Dennis Sellers

<p class="">Here’s a good reason to add a protective case to your iPhone:<strong> </strong>Americans who have dropped their smartphones on the sidewalk or into a swimming pool are far from alone. A new survey by Allstate Protection Plans found that 140 million Americans have damaged a smartphone at some point in their lives, with 87 million having a mishap in the past 12 months.</p>

<p class="">On a regular basis, Apple World Today 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 this week’s picks.</p>

<p class="">Apple, Google, Microsoft, and Mozilla, have banned today a root certificate that was being used by the Kazakhstan government to intercept and decrypt HTTPS traffic for residents in the country's capital, the city of Nur-Sultan (formerly Astana), reports <a href="https://www.zdnet.com/article/apple-google-microsoft-and-mozilla-ban-kazakhstans-mitm-https-certificate" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ZDNet</a>.</p>

<p class="">Apple is temporarily closing its retail locations in the Los Angeles area due to a rising number of COVID-19 cases in Southern California, reports <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-12-18/apple-to-temporarily-close-la-stores-as-virus-cases-jump" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bloomberg</a>. The article says this is the first time in months that the tech giant has shut retail locations in the area.</p>

<p class="">Apple has filed for a patent (number 20200393881) for “structural thermal solutions for display devices” that shows it wants the rumored “Apple Glasses” — an augmented reality/virtual reality head-mounted display (HMD) to be comfortable and cool when worn.</p>

<p class="">Apple has <a href="https://manuals.info.apple.com/MANUALS/1000/MA1976/en_US/device-and-data-access-when-personal-safety-is-at-risk.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">published</a> “Device and Data Access the Personal Safety is At Risk.” The tech giant says if you’d like to revisit what you share with other people, or restore your device’s original settings for any reason, this guide can help you understand what information you are sharing via your Apple devices, and how to make changes to protect your safety.</p>

<p class="">In a note to clients — as noted by <a href="http://www.macrumors.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">MacRumors</a> — Barclays analysts Blayne Curtis, Thomas O'Malley, Tim Long, and their associates said that an iPad with an OLED display does not appear likely until 2022. Previous rumors had pegged such an Apple tablet would arrive in the last half of 2021.</p>

<p class="">Serious violations of labor laws were taking place at the iPhone manufacturing facility in India where a workers’ protest on Saturday turned violent and caused US$7 million worth of damage, a report by the Karnataka state government has found, according to the <a href="https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3114491/wistrons-apple-factory-india-committed-serious-violations" target="_blank" rel="noopener">South China Morning Post</a>.</p>

<p class="">Apple asked a Texas federal judge Thursday to reduce a US$502.8 million jury verdict for VirnetX in a network security patent case, reports <a href="https://www.law360.com/technology/articles/1338396/apple-attacks-virnetx-s-trial-strategy-in-503m-patent-verdict?nl_pk=ade0cf2b-ea3f-464b-bc93-d8e19277ac63&read_more=1&utm_campaign=technology&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter">Law360</a> (a subscription is required to read the entire article).</p>

<p class="">iCloud Photos uses your iCloud storage to keep all of your photos and videos up to date across your devices. You can make more space in iCloud when you delete photos and videos that you no longer need from the Photos app on any of your devices.</p>

<p class="">As noted by <a href="https://www.imore.com/apple-quietly-adjusts-trade-prices-heres-whats-changed?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+TheIphoneBlog+(iMore)" target="_blank" rel="noopener">iMore</a>, Apple has adjusted the trade-in values of many of its products on the <a href="https://www.apple.com/shop/trade-in?afid=p239%7C221109&cid=aos-us-aff-ir" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Apple Trade In webpage</a>. For example, iPads are now actually worth more than they were previously, but other devices like Mac have dropped in value.</p>

<p class="">In a note to clients — as noted by <a href="https://appleinsider.com/articles/20/12/17/apple-potentially-shipping-a-record-breaking-250-million-iphones-in-the-holiday-quarter" target="_blank" rel="noopener">AppleInsider</a> — Webush lead analyst Daniel Ives predicts that Apple has a good shot at shipping 250 million iPhones in 2021.</p>

<p class="">Future iPhones, iPads, Apple Watches and even Macs may adjust audio output if they detect unwanted, distracting sounds such as wind. Apple has filed for a patent for “speaker emulation of a microphone for wind detection.”</p>

<p class="">Apple has filed for a patent (number 20200394834) for “simulated overhead perspective images with removal of obstructions” that shows at enhanced features for its Maps app on iPhones, iPad, Apple Watches, and Macs.</p>

<p class="">ENACFIRE has launched the ENACFIRE Soundtank portable wireless Bluetooth speaker with up to 24 hours non-stop playtime. It’s available for US$49.99 from <a href="http://tracking.nononsensepr.co.uk/tracking/click?d=F636_rPeOayXlNWpdH0mZQdi9L4TWlVtLvb5HDLY7e67ThUN4y9RdbQKYc149LT2Wkt2lvE83kTrXCWhIrzTMNAw2MltUpsu6bOhEJO2zf0o1uy_XtPuArutGneq20zREuOoCklnhwCo-H7NdZ3ll7dnF1SthUljEasc7g0cP3Z64YGo1zDCoRhZgkavuQQny9GJMkUjpJtd79UYDvYfV1Gk0IzlQmAnmjiuDM9deW97KvHtCQB_C6M6FU-_hDvrAKqyJTpXdSpUQ_WHD-VJJnVs5gUcUPeU2oGhTwMkVEwIVCnwQ9ts0Sgo4pmxAMP-LHl9PYkexhUf98-V9USxjVV7n4uws8LeksYWQUwCOFbRSivhESh5KsMf8VehTzsqh2xPN925DwVYyUtTkv0_6GCo5j-jwN8Gdd0GdZWFwpfRrDYWHBpLpBIB7Fv-Cb_h5aEZd7k4lKa2pOCYUtavbOD2Hi2B9fiKuMOXVNJeYYnxnv--0ssbJWKn1ke4e9wmYA2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Amazon.co.uk</a> and <a href="http://tracking.nononsensepr.co.uk/tracking/click?d=SPxzY-PdNHdi_KSDiUVdNhpfV3UOrwuTlqWkctS6J2ihm6iXUqI89ElbRD3AIVmoqxG7L8cJeIYfCjQ2AoWz56ZYZ88ISzD5fSAN_U--rWaTeTEg0gn1gfbRF2sKSBFtMpse6BBtIYKItrdYGGCOTwUOIxvDFXygGxrloApDEx0FotV8BUeiW8K6sNc6-Lu-Q0k7OujE6LsHVcmxAKzs6iCdwC_y4a7LnJMQBLcoTkiBiPZUNjZhpdv6ZRfN7im9zuc_dwQpm9EgIsc3HTmWZBx-GpHaBm96Esgpl5hcjIzc0" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Amazon.com.</a></p>