Dennis Sellers

<p class="">Since Steve and I can’t cover everything, we’ll frequently offer a wrap-up of news items you should check out. First up: <a href="https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=2876201-1&h=2651467405&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.retailmenot.com%2F&a=RetailMeNot" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">RetailMeNot</a>, a Vericast business and savings destination, announces its picks on the five to buy in August. Macs and iPads are on the list.</p>

<p class="">Apple has given a straight-to-series order to a drama that hails from Adam Perlman as well as Robert Downey Jr. and Susan Downey’s Team Downey production company, reports <a href="https://variety.com/2020/tv/news/robert-downey-jr-apple-series-1234726415/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Variety</a>.</p>

<p class="">Lady Gaga is launching a radio show devoted to the dance music genre on Apple Music. <a href="http://apple.co/_GagaRadio" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Gaga Radio</a> premieres Friday, August 7 at 11 am (Pacific), with new episodes every Friday.</p>

<p class="">Despite intense economic hardship related to COVID-19 quarantine orders, consumer and commercial customers went on a tablet buying spree to support work/learn-from-home initiatives. And Apple’s iPad was the clear winner with quarterly growth of 34% year-over-year.</p>

<p class="">Consumer spending on mobile apps and app installs grew significantly during the first half of 2020, in part due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to new data from Sensor Tower.</p>

<p class="">A California federal judge has entered final judgment against Apple and Broadcom after the California Institute of Technology's US$1.1 billion patent jury trial win, but held off on deciding Caltech's bid to double the damages until after the inevitable appeal in the case is concluded, reports <a href="https://www.law360.com/technology/articles/1298036/apple-broadcom-can-t-shake-caltech-s-1-1b-ip-jury-win?nl_pk=ade0cf2b-ea3f-464b-bc93-d8e19277ac63&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=technology" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Law360</a> (a subscription is required to read the entire article).</p>

<p class="">The Apple Watch received a Calculator app as of watchOS 6. You can tap its icon on the Apple Watch screen to open it.</p>

<p class="">Apple has been granted a patent (number 10,732,829) for “devices, methods, and graphical user interfaces for providing control of a touch-based user interface absent physical touch capabilities.” The goal is to make it easier for folks with certain disabilities to use iPhone and iPads.</p>

<p class="">Since Steve and I can’t cover everything, we’ll frequently offer a wrap-up of news items you should check out. First up: Apple has released the fourth developer betas of macOS Big Sur, iOS 14, iPadOS 14, tvOS 14, and watchOS 7.</p>

<p class="">The University of California, Los Angeles, is launching a three-year study to better understand how factors such as sleep, physical activity, heart rate and daily routines impact symptoms of depression and anxiety. Apple helped co-design the study, which uses Apple devices like the iPhone and Apple Watch, according to <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/08/04/apple-ucla-to-study-depression.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">CNBC</a>.</p>

<p class="">Apple has announced that Phil Schiller is becoming an Apple Fellow, continuing a career that began at Apple in 1987. In this role, which reports to Apple CEO Tim Cook, Schiller will continue to lead the App Store and Apple Events.</p>

<p class="">Apple has updated its 21-inch iMac and iMac Pro.The former will come standard with SSDs across the line for the first time. Customers can also choose to configure their 21.5-inch iMac with a Fusion Drive.</p>

<p class="">There’s no Apple Silicon, Face ID, or a new design, but Apple has announced a pretty substantial update to the 27-inch <a href="https://apple.com/imac/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">iMac</a>. It features faster Intel processors up to 10 cores, double the memory capacity, next-generation AMD graphics, SSDs across the line with four times the storage capacity, a new nano-texture glass option for the Retina 5K display, a 1080p FaceTime HD camera, higher fidelity speakers, and studio-quality mics.</p>

<p class="">Oprah Winfrey has named <em>Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents</em> her most important Book Club selection ever. It’s <a href="http://apple.co/OBCCaste" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">now available</a> on Apple Books at US$14.99 for the iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, and CarPlay.</p>