Dennis Sellers

<p>Despite three in four Americans believing that they maintain a healthy tech-life balance, a majority of Americans can't go more than two hours without checking their electronic devices, such as Macs, iPhones, and iPads, according to a Crucial.com Tech-Life Balance Survey. </p>

<p>Apple won the top prize in <em>Trusted Reviews</em> <a target="_blank" href="http://www.trustedreviews.com/news/apple-ipad-pro-9-7-inch-tablet-of-the-year-trusted-reviews-awards-2016#jWOaq5CvxiUF8jpD.99" rel="noopener noreferrer">Tablet of the Year category</a> for the 9.7-inch iPad Pro, beating the likes of Google's Pixel C and Microsoft's Surface Book.</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>Apple has updated <a href="http://www.apple.com/swift/playgrounds/">Swift Playgrounds</a>, a free iPad app to teach kids of any age basic coding skills in Swift, to version 1.1. The upgrade — available at the Apple App Store — adds new Learn to Code lessons, support for sound and music.</p>

<p>Make of this what you will as far as the future of AppleScript and Automator is concerned: Sal Soghoian’s position as product manager of Automation Technologies at Apple has been terminated, after nearly 20 years at the company.</p>

<p>Apple has a hidden feature in iPhones in which call logs going back as far as four months are stored in near real-time in the iCloud, claims Elcomsoft, a Russian provider of iPhone hacking tools. Elcomsoft, claims the feature is automatic and there’s no way to turn it off bar shutting down iCloud Drive altogether, according to <a target="_blank" href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/thomasbrewster/2016/11/17/iphone-call-logs-in-icloud-warns-elcomsoft-hackers/#2ef03dde2936" rel="noopener noreferrer">Forbes</a>.</p>

<p>Apple supplier Hon Hai Precision Industry, better known as Foxconn Technology Group, has been studying the possibility of moving iPhone production to the U.S.,  according to Japanese website <a href="http://asia.nikkei.com/Business/AC/Apple-could-make-iPhones-in-US-in-future-sources"><em>Nikkei Asian Review</em></a>.</p>

<p>Take this one with a big grain of salt: according to the <a href="http://info.blancco.com/en-rs-state-of-mobile-device-performance-and-health-trend-report-q3-2016.html">Q3 2016 State of Mobile Device Performance and Health report</a> released today by <a href="http://www.blancco.com/">Blancco Technology Group</a>, Apple’s iPhones and iPads fail at a rate of 62% globally, compared to the 47% failure rate of Android devices.</p>

<p>Apple has opened registration for Hour of Code workshops at all 487 Apple retail stores worldwide, from Dec. 5-11 in celebration of Computer Science Education Week. They teach the basics of computer science with Code.org’s programming tutorials. Apple and Code.org share the goal of giving every student the opportunity to learn computer science.</p>

<p>Apple has applied for a patent (number 20160335532) for a “virtual assistant in a communication session” that hints at the integration of Siri, the "personal digital assistant," into Messages. According to the invention, one or more participating users can choose to utilize a virtual assistant (that would be Siri, of course) to assist participant users with tasks during a communication session. </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 claims Apple will launch an all-new iPhone with a 5.8-inch OLED panel in 2017, but that he smartphone's actual active area will be a smaller 5.1 to 5.2 inches.</p>

<p style="margin-left:0px; margin-right:0px">According to <a href="https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=auto&tl=en&js=y&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.mac4ever.com%2Factu%2F115466_les-airpods-proposes-en-precommande-en-france-avec-une-livraison-fin-novembre&edit-text=&act=url">Mac4Ever</a>, French retailer Fnac has started the preorder process for Apple’s AirPods, which will begin shipping Nov. 30. They’ll retail for € 179.99 , one euro more than Apple's online price.</p>

<p>Apple plans to integrate augmented reality (AR) technology into the iPhone’s Camera app, according to <a target="_blank" href="http://www.businessinsider.com/apple-integrating-augmented-reality-iphone-camera-app-2016-11" rel="noopener noreferrer">Business Insider</a>, quoting an unnamed “person familiar with the matter.”</p>

<p>Apple plans to cut the amount it charges to sell video services over its App Store, “a move to appease partners whose movies and TV shows are vital to the technology giant’s video strategy,” reports <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-11-17/apple-is-said-to-cut-fees-video-services-will-pay-for-app-store" rel="noopener noreferrer">Bloomberg</a>.</p>

<p style="margin-left:0px; margin-right:0px">Apple is looking into whether its devices can be used to monitor data in real time on the well-being of patients with Parkinson’s, reports <a target="_blank" href="https://www.fastcompany.com/3065678/tim-cooks-apple/apple-is-researching-how-iphones-can-be-used-to-monitor-parkinsons-patients" rel="noopener noreferrer">Fast Company</a>.</p>