Dennis Sellers

<p class="">Apple announced it’s deepening its existing partnerships with Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), adding 10 more HBCU regional coding centers that will serve as technology hubs for their campuses and broader communities. This effort is part of Apple’s Community Education Initiative, designed to bring coding, creativity, and workforce development opportunities to learners of all ages.</p>

<p class="">Apple has filed for three more patents regarding its rumored “Apple Glasses,” an augmented reality head-mounted display (HMD). The first involves considerations for users with eye problems such as myopia, hyperopia, astigmatism, or presbyopia.</p>

<p class="">Apple has filed for a patent (number 20200225778) for a “computer system with color sampling stylus” that hints at interesting new features for an upcoming Apple Pencil.</p>

<p class="">Apple will release its first Apple Silicon-based 13-inch MacBook Pro and MacBook Air by the end of 2020, according to <a href="https://www.digitimes.com/news/a20200716PD208.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">DigiTimes</a>. Total shipments of Apple’s laptop line-up are expected to reach 16-17 million units this year, the article adds.</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: due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Apple is re-closing eight more US retail stores in Maryland, Missouri, Virginia, and Wisconsin.</p>

<p class="">Apple has announced that <em>Palmer</em>, starring Justin Timberlake and directed by Fisher Stevens, is coming to its Apple TV+ streaming service.</p>

<p class="">Apple has released macOS Catalina 10.15.6, which the company says introduces local news in your Today feed in Apple News and improves the security and reliability of your Mac.</p>

<p class="">Apple has released iOS 13.6, iPadOS 13.6, tvOS 13.5, and watchOS 6.2.9. iOS 13.6 and iPadOS 13.6 add support for digital car keys, introduces audio stores in Apple News+, and contents a new symptoms category in the Health app. They also include bug fixes and improvements.</p>

<p class="">Apple is introducing several new features for Apple News and Apple News+, including audio stories of some of the best feature stories from Apple News+, a daily audio news briefing hosted by Apple News editors, and curated local news collections beginning in five cities and regions and expanding to more areas in the future.</p>

<p class="">Consumers tentatively plan to spend a record amount to prepare students for school and college this year as they buy more laptops and computer accessories in anticipation that at least some classes will take place online because of the coronavirus pandemic, according to a survey released today by the <a href="https://nrf.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">National Retail Federation</a>, a retail trade association, and Prosper Insights & Analytics, a research group.</p>

<p class=""><a href="https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=2857563-1&h=3553750803&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.brydge.com%2F&a=Brydge"><span style="text-decoration:underline">Brydge</span></a> has announced a new line of MacBook Vertical Docks. They’re available for the 16-inch MacBook Pro (2019), 15-inch MacBook Pro (2016-2019), 13-inch MacBook Pro (2016-2020), and 13-inch MacBook Air (2018-2020).</p>

<p class="">The European Union's General Court on Wednesday overturned the European Commission's landmark 2016 finding that tax breaks Ireland granted to U.S. tech giant Apple gave it a competitive advantage, nullifying the order that Apple repay Ireland €13 billion (about US$14.8 billion), reports <a href="https://www.law360.com/technology/articles/1291914" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Law360 </a>(a subscription is required to read the entire article).</p>

<p class="">Apple has been granted a patent (number 10,714,983) for a “near-field microwave wireless power system” that sounds a lot like its promised AirPower device that never saw the light of day.</p>

<p class="">With a fourth generation or better Apple TV (the set-top box) and tvOS 13, you can create folders in which you can collect similar apps.</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 <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3u7EIiohs6U" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">official trailer</a> for upcoming comedy series "Ted Lasso," which will be available to stream on Apple TV+ starting August 14.</p>