Dennis Sellers

<p>Apple has apparently scooped up Omnifone, a cloud-based music provider in a deal worth $10 million, according to <a href="http://macrumors.com">MacRumors.com</a>. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.omnifone.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">Omnifone</a> is the company behind MusicStation, a cloud-based global media platform that provides back-end solutions for digital music services.</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>Google’s Android mobile software accounted for an 82% share of mobile games downloaded during the second quarter of 2016, development company <a href="https://unity3d.com/">Unity3D</a> says in a new report. That compares to 17% of game downloads for iOS.</p>

<p>Apple has released the second public betas of macOS Sierra and iOS 10 to public beta testers. The finished versions of the operating system updates are due this fall.</p>

<p>Apple hasn’t even announced an “iPhone 7” yet, but that hasn’t stopped the design and branding folks at <a target="_blank" href="http://www.brikk.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">Brikk</a> from promoting a "Lux iPhone 7" line that will include the “most opulent iPhone the world has ever seen.”</p>

<p>India Prime Minister Narendra Modi is clearing the way for Apple to open its first retail store in the country after repeated delays, reports <a target="_blank" href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-07-20/india-said-to-clear-path-for-apple-to-open-first-retail-store)" rel="noopener noreferrer">Bloomberg</a>, quoting anonymous “people familiar with the matter.”</p>

<p><a href="https://www.logmeonce.com/">LogMeOnce</a>, which specializes in identity and password management in cloud and mobile enterprise, has announced three new features designed to make it simpler to manage, track and wipe personal and business data from the LogMeOnce app on lost or stolen devices.</p>

<p>Worldwide smartphone production volume totaled around 315 million units in the second quarter, representing an 8.9% increase over the previous quarter and a marginal year-on-year increase of 3.2%, according to the latest report from <a target="_blank" href="http://www.trendforce.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">TrendForce.</a> Apple’s production volume was supported by sales of the iPhone SE, while Samsung saw a slight drop of 5%, adds the global market research firm.</p>

<p>Apple has traditionally released a redesigned, updated version of its smartphone every other year. However, according to the rumor mill, the “iPhone 7” will look pretty much akin to the iPhone 6 and 6S. The rumor mill also claims that 2017’s “iPhone 8” will be a major overhaul of the smartphone in design and technology.</p>

<p>Apple Pay has expanded to Hong Kong. It’s the ninth country/major region to get support for Apple’s mobile payment service, following the U.S., UK, Canada, Australia, China, Singapore, Switzerland, and France.</p>

<p>A few years ago the common scenario for the rumored Apple HDTV (the "iTV") was pretty much a traditional television set with (depending on which reports you believed): Siri voice control; gesture control; 3D (perhaps without glasses); use of an iDevice as a remote control; and a la carte TV programming.</p>

<p>While most people wouldn't admit to doing it at work or in public, there's no shame in spending some quality time in your "library" at home. When you're sitting on the throne doing some digital reading on your iPad or tablet it usually ends up precariously balanced on the edge of the bathtub, sink or laying on the floor.</p>

<p>In a note to clients — as reported by <a target="_blank" href="http://appleinsider.com/articles/16/07/19/unexpected-success-of-iphone-se-expected-to-drop-apples-average-selling-price-to-637" rel="noopener noreferrer">AppleInsider</a> — UBS Analyst Steven Milunovich says a 500-person study by the research group indicates that 16% of U.S. iPhone sales in the June quarter were of the low-end iPhone SE.</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><a href="http://nextworth.com/">Nextworth.com</a>, an online site that buys consumer electronics items for cash — is seeing a spike in people searching for Apple Watch trade-in prices. The report could mean good news for Apple, although it indicates that, while current owners are likely to upgrade, Apple still has a problem keeping devices on people's wrists long term.</p>