Dennis Sellers

<p>In the wake of the <a target="_blank" href="https://appleworld.dreamhosters.com/blog/2016/8/30/eu-commission-apple-must-pay-145-billion-in-back-taxes" rel="noopener noreferrer">European Commission ruling</a> that Apple must repay 13 billion euros ($14.5 billion) in back taxes, the Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey extended an open invitation for Apple to move its international operations to his country.</p>

<p>Apple has been granted a patent (number 9,429,759) for a “head-mounted display apparatus for retaining a portable electronic device with display” that refers to an augmented/virtual reality system for the iPhone. </p>

<p>Apple is preparing a pair of wireless headphones dubbed "AirPods," two new iPhone models and a total of no less than 10 Apple Watch models — at least that’s what a series of regulatory filings published by the Eurasian Economic Commission — as noted by <a target="_blank" href="http://appleinsider.com/articles/16/08/30/apple-linked-to-airpods-unannounced-iphone-apple-watch-models-in-eurasian-regulatory-filing" rel="noopener noreferrer">AppleInsider</a> --  hints. </p>

<p>Apple has <a target="_blank" href="https://www.scribd.com/document/322522902/Apple-ACCC-Submission" rel="noopener noreferrer">issued a formal response</a> to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), Australia’s anti-trust regulator, saying that giving Australian banks what they want would be doubly harmful to consumers. The country’s three biggest banks want approval to collectively negotiate with Apple to install their own electronic payments applications on iPhones.</p>

<p>Apple must repay 13 billion euros ($14.5 billion) in back taxes dating back to 2003-2014, the European Commission has ruled, reports the <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-37220799"><em>BBC</em></a>. This was confirmed this morning.</p>

<p>I’m an ice cream addict. Twice a week I make a big batch of the world’s greatest dessert. In doing so, I have to time the mixing process for 30 minutes. I use Siri to set a timer on my iPhone to tell me when the mixing time is completed.</p>

<p>Time for another OTP (One Trick Pony). But this one is from a line of ponies that goes almost back to the very early days of GUI [graphical user interface] computing.</p>

<p>Apple is developing new Mac laptops and desktops, which we should see in October, and has some big plans for the iPad Pro, according to <a target="_blank" href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-08-29/apple-said-to-prepare-ipad-upgrades-and-refreshed-mac-lineup" rel="noopener noreferrer">Bloomberg</a>, quoting unnamed “people familiar with the matter.” As other rumors have suggested, a thinner MacBook Pro with a flatter keyboard is in the pipeline.</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 released the eighth beta of macOS Sierra for developers and the six beta for public beta testers. The final version is due this fall.</p>

<p>Four months after offering Apple Pay, ANZ (the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited) says 250,000 of its customers are now using Apple’s mobile payment service, reports the <em>Australian </em><a href="http://www.afr.com/business/banking-and-finance/anz-apple-pay-users-hit-250000-20160829-gr3p0e"><em>Financial Review</em></a>.</p>

<p>Approximately 812,000 pay TV subscribers cut the cord from April through June of this year, according to research firm SNL Kagan — as noted by <a target="_blank" href="http://www.thewrap.com/812000-cut-the-cord-q2-2016-cord-cutting-accelerates-comcast-dish-directv-time-warner-cable-verizon/" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Wrap</a>. That’s up from the industry’s loss of 625,000 in the same quarter a year ago.</p>

<p>A class action lawsuit concerning the 2012 acquisition of AuthenTek by Apple has been settled.  The lawsuit alleges, among other things, that AuthenTec's directors breached their fiduciary duties in connection with the sale of AuthenTec to Apple.</p>

<p>A ruling by the European Commission on Apple’s tax status in Ireland may come as early as this week. </p>

<p>Apple gets an “A” in the <em>2016 Semi-Annual Computer Reliability Report</em> from <a target="_blank" href="http://www.rescuecom.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">RESCUECOM</a>, a computer repair company. That’s up from the A- the company received in the <em>2015 Q3 Computer Reliability Report</em>. The grade also places Apple at the top of all computer maker lists if you exclude tablets.</p>