Sprint Will Start Throttling Customers That Use More Than 23 GB a Month

Sprint today announced that they would begin throttling customers who used more than 23 GB of data during their billing cycle, regardless of whether they had unlimited data plans or not. The move, according to Sprint Chief Technology Officer Dr. John Saw, is to provide a better customer experience for the majority of their users.

The 23GB threshold is typical in the industry and other carriers have already implemented a similar practice. We agree this is a smart approach towards making sure a small number of customers don’t adversely impact the experience for others. Today approximately three percent of our postpaid subscribers are using overwhelmingly disproportionate network resources. Our goal with QoS is to prevent some portion of that three percent going forward from negatively impacting the other 97 percent of customers.

The carrier notes that 23 GB of data would allow a user to send 6,000 emails with attachments, view 1,500 web pages, post 600 photos to social media, stream 60 hours of music and stream 50 hours of video. Sprint also says that number is “far more” than most of its customers use in a typical billing cycle.

The change will affect those who choose an unlimited data handset plan after October 16 or to Sprint customers who choose to upgrade their devices on or after October 16. Those who go over 23 GB will see their data prioritized below other customers, which means they will encounter slower data speeds, but only in times and locations where the network is constrained.

This summer, T-Mobile also decided to update their plans to throttle customers. However, T-Mobile’s soft data cap is 21 GB, slightly less than Sprint’s choice. T-Mobile also announced that it would restrict customers who abused data tethering, saying some of its customers use up to 2,000 GB a month.

iFixit Teardown of New 21.5-Inch iMac Reveals Soldered-On CPU, Empty PCIe SSD Slot

Earlier today, iFixit conducted a tear down the new Magic Keyboard, Magic Trackpad 2 and Magic Mouse 2. They’ve now followed that up with a tear down of the brand new 21.5-inch iMac, and while the majority of the insides are the same as last year’s model, there are some notable differences.

First, the teardown found that the new iMac features empty PCIe SSD slots, allowing do-it-yourself upgraders to use the slots for their needs. Last year’s model did not include an empty slot for DIY-ers, leaving the solder spots for the SSD unpopulated.

The new iMac also features a soldered-on CPU. iFixit says the soldered CPU allows Apple to continue to streamline the insides of the iMac, this time including a “slimmed down and beautified” CPU heat sink. However, the teardown experts note that because the CPU is soldered onto the logic board it cannot be removed, upgraded or replaced, which means the iMac’s upgradeability will take a hit. This is the first iMac to feature a soldered-on CPU.

Minor revelations about the new iMac include a new display that fuses together the glass and LCD, with no more magnets holding the glass in place. The vast majority of the replaceable components, like the RAM, are hidden behind the logic board, which means users who want to upgrade parts by themselves have to take the iMac apart.

Overall, iFixit gave the new 21.5-inch iMac a repairability score of 2 out of 10, which means that the new desktop computer is extremely difficult to repair. iFixit also conducted a teardown of the bigger 27-inch iMac.

iFixit Teardown of New 21.5-Inch 4K iMac Reveals DCI-P3 Display, Empty Solder Pads

Earlier today, iFixit conducted a tear down the new Magic Keyboard, Magic Trackpad 2 and Magic Mouse 2. They’ve now followed that up with a tear down of the brand new 21.5-inch 4K iMac, and while the majority of the insides are the same as last year’s model, there are some notable differences.

First, the teardown found that the new iMac’s 4K display is manufactured by LG. The new display is DCI-P3, which features a wider color gamut than the more standard sRGB. The new iMac is one of the few devices that allows consumers to experience the new display technology.

Apple has also removed the empty PCIe SSD slot that was featured in the late 2013 iMac, which means that do-it-yourself upgraders won’t be able to upgrade their machine easily. In 2012, Apple featured empty solder pads where the SSD slot would go, but in 2013 added an empty SSD slot. iFixit notes that users who want to add a Fusion Drive will either have to configure it at purchase or solder it on themselves.

Overall, iFixit gave the new 21.5-inch iMac a repairability score of 1 out of 10, which means that the new desktop computer is extremely difficult to repair. Like other iMacs, the soldered-on CPU, logic board and fused-together glass and Retina Display contribute to how difficult the new desktop is to repair.

Flagship Apple Stores Outfitted With Interactive Tables to Highlight 3D Touch

Flagship Apple Stores in San Francisco and New York have been outfitted with new “Force Touch” tables, which are designed to show off the new 3D Touch feature on the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus. In these retail locations, there’s a special table that houses iPhone 6s models.

When a 3D Touch force press gesture is used on the screen of one of the iPhones, which all display a fish, the table reacts to the pressure with a neat rippling water visual. The touch-enabled table can be seen in the video below from Grate App. (via 9to5Mac).

These tables are only in San Francisco and New York at the current time, but it’s possible Apple could install them in additional stores around the world as part of an iPhone 6s promotional effort. The fish theme of the table and iPhone duo is also used on the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus boxes and in their live wallpapers.

Apple calls 3D Touch, the flagship feature of the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus, the “next generation” of Multi-Touch. 3D Touch enables new pressure based gestures, allowing users to “Peek” at content link links in Messages or Mail with a light press and “Pop” into that content with a longer press. 3D Touch also includes Quick Actions for accessing app content directly from a press on an app icon on the Home screen.

Jury rules Apple owes $234 million for University of Wisconsin patents

Apple’s loss of a patent infringement case to the University of Wisconsin could turn out to be a costly one, as a jury ruled today that it owes the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation $234 million. The technology at issue is used for A7, A8 and A8X processors (found inside the iPhone 5S, iPhone 6 series, iPad Air, iPad Mini 2, Apple TV 4 and other devices), and is supposed to increase efficiency. Apple told Reuters that it plans to appeal the ruling, but had no further comment. While it can certainly handle the financial hit ,the trouble may not stop there — WARF has also filed a lawsuit against Apple for its new A9 CPUs that are inside the new iPhone 6s family and iPad Pro.

[Image credit: Bloomberg via Getty Images[

Source: Reuters

Apple Ordered to Pay University of Wisconsin $234 Million in A7/A8 Patent Lawsuit

Apple has been ordered to pay the University of Wisconsin’s intellectual property management arm $234 million in damages for infringing on one of its processor patents, reports Reuters.

Earlier this week, a jury ruled Apple had infringed on a patent owned by the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) when it used the technology in its A7, A8, and A8X processors included in the 2013 and 2014 iPhone and iPad lineup.

The University of Wisconsin had originally asked for damages as high as $862, but later lowered that request to around $400 million. Apple will be paying a little more than half of the requested amount with the $234 million award WARF received from the jury, but that amount could increase. The jury has yet to determine whether Apple willfully infringed on the patent.

The patent in question, titled “Table based data speculation circuit for parallel processing computer,” was originally granted in 1998 and covers a method for improving processor efficiency. It lists several current and former University of Wisconsin researchers as inventors.

The Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation has also filed a second lawsuit against Apple for the same patent, accusing the company of using the technology in the A9 and A9X found in the iPhone 6s, 6s Plus, and iPad Pro.

For the first six months of 2015, Apple averaged a daily net profit of $134.7 million, which means the judgment will account for approximately 42 hours of profit. Apple is likely to appeal the ruling.

Intel Has 1,000 Employees Working on LTE Modem Chip for the Next-Generation iPhone

Intel has a thousand of its employees working on preparing the Intel 7360 LTE modem for Apple’s iPhone 7 devices, reports VentureBeat. Apple is rumored to be switching to the Intel modem chip for some models of the iPhone 7, using it instead of the standard Qualcomm chips Apple has used for years.

Intel’s 7360 LTE modem chip features an up to 450MB/s downlink and it supports 29 LTE bands. Intel is eager to score a contract with Apple, which is why it has poured so many resources into the development of the chip, which is supposed to begin shipping later this year.

One source said Intel needs a small army of people on the Apple account because of the importance of the project to Apple’s future in the mobile market, because of the complexity of the project, and because Apple is a demanding client with an extremely popular phone.

The LTE modem chips in the next-generation iPhones could be dual-sourced from both Intel and Qualcomm, with earlier rumors suggesting devices in emerging markets in Asia and Latin America could use Intel’s chip. Intel is not yet an official supplier for the modem chip, but should Intel continue to make important milestones, it could wind up inking a deal with Apple.

Should work on the modem chip go well, VentureBeat says Intel could end up supplying Apple with both that chip and the fabrication for a new Apple system-on-a-chip. Apple is said to be aiming to create a future system-on-a-chip that includes both the iPhone’s Ax processor and the LTE modem chip for improved speed and power management.

To achieve that goal, Apple would design the system-on-a-chip, licensing LTE modem intellectual property from Intel, with Intel also fabricating the chip with its 14-nanometer process. VentureBeat‘s sources say Apple is interested in Intel’s technology because of its “front to back” 14-nanometer process that results in “silicon chips with superior density and gate pitch.” Intel is also developing a 10-nanometer process that has caught Apple’s eye.

Apple’s system-on-a-chip project would likely be for a future version of the iPhone, rather than the iPhone 7. For now, the iPhone 7 is likely to continue using chips from existing manufacturers like Samsung and TSMC, along with the separate modem chips from Intel and Qualcomm.

MacRumors Giveaway: Win a 128GB Angelbird SSD2go Pocket from MEGAMAC

For this week’s giveaway, we’ve teamed up with MEGAMAC to offer a 128GB Angelbird SSD2go Pocket, which is an ultra portable solid state drive that can, as the name suggests, fit right in a pocket. Angelbird is known for making high-quality products, and the SSD2go is no exception.

It has an aluminum casing and it’s highly resistant to physical impact, vibration, force, and temperature. Of interest to Mac users, the SSD2go Pocket is one of the only mobile USB solid state drives to offer TRIM Support.

We’re giving away an SSD2go Pocket in Black, but it also comes in silver, blue, red, gold, and purple, in capacities of 128GB, 256GB, or 512GB. The 128GB version sees read speeds of up to 450MB/s and write speeds up to 150MB/s, but the higher capacity models are even faster at 450MB/s read and 390MB/s write for the 512GB model.

Pricing for the Angelbird SSD2go starts at $179 for the 128GB version and goes up to $449 for the 512GB version, with the mid-level 256GB model priced at $249.

One lucky MacRumors reader will win a 128GB Angelbird SSD2go from MEGAMAC. To enter to win, use the Rafflecopter widget below and enter an email address. Email addresses will be used solely for contact purposes to reach the winner and send the prize.

You can earn additional entries by subscribing to our weekly newsletter, subscribing to our YouTube channel, following us on Twitter, or visiting the MacRumors Facebook page. Due to the complexities of international laws regarding giveaways, only U.S. residents who are 18 years of age or older are eligible to enter.

a Rafflecopter giveawayhttp://widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.jsThe contest will run from today (October 16) at 12:15 p.m. Pacific Time through 12:15 p.m. Pacific Time on October 23. The winner will be chosen randomly on October 23 and will be contacted by email. The winner has 48 hours to respond and provide a shipping address before a new winner is chosen. The prize will be shipped to the winner for free.