Apple

Phil Schiller re-iterates Apple doesn’t ask consumers what they want

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated April 4, 2018

It's day two of the monster Apple vs. Samsung trial and Apple's senior vice president of worldwide marketing Phil Schiller testified, but only briefly as the jury was dismissed for the day. What came out of him reflects Steve Jobs' notion that it is Apple's rather than the consumers' job to know what they want.

He also mentioned Apple New Product Process for exploring new products and revealed it was he that Steve Jobs sent the vacation photo to at the 2007 MacWorld introduction of the iPhone...

Apple’s designers come up with ideas around a kitchen table

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 31, 2012

Apple may be unlike other companies in many regards, but when it comes to thinking stuff up, its designers gather around good ol' kitchen table to come up with bright new ideas. I'm not making this up, this little nugget was just revealed in a testimony by a member of Apple's design team during the afternoon hearing in the Apple vs. Samsung mega-lawsuit....

Apple vs Samsung day 2: rectangles, prior art, finger pointing, Android redesign

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated May 16, 2018

With the ten-person jury selected, a plenty of tidbits hit newswires as Apple and Samsung locked horns this morning inside a San Jose courtroom. Samsung is basically saying that Apple didn't invent the rectangle, while Cupertino insists that Samsung lifted the best iPhone ideas.

Before Apple could portray itself as a smartphone underdog in the opening remarks, the packed courtroom received an 18-minute video primer on how the patent system works, seen right after the break.

Coincidentally or not, in what could foreshadow a major design change for Android amid heating patent wars, Google has filed for an interesting patent which promises to bring radial menus to its mobile operating system and Chrome devices...

Samsung’s product chief dumbs down litigation with Apple to rectangles

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated June 13, 2016

Wired sat down with Apple's Jony Ive to talk design ahead of the trial of the century which kicked off in northern California today and the publication is now extending the courtesy to Samsung, interviewing its product person to hear the other side.

Samsung's Kevin Packingham discussed patent and design accusations between his company and Apple, the result of which is bound to have serious ramifications for both parties. Unsurprisingly, the executive played down Apple's concerns that the Galaxy tablets and smartphones copy the iPhone and iPad slavishly, pointing out there's really just one way to go about the candy bar form factor...

Judge to Samsung: Photos of Steve Jobs are relevant to this litigation

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 30, 2012

Samsung made an effort to bar the jury from seeing some of Apple's opening slides ahead of the big lawsuit that kicked off earlier today in San Jose, northern California. Samsung filed as much as fourteen objections to the use of images of Steve Jobs in the opening presentation over fear they might affect the jurors emotionally and consequentially skew their judgment.

One of Apple's slides is a screenshot from the announcement of the iPad in July 2010 and the other depicts the highly publicized January 2007 iPhone introduction which Apple argues "launched the fame that the iPhone trade dress has acquired"

However, late Sunday the court overruled all of the South Korean conglomerate's objections, ruling that each of the images of Steve Jobs "is relevant to Apple’s iPhone design patent and trade dress claims and is not unduly prejudicial"...

The Apple-Samsung mega-trial kicks off today, here’s what the jury will see

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated June 13, 2016

A high-stake technology trial involving Apple and Samsung is set to kick off today in a U.S. District court in San Jose, northern California over design and patent infringement claims involving Samsung's Galaxy lineup of smartphones and tablets and Apple's iPhone and iPad.

In the run-up to the mega-trial a bunch of court filings was made public, revealing Samsung's overly aggressive court strategy but also offering a unique glimpse into Apple's prototyping and industrial design processes. When all is said and done, this is what the jurors will see...

Several new iPhone and iPad prototype designs revealed

Cody Lee ∙ July 29, 2012

The highly-anticpiated patent trial between Apple and Samsung is set to kick off tomorrow in a US District court in northern California. And even if you're not interested in all of the patent-talk, there are still several reasons to look forward to the litigation.

The court-ordered revelation of early iPhone and iPad prototype designs, for example, is particularly exciting. Apple has kept information regarding the development of its two most popular products extremely close to the vest over the past ten years. And this trial will force the company to finally reveal at least some of those secrets...

Annual iPhone cycle helped Samsung destroy Apple in Q2 smartphone sales

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 27, 2017

It appears Samsung is creeping up on Apple slowly but surely. Not content with overtaking Apple and Nokia as the world's largest smartphone and cell phone vendor, respectively, Samsung during the June quarter managed to widen its lead by selling twice as much smartphones as Apple.

Driven by the surprisingly strong start of its latest flagship handset, the Galaxy S III, Samsung has managed to increase its worldwide smartphone share while Apple slid. Man, Apple really needs to refresh the iPhone twice a year because this annual update cycle is becoming the company's Achilles' heel...

Analyst: Apple bought AuthenTec for enterprise security

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 25, 2016

The news that Apple bought AuthenTec for $356 million is making rounds today, leading many to speculate that AuthenTec's technology will help turn into reality Apple's patented and yet unreleased iWallet and iTravel mobile apps that rely on NFC technology.

One analyst has a different take, saying Apple simply snapped up the NFC and smart sensors maker to keep it from falling into Samsung's hands, potentially making Galaxy tablets and smartphones more appealing to enterprise customers who above anything demand strong security...

Some Samsung tablet buyers thought they were getting iPads

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 27, 2012

A new set of court documents filed ahead of the July 30 mega-trial between Apple and Samsung reveals that retailers like Best Buy informed Samsung that an unknown portion of buyers were returning Samsung's tablets because they thought they were getting iPads. Furthermore, court documents also show that several Samsung employees did discuss the similarities between Galaxy products and Apple's iPhone and iPad themselves...

Samsung shows Sony-inspired iPhone mockup

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated May 16, 2016

The latest in the Apple-Samsung legal drama: according to court documents filed by Samsung, Cupertino has indirectly ripped off Sony for its handset's aesthetics by adopting the Japanese giant's design language. The Galaxy maker points to a 2006 Businessweek interview with Sony's product designers Takashi Ashida and Yujin Morisawa in order to establish prior art and prove that Sony's design philosophy influenced the iPhone’s original design direction.

The iPod Godfather Tony Fadell apparently showed the Businessweek article to Apple's late CEO Steve Jobs and design chief Jony Ive who then allegedly approved use of some of the ideas outlined in the interview for early iPhone mockups...

Apple not required to publicize apology to Samsung before October

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated November 9, 2016

As we told you earlier in the month, a Judge in the United Kingdom ruled that Samsung's Galaxy Tab tablets don't infringe upon the iPad's design because they're "not as cool".

This was followed shortly by another ruling requiring Apple to publicize the ruling on its website and in Britain's high-profile newspapers.

Today, a London court ordered a stay until Apple's appeal against the ruling is heard in October. As you know, Apple is thought to be unleashing the next iPhone and possibly mini iPads upon the world around September or October...