Dennis Sellers

<p>Apple has been granted a patent (number 20170074675) for augmented reality maps, which hints at changes in a future version of its Maps app on the iPhone and iPad. </p>

<p>Today is St. Patrick’s Day. Hopefully, you’re wearing something green and checking out some macOS and iOS apps to celebrate.</p>

<p>Apple News has become the most effective third-party platform at driving readers to <em>The Telegraph’s</em> own sites and app, reports <a target="_blank" href="http://digiday.com/media/apple-news-the-telegraph/" rel="noopener noreferrer">Digiday</a>. Available on iOS devices (and, hopefully, on macOS at some point), </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>New data from <a target="_blank" href="https://sensortower.com/blog/imessage-app-store-six-months-later" rel="noopener noreferrer">SensorTower</a> says that the iMessage App Store has almost 5,000 apps six months after Apple opened the store; however, growth is slowing.</p>

<p><a target="_blank" href="http://www.wepay.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">WePay </a>— a provider of integrated payments for online platforms including Constant Contact, GoFundMe, and Zoho — has announced that its customers can now use Apple Pay on the Web and Google's Android Pay on the Web to generate more revenue on their sites.</p>

<p>President Trump is right that China is flouting global trade rules to the detriment of the U.S., says the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF), which includes Cynthia Hogan (pictured), Apple’s vice president for public policy for the Americas on its board. However, economic nationalism is not the right response, the tech-policy think tank argues in a <a target="_blank" href="https://itif.org/publications/2017/03/16/stopping-chinas-mercantilism-doctrine-constructive-alliance-backed" rel="noopener noreferrer">new report</a> out today. </p>

<p>Nearly half of iPhone users have little or no confidence in storing their personal information on iCloud, according to <a target="_blank" href="http://globalmessaging1.prnewswire.com/clickthrough/servlet/clickthrough?msg_id=8438442&adr_order=490&url=aHR0cHM6Ly9jbHV0Y2guY28vY2xvdWQvc3RvcmFnZS9yZXNvdXJjZXMvaWNsb3VkLXN1cnZleS0y%0AMDE3" rel="noopener noreferrer">a survey of 1,001 iPhone users</a> conducted by Clutch, a business-to-business (B2B) ratings and reviews firm. </p>

<p>Apple was granted three patents today that shows it plans to beef up the features of its AirPods wireless earbuds. Patents 20170078781, 20170078780 and 20170078785 are for <strong>“earbuds with biometric sensing.”</strong></p>

<p>Security researchers competing at the annual <a target="_blank" href="https://www.zerodayinitiative.com/blog/2017/3/15/welcome-to-pwn2own-2017-the-schedule" rel="noopener noreferrer">Pwn2own</a> conference have discoveredtwo zero-day vulnerabilities in Apple’s Safari. Two teams successfully exploited the bugs they found to achieve root access to macOS, while a third attempt failed, reports <a target="_blank" href="https://9to5mac.com/2017/03/16/pwn2own-security-hacking-competition-safari/" rel="noopener noreferrer">9to5Mac</a>.</p>

<p>By most accounts macOS and iOS are safer operating systems than Windows or Android. However, there was a dubious 2015 report from GFI (a company that makes “IT solutions that enable businesses to discover, manage and secure their networks” ) that claims that the Apple operating systems were the “most vulnerable” OS’s.</p>

<p>Noise Industries' $49 <a target="_blank" href="https://fxfactory.com/blog/effects-2/slidepop-final-cut-pro-x/" rel="noopener noreferrer">Slide Pop plug-in</a> offers 20 cool, customizable View-Master style effects and transitions for Apple's Final Cut Pro X. </p>

<p>Two years ago, Apple bought 3,600 acres in Brunswick County, North Carolina. According to The Conservation Fund, the Arlington, Virginia-based group Apple tapped to manage the effort, the project is starting to show returns – both for the Cupertino, California-based company and for the state of North Carolina.</p>

<p>A new study by <a target="_blank" href="http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pymnts.com%2F&esheet=51526500&newsitemid=20170315006274&lan=en-US&anchor=PYMNTS.com&index=1&md5=cc2236236e25de0346c2760be3ab8153" rel="noopener noreferrer">PYMNTS.com</a> reveals that mobile wallet usage in the U.S.  remains small and shows no signs of increasing soon. However, Apple Pay leads the pack when it comes to number of consumer have at tied it at least once at 22%. That compares to about 15% for Samsung Pay and less than 10% for Android Pay.</p>

<p>In a note to clients — as note by <a target="_blank" href="http://appleinsider.com/articles/17/03/15/services-growth-on-track-to-deliver-big-long-term-payout-for-apple-analyst-says" rel="noopener noreferrer">AppleInsider</a> — RBC Capital Markets analyst Amit Daryanani says Apple is on track for its Services business revenue estimates so far.</p>