Leak hints at the first round of Apple Watch upgrades
There hasn’t been much talk of software upgrades for the Apple Watch now that it’s a real product you can (sort of) buy, but sources for 9to5Mac understand that there are some important tweaks in the pipeline. To start with, you’ll reportedly see third-party “complications” (those elements that show calendars, the weather and more) on watch faces. This sadly wouldn’t bring true third-party watch faces, but it’d give you a quick way to check information from other apps. You could see if you have any Twitter mentions just by looking at your wrist, for example.
Apple would also tackle concerns that you’re left high and dry if you lose the Watch. It’s believed to be working on a “Find my Watch” feature that, like Find My iPhone, would help you track, lock and wipe the wristwear. Since the device can’t easily connect to the internet on its own, it’d use its wireless signals to determine its location relative to the iPhone and ping you if it thinks you’ve forgotten your timepiece. This feature might depend on newer wireless hardware to work properly, though, so there’s no guarantee that you’ll see it this year.
The rest of Cupertino’s rumored plans are definitely dependent on new hardware. The company supposedly plans to add health features (such as blood pressure monitoring and sleep tracking) over the next “several years,” some of which likely didn’t make the cut the first time around. Also, the Watch would be marketed as a “primary input device” for the next-generation Apple TV. You wouldn’t need it (there would still be that more advanced remote), but it’d play an important role. And unlike many of the features mentioned in the leak, you may not have to wait long to see what the Watch can do with Apple’s new set-top box — Tim Cook and crew are still expected to unveil the new Apple TV at WWDC in June.
Filed under: Home Entertainment, Wearables, HD, Mobile, Apple
Source: 9to5Mac
Court reverses a portion of Apple’s $930 million win in patent case against Samsung
Although Samsung was forced to pay Apple almost $1 billion for infringing on design and utility patents found in early iPhones, that large sum of money will soon be greatly reduced. In a filing posted earlier today, the U.S. Court of Appeals has reestablished that Samsung did indeed infringe on a number of design patents held by Apple. However, out of the $930 million Apple was supposed to receive, the court has just ruled that $382 million will be reversed due to “trade dress dilution”.
The court originally ruled that Samsung basically copied the way Apple packaged and presented its iPhones, as well as a few aesthetic features like the smartphones’ rounded rectangle shape and rows of square application icons. But in the new ruling today, the court says that the trademarks are invalid because they relate too much to the functioning of the phone. The court says that granting these trademarks to Apple would essentially give the company a monopoly over these features forever.
Apple vs. Samsung
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The legal fight between the two companies has been going on since 2011, and Apple was originally awarded the $930 million one year later. Apple ultimately failed to convince the U.S. District Judge to ban all sales of infringing Galaxy S products in the United States, which are not on the market anymore.
What are your thoughts? Do you have any strong feelings on the never-ending Samsung vs. Apple wars?
Decision in Apple v. Samsung Appeal Lowers Apple’s Damages Award
Begun in 2012 over a concern that Samsung’s products willfully infringed on Apple’s patents for the iPhone, a jury eventually ruled largely in Apple’s favor and the Cupertino company was awarded over $1 billion in damages. The award was later slightly reduced after it was determined the original jury had erred in one portion of its decision, but Samsung was still owing roughly $900 million to Apple.
Today, however, a U.S. appeals court is ruling to reverse another significant portion of the judgment, finding Samsung wasn’t in violation of “trade dress” and therefore doesn’t owe as much as was previously awarded by the courts (via Bloomberg Business).
The exact portion of the case being reassessed amounts to about $382 million according to Samsung, leaving the Korean company still owing Apple $548 million in damages if the lower courts looking at the case decide to reject this part of the award. The actual award amount will be recalculated by the lower court following today’s decision.
The term “trade dress” refers directly to the ways in which a product is packaged and presented, and was originally one of the bigger points of win for Apple when the jury ruled in its favor back in 2012. After Samsung appealed, the appeals court on the case found the iPhone’s overall look “can’t be protected,” thus requiring a recalculation of Apple’s estimated $920 million damage award.
The part of the original decision upheld in today’s ruling was Samsung’s general patent infringement when in comparison with Apple products, including features like pinch and zoom, double tap to zoom, and other basic features patented by Apple. So while Samsung may yet escape without penalty over its phones having a similar look to the iPhone, the company will still be required to pay for violating Apple’s patents.
The next part of the case is in limbo as a lower court recalculates the $930 million in damages owed by Samsung. The $382 million of that $920 million awarded to Apple, regarding the trade dress, is what will be addressed specifically by the lower court, with the amount being either lowered or removed altogether from the overall sum.
Apple Working on ‘Find My Watch’ and Third-Party Watch Complications, ‘TVKit’ Dev Tools for Apple TV
Ahead of next month’s Worldwide Developers Conference, Apple is laying the groundwork for future software and hardware updates for both the Apple Watch and Apple TV, according to a new report from 9to5Mac.
Timing for some of the new features remains unclear, but the report claims Apple is working on a “Find My Watch” implementation that could be paired with a “Smart Leashing” feature that would remind Apple Watch users if they appear to have accidentally left their iPhones behind.
First, Apple has been working on a feature dubbed “Find my Watch” for the Apple Watch, which as the name implies will allow a user to track a Watch’s location, as well as lock or remotely wipe it if it is lost or stolen. […]
Given the Apple Watch’s reliance on an iPhone, Apple plans to implement Find my Watch via what’s currently known inside the company as “Smart Leashing.” According to a source, the Watch will use its wireless signal to establish its location relative to the iPhone, and will optionally be able to notify a user if the iPhone is accidentally left behind.
The news comes following concerns over the lack of any sort of Activation Lock functionality for the Apple Watch, but the new features may require new hardware to support them, pushing their launch off until the release of the second-generation Apple Watch.
Apple is also reportedly working on support for third-party watch face complications for the Apple Watch, which would, for example, allow users to see at a glance if they have unread Twitter mentions. Additional software and hardware work is focused on filling out health and fitness functionality for the Apple Watch, including additional sensors that were rumored but did not make it into the first version of the device.
On the Apple TV front, sources claim Apple’s developer tools that will allow developers to build third-party apps for the next-generation Apple TV will be known as “TVKit”, with the new hardware and tools expected to debut at next month’s Worldwide Developers Conference. The Apple Watch appears set to serve as a key method for controlling the new box, which will also support Apple’s rumored live streaming television service, although recent rumors have suggested that piece of the overall package may debut several months later than the hardware.
Apple’s WWDC keynote is expected to see a significant number of announcements, including the new developer tools for Apple TV apps and native Apple Watch apps, as well as iOS 9 and OS X 10.11. As was the case last year, hardware announcements may be slim or absent entirely, particularly with updated 15-inch Retina MacBook Pro and 27-inch iMac models expected this week.
Apple’s $930 million legal win over Samsung gets partially reversed
The Great Apple/Samsung Legal Throwdown of 2012 ultimately resulted in the Korean company having to pay a whopping $930 million in damages for violating Apple intellectual property… or it did, until this morning. A Federal Circuit Court of Appeals ruled earlier today that while Samsung did indeed violate Apple’s design patents, it didn’t do the with same Apple’s trade dress – broader elements of design and aesthetic that dictate the presentation of Apple’s gadgets. With that bombshell dropped, the court has asked for an update on the damages to be awarded sans the trade dress stuff, which should work out to a roughly $382 million discount for Samsung.
Let’s flash back to the heady days of 2012 for a moment. During the heat of the trial, Apple presented a handful of examples of (unregistered) trade dress that it believed Samsung had infringed upon with devices like the Galaxy S and Nexus S. While some of Apple’s examples – “a rectangular product with four evenly rounded corners,” “a flat, clear surface covering the front of the product” – the company tried to argue that they were just for show and had no impact on usability. After some further investigation, the appeals court disagreed with the argument, saying that “the requirement that the unregistered trade dress ‘serves no purpose other than identification’ cannot be reasonably inferred from the evidence”. That is to say, since trade dress protection only applies to design elements that are nonfunctional and these design choices were seemingly made for the sake of customer comfort, Apple’s argument is out.
If you’re itching for some juicy documents to kick off your Monday, the full decision (courtesy of AppleInsider) can be found below.
United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruling on Apple v. Samsung by appleinsider
Developing…
Filed under: Mobile
Source: Reuters
Tim Cook Reflects on His Early Years and Steve Jobs in George Washington University Commencement Speech
Tim Cook this weekend gave a commencement speech to the 2015 graduating class of George Washington University, sharing a number of reflections and his perspective on life for graduating students and their families. As announced in February, Cook was asked to speak at the event in Washington, DC following a nomination process by students earlier in the year.
Cook started off the 20-minute speech by reflecting on a few moments from his teenage years in which he met both President Jimmy Carter, one of his personal heroes, and Alabama Governor George Wallace, a man he disagreed with vehemently even at the young age of 16. The two men’s similar backgrounds – they were both from the South and Democrats – helped teach Cook about how his internal journey in life was just as important as his external passage through schools, universities, and jobs.
Crowd on National Mall for commencement ceremonies (Source: Andras Szep)
My own journey in life was just beginning. I hadn’t even applied to college yet at that point. For you graduates, the process of discovering yourself, of inventing yourself, of reinventing yourself is about to begin in earnest. It’s about finding your values and committing to live by them. You have to find your North Star. And that means choices. Some are easy. Some are hard. And some will make you question everything.
Twenty years after my visit to Washington, I met someone who made me question everything. Who upended all my assumptions in the very best way. That was Steve Jobs.
Cook mentioned that just like Apple in the late nineties he was also “rudderless” and looked to Jobs’ invitation to join the company and “change the world” not as a skeptic but as a believer. As expected, Cook looked back on the decision as one of his best and encouraged the graduates of George Washington to “find your North Star.” The Apple CEO concluded his address at the university by taking a picture of the amassed crowd of graduates, claiming his position at the podium was “the best view in the world.”
Cook and MacRumors readers Andras Szep following Cook’s speech
MacRumors reader Andras Szep was on hand for the event, sharing a few photos and noting he was lucky enough to find a seat up front for Cook’s speech and get a few moments afterwards to speak briefly with the Apple CEO, congratulating him on his speech and shaking his hand.
New 15-inch MacBook Pro and 27-inch iMac Expected to Launch This Wednesday
Apple fans waiting for updates to the 15-inch MacBook Pro and 27-inch iMac may get good news sooner than expected, with MacG.co [Google Translate] reporting on Monday that updates to both models are expected as soon as this Wednesday.
The website cites an unnamed source who has provided accurate information on a number of occasions in the past, but provides no further details regarding the exact specs and upgrades that could go into the two new computers. Given that the 13-inch MacBook Pro was updated back in March with the expected processing and graphics boosts, as well as a new Force Touch trackpad, it’s safe to say the new 15-inch model should receive similar upgrades.
As MacG.co points out and we have discussed in recent days, shipping times for the 15-inch MacBook Pro have been slipping, sparking speculation of a WWDC reveal for updated models.
It is unclear exactly what processors will be included in the new MacBook Pro, as Intel’s timeline for Broadwell chips had previously estimated a July-August release for chips appropriate for the machine. Intel did, however, quietly launch a few higher-end chips in the Broadwell family two weeks ago, suggesting production may in fact be ahead of schedule.
The site doesn’t touch much on the iMac update, beyond pointing out that the only model with a delayed shipping estimate is the higher-end non-retina 27-inch iMac with a 3.4 GHz processor. We noted slipping shipping estimates on iMacs a month ago, but while most of the models returned to “in stock” status shortly after, it now appears Apple has indeed been drawing down stock ahead of this week’s update.
Delayed shipping times in the weeks ahead of a major event like WWDC generally appear as good indicators of what product categories may be getting an update, but given recent updates to the MacBook Air and 13-inch MacBook Pro, the release of the new MacBook, and the pending 15-inch MacBook Pro and 27-inch iMac updates, Apple could once again have a software-focused WWDC keynote similar to last year unless it decides to show off an update to the Mac Pro.
Samsung loses ground to Chinese brands in the tablet market
Newly compiled data from industry researcher Strategy Analytics shows that big names brands in the tablet market, such as Samsung and Apple, have seen their market shares take a plunge this year, while low cost “white box” Chinese products are gaining momentum.
Samsung has been the hardest hit in the past twelve months, having seen its share of the tablet market shrink by 5.6 percent, down to 17 percent of the market in the first quarter. Apple also took a significant hit, as its share declined 4.6 percent from 28.9 in Q1 2014 to 24.3 in Q1 2015. Combined, Apple and Samsung accounted for just over half of the world’s tablet market back in Q1 2014, but this year only managed to grab a 41.3 percent share of the market in the same quarter this year.
“2015 will be the year that Samsung pares down its large product portfolio to focus on a tighter circle of strong performers in the mid- to low-price tiers” – Strategy Analytics
The market appears to be diversifying away from the familiar global brands, and much of this share is being eaten into by growing Chinese manufacturers. Price competitive companies Lenovo and Huawei both saw growth compared with the same quarter last year, up 1.2 and 1.5 percent each, ending up with a 5.3 and 2.4 percent share respectively. Falling costs of previously high-end features have given a big boost to the price/performance value proposition offered by these less-expensive tablet brands.http://embed.chartblocks.com/1.0/?c=5559aa57c9a61dfa486a8330&t=849b5b4af175405The other major winner in the quarter has been “white box” tablets, i.e. non-brand specific devices produced in smaller quantities, which often come from low cost Chinese manufacturers and are powered by Android. This market segment grew by a further 2.7 percent year-over-year and now accounts for a substantial 28.4 percent of the tablet market, making it larger than either Apple or Samsung.
Samsung’s latest budget friendly Galaxy Tab A line-up might help to address the price sensitivity issue and its upcoming Galaxy Tab S2 should keep up Samsung’s presence in the high-end segment, but it’s likely to be another tough year for the established brands.
Which tablets have you been looking at this year?
The first trailer for ‘Steve Jobs’ is here
Ready for another movie based on Apple’s cofounder? Well, this one appears to have a bit more gravitas behind it, and a little less Kutcher: Based on the biography by Walter Isaacson, the screenplay’s been written by Aaron Sorkin, and directed by Danny Boyle. The film has already had a difficult time nailing down the actor to play Jobs himself. Michael Fassbender is still playing the titular Apple founder, with Seth Rogen playing Woz and Joanna Hoffman playing former marketing chief Joanna Hoffman. Break out the emergency black turtleneck and watch how it’s shaping up right after the break.
Filed under: Apple
Source: Universal Pictures (YouTube)
Universal Releases First Trailer for ‘Steve Jobs’ Movie
After filming began earlier in January, and a few photo leaks soon thereafter, not much had been heard surrounding Universal Picture’s Steve Jobs movie. Today, however, the studio released the first official trailer for the new movie.
The trailer is mostly a single shot of Michael Fassbender as Jobs, with cast voice overs providing snippets and teases of conversations regarding Jobs’ true legacy at Apple. While it doesn’t reveal much that wasn’t already known, the one minute teaser provides a handful of closer looks as Michael Fassbender, Seth Rogen, Kate Winslet, and Jeff Daniels as Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, Joanna Hoffman, and John Sculley, respectively.
The movie has faced turmoil over the years as it began development, with multiple actors up for the titular role and even a change of studios due to scheduling conflicts between Danny Boyle, the film’s director, and Sony. This year, as the film’s October 9 release date grew nearer, casting calls and set photos began popping up online, even going so far as to offer fans the first glimpse of Fassbender in full costume as Jobs.
AIVAnet 