Dennis Sellers

<p>Kicking off manufacturing in India, Apple will soon start assembling the 4-inch iPhone SE at its new Bengaluru plant, a facility that's being set up by contract manufacturer Wistron. </p>

<p>I’m selfish. Not only do I want Apple to get back into the <a target="_blank" href="https://appleworld.dreamhosters.com/blog/2017/2/13/i-still-want-an-apple-thunderbolt-display-with-a-built-in-gpu" rel="noopener noreferrer">external computer display business</a> and want the <a target="_blank" href="https://appleworld.dreamhosters.com/blog/2017/2/14/apple-should-make-its-own-mac-speakers-again" rel="noopener noreferrer">company make its own speakers</a> for the Mac again, I also want the tech giant to stay in the router business. All of these items make staying in the Apple ecosystem a more enjoyable, cohesive experience. </p>

<p>Apple has reportedly ceased development of new version of its AirPort Base Station and Tim Capsule. However, the routers remain popular, well-designed products, and you can beef ‘em up with <a href="http://www.quickertek.com">QuickerTek's</a> wireless antenna upgrades. They provide dual-band 2.4GHz and 5.8GHz WiFi and can triple the range of any version of the Base Station Extreme and/or Time Capsule. </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>Microsoft has upgraded Office for Mac, adding Touch Bar support for some models of the 2016 MacBook Pros. Word, Excel, and PowerPoint will add “the most relevant commands to what you're working on are at your fingertips” via the Touch Bar.</p>

<p>Apple once considered buying Imagine Entertainment (Ron Howard’s production company), according to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.ft.com/content/0842bc20-f3de-11e6-8758-6876151821a6" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Financial Times</a>. It didn’t pan out (obviously).</p>

<p>With iOS 10, iTunes 12.5, and tvOS 10, you can read lyrics while listening to songs in the Music app or in iTunes. When lyrics are available (and they’re not for all songs), you can read them in the Music app on your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch; in iTunes on your Mac or PC; or in the Music app on your Apple TV.</p>

<p>Apple says the 28th annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) will be held at the McEnery Convention Center in San Jose, California. The conference will run June 5-9 and will focus on the latest versions of macOS, iOS, watchOS, and tvOS.</p>

<p>In a note to clients — as noted by <a target="_blank" href="http://www.macrumors.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">MacRumors</a> — KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo says that the “iPhone 8” will feature a 5.8-inch display with 5.15 inches of usable screen space with some onscreen real estate reserved for virtual buttons. </p>

<p>A windable Apple watch? iPhones and iPads that tell you when their screens are cracked? A new docking station? These are some of the products that Apple is at least considering.</p>

<p>Well, it’s about time. According to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-02-16/apple-vowed-to-revolutionize-television-an-inside-look-at-why-it-hasn-t" rel="noopener noreferrer">Bloomberg</a>, the next generation of the Apple TV will support 4K streaming.</p>

<p>Applian Technologies' Jaksta for macOS lets you download and convert online streaming audio and video for personal use. It supports just about all streaming formats and protocols (including FLV, HTTP, RTMP, IceCast, WMV, ASF, MP3, MP4, SWF, etc.), which means it can capture video from thousands of web sites including YouTube and Facebook. </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>Global sales of smartphones totaled 432 million units in the fourth quarter of 2016, a 7% increase over the fourth quarter of 2015, according to <a target="_blank" href="http://www.gartner.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">Gartner, Inc.</a> The fourth quarter of 2016 saw Apple leapfrog past Samsung to secure the number one global smartphone vendor position, notes the research group.</p>

<p>Pioneer Home Entertainment U.S.A<strong> </strong>has introduced the <a target="_blank" href="http://www.Pioneerrayz.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">Rayz and Rayz Plus earphones</a>, a new line of “appcessories” for the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. They iOS app features with Lightning accessories.</p>