Apple has been ordered to pay $5.7 billion in damages to Taction Technology after a federal jury found it had infringed two of the haptics company's patents, reported CNBC over the weekend.


Taction sued Apple in 2021, arguing that Apple's Taptic Engine in the company's Apple Watches and iPhones uses its inventions without proper license or authority. Apple initially had the case dismissed in 2023, but the Federal Circuit later revived it.

The jury trial began September 14, and seven jurors deliberated for two days after proceedings concluded. They returned on Friday and delivered the verdict in favor of Taction.

"We're happy the jury found for Taction and vindicated its patent rights," the company's lead counsel, Lance Yang, told CNBC. "Taction waited five and a half years for this case to get to trial, so it was a long time coming."

Apple said it intends to appeal the decision.

"While we thank the jury for their consideration, we strongly disagree with today's verdict and the damages awarded, which are entirely unsupported by the facts," Apple told CNBC in a statement. "Apple's Taptic Engine is fundamentally different from Taction's technology, which Taction's own testing of Apple's products confirmed during trial. Apple does not use Taction's technology, and we will appeal."

In Friday's verdict at the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California, jurors did not find that Apple had infringed the patents willingly.
This article, "Apple Ordered to Pay $5.7 Billion Over Haptic Patent Infringement" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Apple is working on a "completely revamped" Vision Pro headset that could go in any of four directions and likely won't arrive before late 2028 or early 2029, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.


Writing in his latest Power On newsletter, Gurman said Apple's Vision team is exploring four concepts for the device, codenamed N224, including designs that offload internal components in a similar way to Meta's latest VR Glasses, which are expected to launch next spring.

An external computing module on Meta's device houses the battery and main processor, and can be clipped to the user's waist. Gurman, who has previewed Meta's headset, says the module is about the same size and weight as the current Vision Pro's battery pack, but with a grippy exterior.

Gurman reports that regardless of the Vision team's work, senior Apple decision-makers still consider the external puck concept as a "poor user experience" and want the company to stick with "something closer to an all-in-one design."

If any of this sounds familiar, that's because Gurman reported in June that Apple was still working on a cheaper, lighter successor to its Vision Pro headset. (The device-in-development is distinct from the long-rumored "Vision Air," which was cancelled last year.)

Apple knows it needs to come up with ways to simplify the design and make something cheaper and lighter, and it is said to be actively exploring ways to reduce the headset's weight by experimenting with plastic, titanium, other metals and various materials.

Still, Gurman has been told the work is on "life support" as the company focuses more on smart glasses, which it aims to release in late 2027. Despite the Vision Pro's most senior leaders "pressing their bosses to keep the category alive, funded and growing at Apple," Gurman says there's still no guarantee a new headset will ever launch.
This article, "New Vision Pro Headset: Apple Considering Four Different Concepts" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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