Dennis Sellers

<p class="">In an email to Apple Card users about their April statements, Apple says "we understand that the COVID-19 situation poses unique challenges for everyone and some customers may have difficulty making their monthly payments.”</p>

<p class="">Brad Freitag, CEO of Claris, a wholly owned subsidiary of Apple, told <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/05/01/an-apple-business-you-dont-know-that-bets-on-big-coronavirus-growth.html"><span style="text-decoration:underline">CNBC</span></a> that says low-code application development software such as the company's FileMaker will gain popularity as the business world continues to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic.</p>

<p class="">Valve <a href="https://steamcommunity.com/games/250820/announcements/detail/2216278054495230718" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">has ended Mac support</a> for SteamVR so its team can focus on Windows and Linux.</p>

<p class="">The newest game added to Apple Arcade is <a href="https://apps.apple.com/us/app/neversong/id1492757836" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Neversong</a>, which is available for the iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV (the set-top box) — alas, but not for the Mac.</p>

<p class="">A California federal judge is mulling whether to dismiss Apple and Intel's lawsuit accusing investment management firm Fortress Investment of funding an anti-competitive patent aggregation scheme, a case that's also pitted the technology giants against the U.S. Department of Justice, reports <a href="https://www.law360.com/technology/articles/1269171/apple-intel-try-to-storm-a-doj-backed-patent-fortress-?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="">Joe Biden has tapped a group of legal experts (including one from Apple) and political allies to oversee his search for a running mate, in his latest move to prepare for a potential future administration, reports <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/joe-biden-names-advisers-to-oversee-search-for-running-mate-11588239005" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Wall Street Journal.</a></p>

<p class="">The new series, <em>Trying,</em> debuts today on Apple TV+. Co-starring BAFTA Award winner Imelda Staunton, Ophelia Lovibond, and Oliver Chris, and written by Andy Wolton, it's a comedy series from Apple ’s streaming service and BBC Studios about a thirtysomething couple and their friends learning to grow up, settle down, and find someone to love.</p>

<p class="">Driven by a surge in use and adoption of the device during the COVID-19 pandemic, quarterly first-time downloads of apps for Apple’s iPad surpassed 1.1 billion worldwide in the first quarter of 2020, marking the first year-over-year growth in this metric since the fourth quarter of 2013 and a 40% increase from quarter one of 2019.</p>

<p class="">Apple is known for its innovations and impressive design. Tablets, laptops, desktops, and iPods made by Apple have met innovation upon innovation as they hit the marketplace and place new standards on technology.</p>

<p class="">According to the latest market share survey from <a href="https://netmarketshare.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">NetMarketShare,</a> the market share for Apple’s macOS was up last month, but iOS was down.</p>

<p class="">Apple has filed for a patent (number 20200136234) for iPhone and iPads with millimeter wave antennas. Dubbed “Electronic Devices Having Antennas that Radiate Through a Display," it could involves features in the upcoming 2020 iPhones.</p>

<p class="">A new Apple Pay promotion is promoting Mother’s Day, which is on May 10. You can check out with Apple’s mobile payment service at 1-800-Flowers and get US$10 off a purchase of $29.99 or more by using the florist company’s app or at <a href="http://1800flowers.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">1800flowers.com</a> .</p>

<p class="">Apple CEO Tim Cook tells <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-04-30/apple-ceo-austria-australia-stores-to-reopen-in-1-to-2-weeks?srnd=markets-vp" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Bloomberg</a> that the company plans to re-open its retail stores in Australia and Austria in the next one to two weeks. The tech giant has 20 stores in the former and one in the latter.</p>

<p class="">As always, in an online session, CEO Tim Cook and Chief Financial Officer Luca Maestri, answered questions from analysts and media members regarding the company’s financial results for its fiscal 2020 second quarter that ended March 28, 2020. Here are some of the highlights from the call (at least the ones we've not covered elsewhere:</p>

<p class="">The installed base of Apple device users reached an all-time high during a fiscal 2020 second quarter that ended March 28, 2020, according to Chief Financial Officer Luca Maestri. The company expects iPhone sales to continue to decline in the current quarter, but predicts that Mac and iPad sales will actually grow as folks continue to work from home.</p>