Design

Samsung now copies Apple’s Mac mini?

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated June 13, 2016

Amid the epic Apple v. Samsung legal fight over mobile devices, it's easy to overlook other cases where an argument could be made that Samsung looked to Apple's design language perhaps too closely in order to make its gear more pleasing to the eye. Enter Samsung's Chromebox Series 3, a $300 computer running Google's Chrome OS.

The computer comes packaged in an enclosure which bears uncanny resemblance to Apple's Mac mini, down to the exact 7.6-inch-square footprint, rounded corners and silver rim, which in Samsung's case is made of painted plastic instead of aluminum. Of course, you're free to argue I'm stretching it, but first take a look at the comparison images right after the break...

Apple and Samsung now bickering over stickers on court exhibits

Christian Zibreg ∙ August 10, 2012

We were expecting all sorts of clever maneuvering and cunning legal tactics in the Apple v. Samsung case, but in all honesty nothing could have prepared us for this.

Seemingly out of the blue, Samsunf on Friday filed a motion that asks the court to take a closer look at the stickers Apple plastered on the back of Samsung devices which are part of court exhibits pertaining to the case.

The Galaxy maker argues that Apple just recently attached large exhibit labels to the backside of its devices in a manner that purposefully obscures Samsung's trade dress (the visual appearance of a product or its packaging).

Samsung names three devices in its motion, among them the Galaxy S Captivate (pictured above) which Samsung argues could deceive the jurors with its large sticker that intentionally obscures "a distinct checkered back panel". No, really...

Industrial design expert on why Samsung is the copyist

Christian Zibreg ∙ August 6, 2012

Samsung has been called the copyist by Apple many times over, the first time in court documents the iPhone maker filed as part of patent infringement claims brought against its frenemy in April of 2011.

But evidence is mounting that Samsung slavishly copied some areas of the iPhone experience, like the iPhone's gorgeous icons.

On Monday, Apple brought in an expert to testify before a northern California court where the iPhone and Galaxy makers locked horns in the patent trial of the century...

Apple worked on curved-glass iPhone, but production was prohibitively expensive

Christian Zibreg ∙ August 2, 2012

This Apple vs. Samsung litigation may be the patent trial of the century, but to fans it's also a treasure trove of valuable information concerning the company's industrial design and craftsmanship, something Apple never detailed voluntarily.

One of the more interesting nuggets from yesterday's deposition by Apple's designer Christopher Stringer highlighted two interesting prototypes that Apple eventually passed on: one sporting a shaped glass and the other featuring all-aluminum enclosure akin to the iPod...

Poll: is Samsung’s F700 an iPhone copy?

Christian Zibreg ∙ August 1, 2012

An interesting argument arose in the Apple-Samsung litigation related to Samsung’s F700 handset. As you know, Samsung sought to present this and other handsets - but the F700 in particular - as trial evidence of prior art that they were designing handsets akin to the iPhone before Apple got to announce its phone in January of 2007.

Judge Lucy Koh excluded that device and a bunch of other Samsung phones from the hearings, but Samsung defiantly publicized the slides yesterday, angering the Judge.

Apple had originally included the F700 as patent infringing in its suit, but later dropped it as it realized Samsung was working on this before the iPhone was released and especially after learning that Samsung applied for a South Korean design registration application in December of 2006, a month before the iPhone’s public unveiling.

Kill me but I just don't see any similarities between the F700 and the iPhone, especially not ones that could establish prior art for either party.

Maybe you do?

Samsung: we went public with excluded exhibits because you asked for it

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated April 4, 2018

As we reported yesterday, Samsung has gotten itself in some hot water with Judge Lucy Koh who strongly condemned its attorneys' decision to influence the jurors by publicizing previously excluded evidence. Samsung was hoping to sway the court of public opinion by releasing a set of slides and a media release which it hoped to use in the litigation to establish that Apple sough inspiration for the iPhone's design from Sony, as its product chief suggested in a pre-trial interview.

The Judge demanded that Samsung's legal team reveal who exactly drafted the press release and who authorized it. The Galaxy maker today filed a brief responding to Judge Koh's request which explains Samsung's reasoning behind the unusual move...

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....

Jony Ive on Apple’s design and business principles

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 25, 2016

"Apple's goal is not to make money, but to make good products", is the key quote from Wired's exclusive one-on-one with Jonathan Ive, Apple's senior vice president of industrial design. The article touches upon several interesting topics dealing with Apple's design acumen, its business philosophy and some of the inner processes that guide decision-making at the world's most-valued public corporation.

It's timely, too. Today, Apple and Samsung have started duking it out in a mega-trial in the U.S. over who copied whom. A bunch of pre-trial briefs have already offered a unique glimpse into Apple's jealously guarded design process by revealing numerous device prototypes, from the octagonal iPhone to the Sony-inspired design to the 'Purple' 2005 thing.

Interestingly, the company's vice presidents Scott Forstall (iOS chief) and Phil Schiller (marketing boss) will both testify in the U.S. trial, but not Ive...

2005 Purple iPhone prototype proves Apple didn’t lift iPhone’s design from Sony

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated May 16, 2016

Remember Apple's Sony-infused iPhone prototype that Samsung recently showed in its pre-trial brief? The one done by designer Shin Nishibori whom Apple hired from Sony to create one of the early iPhone prototypes? As you know, Apple fought hard to keep the jury from seeing that evidence that, Samsung hopes, establishes that the Cupertino, California company lifted the iPhone's design from Sony.

That may not have been the case as Apple offers in its brief a look at a 2005 iPhone prototype code-named Purple (nothing to do with color, it's white actually) which the company says predates the original iPhone...

Poll: do you like the two-tone iPhone 5 design?

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 29, 2012

A surprising amount of tidbits that have come out of the rumor-mill point to a two-tone design for a sixth-generation iPhone, be it home buttons, front and back plates, leaked schematics and engineering samples or even fan artwork.

The case for a two-tone iPhone has become much stronger earlier today when a repair shop put together all those parts floating around Asia, seemingly depicting what a fully-assembled iPhone 5 could look like. The thing ticks all the right boxes, like a relocated headphone jack on the bottom, a smaller 19-pin dock connector and a taller four-inch display (both confirmed by credible media outlets).

No matter from which angle you look at it, the assembly does look legit. It's plausible design-wise with its high-quality milled aluminum feel, thinner appearance and a slightly beveled shiny edge. As always, some people will love the new look and others will loathe it simply because it doesn't look new enough. Which side of the fence you're on?

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...

More early iPhone and iPad prototypes surface

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 26, 2012

Earlier in the month, we showed you one of the earliest known iPad prototypes dating back to 2000, looking particularly bulky when compared side-by-side to today's iPad. Today, we also caught a glimpse of an early mockup envisioning a Sony-inspired iPhone that Samsung is now using to establish prior art in the courtroom.

Court documents related to the upcoming July 30 trial contain a bunch of other mockups of several iPhone and iPad prototypes, including an iPad with a kickstand. Bear in mind that Jony Ive and his team iterate hundreds and hundreds of prototypes in their secretive design bunker so these renderings depict just one of the many design considerations that were evaluated (and dropped) at some point...