Dennis Sellers

<p>The latest smartphone OS data from <a target="_blank" href="http://www.kantarworldpanel.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">Kantar Worldpanel ComTech</a> for the three months ending April 2016 shows Android continuing to make year-on-year gains across a number of regions, though that trend is slowing. </p>

<p>Adios, Flash. In a blog post — as noted by <a target="_blank" href="http://thenextweb.com/apple/2016/06/15/apple-finally-ditching-flash-safari-macos-sierra/" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Next Web</a> — Apple developer Ricky Mondello said that when macOS Sierra ships later this year, Safari will default to HTML5 content implementations on websites when available. </p>

<p>The T.J. Martell Foundation for Leukemia, Cancer and AIDS Research has announced that Bozoma Saint John, global head of Consumer Marketing for Apple Music and iTunes will be honored at the Women of Influence Los Angeles Awards Gala sponsored by Apple Music on Tuesday, June 21, at the Ebell Theater.</p>

<p>This brings to mind the ol’ saw that 99% of all statistics are made up: a survey by <a target="_blank" href="http://www.fluentco.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">Fluent</a>, a database marketing company, <a target="_blank" href="https://appleworld.dreamhosters.com/blog/2016/6/8/survey-a-more-powerful-siri-will-be-a-key-factor-in-future-iphone-sales?rq=Fluent" rel="noopener noreferrer">released earlier this month </a>said that updates to Siri and the unlocking of the personal digital assistant's software development kit could be a key factor in future iPhone adoption. Today new research from Fluent says that Siri is <em>unlikely</em> to increase iPhone sales.</p>

<p>During a security presentation at this week’s Worldwide Developers’ Conference, Apple said that Jan. 1, 2017, is the deadline for all iOS apps in the App Store to implement a security feature called App Transport Security (ATS), reports <a target="_blank" href="http://techcrunch.com/2016/06/14/apple-will-require-https-connections-for-ios-apps-by-the-end-of-2016/" rel="noopener noreferrer">TechCrunch</a>.</p>

<p>Another day, another lawsuit. Uniloc, a “patent troll,” is suing Apple for patent infringements involving the Messages and the iMesssage back-end service, reports <a target="_blank" href="http://appleinsider.com/articles/16/06/14/apples-messages-target-of-new-uniloc-patent-suit" rel="noopener noreferrer">AppleInsider</a>. </p>

<p>If you’re thinking of implementing a smart home set-up, the $79.95 <a target="_blank" href="http://www2.meethue.com/en-us/productdetail/philips-hue-white-sk-a19" rel="noopener noreferrer">Philips Hue White E 26 Starter Kit</a> is a good place to start, though there are some glitches to be worked out.</p>

<p>The announcement of the Home app — which is coming in iOS 10 — is a positive step forward for Apple, because there’s finally a central app to manage the IoT devices comprising the HomeKit ecosystem, according to Blake Kozak, principal analyst, smart home, <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ihs.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">IHS Technology</a>. (HomeKit is a framework that allows control of compatible home automation devices through iOS and Siri.)</p>

<p>There are still rumors that Apple plans to end music purchasing a la iTunes and go with streaming only a la Apple Music. However, in a <a target="_blank" href="http://www.billboard.com/biz/articles/news/digital-and-mobile/7407889/apples-brain-trust-iovine-reznor-cue-and-kondrk-on" rel="noopener noreferrer">Billboard interview</a>, Eddy Cue, Apple's senior vice president of Internet Software and Services, says there’s no “end date” for music sales and the “music iTunes business is doing very well.”</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>Good news for the Apple Watch: while activity tracker sales continue unabated, the smartwatch is becoming increasingly popular with consumers looking to monitor more advanced activities, according to The NPD Group Connected Intelligence <em>Activity Trackers and Sports Report</em>.</p>

<p>ExoLens is shipping ExoLens with Optics by ZEISS. Together they’ve developed the first aspherical lenses for mobile photographers “that will forever raise the standard of mobile photography and videography,” according to John Fellowes, CEO of Fellowes Brands, which owns ExoLens. It's a series of three lenses (wide angle, telephoto, and macro).</p>

<p>Parallels has announced that June 14-21 it will celebrate 10 years of innovations and industry firsts in Parallels Desktop for Mac. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.parallels.com/products/desktop/" rel="noopener noreferrer">The online celebration</a> will highlight a decade of features that allow you to run any application – on Windows XP, 7, 8 and 10, Chrome, Linux and Android – on a Mac.</p>

<p>August Home, Inc, a provider of smart locks and smart home access products and services, has announced that its <a target="_blank" href="http://august.com/products/august-doorbell/" rel="noopener noreferrer">August Doorbell Cam</a> will support Apple HomeKit via the new Home app in iOS 10. </p>

<p>Apple files for — and is granted — lots of patents by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office. Many are for inventions that never see the light of day. However, you never can tell which ones will materialize in a real product, so here are today’s patent highlights: </p>