener noreferrer">Dual Car Power Valet</a> are useful in-car charging solutions made exclusively for the iPhone, iPod and iPad.</p>

<p>You can use the Home app on your iPhone or iPad to update the software on your HomePod. By default, HomePod automatically installs new software updates, but you can manually check for updates in the Home app. Here's how:</p>

<p>In a note to clients — as noted by <a target="_blank" href="http://appleinsider.com/articles/18/02/25/apple-to-launch-branded-over-ear-headphones-upgraded-airpods-this-year" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>AppleInsider</em></a> — KGI analyst Ming-Chi Kuo Apple forecasts that Apple will launch its own branded high-end, over-ear headphone with an "all new" design to add to its growing audio accessory lineup. </p>

<p>Looking to comply with new laws, Apple this week will <a target="_blank" href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/apple-to-start-putting-sensitive-encryption-keys-in-china-1519497574" rel="noopener noreferrer">begin</a> hosting Chinese users' iCloud accounts in a local data center, taking a step that alarms some privacy specialists: storing the encryption keys for those accounts in China.</p>

<p>The High Court of Paris has <a target="_blank" href="https://france.attac.org/IMG/pdf/delibere.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer">denied Apple's request for an injunction</a> that would have blocked Attac from protesting at the company's retail stores across France, reports <a target="_blank" href="https://www.macrumors.com" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>MacRumors</em></a>. The activist group has been protesting what it perceives as Apple's tax evasion in Europe.</p>

<p>FxFactory has released <a target="_blank" href="https://fxfactory.com/info/xeffectsrips/" rel="noopener noreferrer">XEffects Rips,</a> a new set of Final Cut Pro X plug-ins. Developed by partner Idustrial Revolution, they emulate the ripping of paper, separating the media into two halves with a photorealistic edge. </p>

<p>Japanese publication <em>Mac Otakara </em>says — as noted by <em><a target="_blank" href="http://appleinsider.com/articles/18/02/22/apples-airpower-mat-inches-closer-to-release-again-said-to-arrive-in-march" rel="noopener noreferrer">AppleInsider</a></em> — that Apple’s AirPower will go on sale in March. A specific date wasn’t mentioned.</p>