Jury Rules Samsung Infringed On Some Apple Patents, Ordered to Pay $119.6 Million

After three days of deliberations and several weeks of testimony, the jury reached a unanimous verdict in the second Apple vs. Samsung trial (via CNET). The jury found that Samsung willfully infringed on two of five patents involved in the lawsuit. As a result, Samsung has been ordered to pay $119.6 million, far from the total that Apple was hoping for.

In this second lawsuit, which began on March 31, Apple argued that Samsung owed it $2.2 billion in damages for infringing on five separate iPhone patents. Samsung argued that Apple had infringed on two of its own patents, asking for $6.2 million in damages.

Over the course of the trial, Apple called in numerous experts to argue why it was owed $2 billion, chalking the total up to lost profits and reasonable royalty estimates. Samsung argued that Apple’s $2 billion request was ludicrous, insisting it should owe only $40 million, or $1.75 per device.

While Samsung focused on proving that Apple was actually targeting Android in its suit, calling multiple Google witnesses like former Android chief Andy Rubin, Apple presented the jury with testimony from its own employees on the design, development, and marketing of the original iPhone.

During the trial, news broke that Google is covering lawyer fees and potential damage awards related to four of the patents in the lawsuit. Four of the five patents Apple has accused Samsung of infringing on are part of the Android operating system, and Google will presumably help pay damages for the ‘647 data syncing patent Samsung was accused of violating.

This damages award adds to the damages from the original Apple vs. Samsung trial, in which Samsung was ordered to pay Apple $890 million. This suit focused on newer devices, including the Galaxy S III, Galaxy Note II, Galaxy Tab 10.1, the iPhone 4/4s/5, the iPad 2/3/4, the iPad mini, and fourth and fifth generation iPod touch.

Physical iPhone 6 Mockup Compared to Galaxy S5 in New Images

Earlier this week Italian site Macitynet shared images of a high-quality physical mockup of the iPhone 6, based on earlier design drawings and renderings. The site has now shared [Google Translation] a new series photos comparing that mockup to a Samsung Galaxy S5, showing how Apple’s larger iPhone might stack up to Samsung’s flagship offering.

Samsung’s Galaxy S5, released in April, has a display size of 5.1 inches, along with a thickness of 8.1mm. That makes it both larger and thicker than the iPhone 6 mockup, which appears to have a display size of 4.7-inches. While the thickness of the mockup cannot be determined, rumors have suggested the iPhone 6 will be thinner than the existing 7.6mm iPhone 5s, possibly between 6.5 and 7mm.

The mockup in the photos was reportedly created by a case manufacturer and is said to be a “final” version used to make sure cases and accessories will fit Apple’s iPhone 6, which means that it could be a solid representation of what we can expect from Apple’s larger phone.

Several design elements that have been seen in other case models and mockups are present in this high-quality mockup, including rounded edges, rectangular volume buttons, a rounded rear flash, a protruding camera, and a power button located on the right hand side of the device for easier one-handed use. ConceptsiPhone (via BGR) has compiled many of Macitynet‘s photos into a video, showing the mockup next to an iPhone 5s and an iPhone 4s.

Apple’s 4.7-inch iPhone is expected to launch in the fall months, possibly as early as September. Along with a thinner frame and a larger display, it is also expected to include an A8 processor and camera improvements. A second 5.5-inch iPhone is also rumored to be arriving several months later due to production delays.

2014 MacBook Airs Demonstrating Slower Flash Storage Speeds Than 2013 Models

The newly released 2014 MacBook Airs are seeing improved processor performance thanks to updated Haswell chips, but storage performance appears to have declined.

In a series of performance benchmark tests performed by Macworld, tests of the flash storage suggested the new MacBook Airs are performing slower than the 2013 MacBook Airs. The comparison, which included a 2013 11-inch MacBook Air with a 256GB SSD and a 2013 13-inch MacBook Air with a 128GB SSD vs. a 2014 11-inch model with a 128GB SSD and a 13-inch model with a 256GB SSD, found that the 2014 models were twice as slow as the 2013 models at some tasks.

Copying 6GB of files and folders took 28 seconds on last year’s 11-inch MacBook Air, but took nearly twice as long (54 seconds) on this year’s 11-inch model. With solid-state storage, lower capacity drives are often slower performers, and last year’s 11-inch had the higher capacity 256GB of flash. However, the new 11-inch model was also slower than last year’s 13-inch model with 128GB of flash storage.

Compressing 6GB of files also took longer on the 2014 MacBook Air, and Macworld described unzipping as “just plain slow” with the new 11-inch version taking three times as long to unzip files as the 2013 model.

Using fewer but larger files, the performance difference narrowed between the two models, but the 2014 11-inch MacBook Air still performed 35 percent slower copying files than the mid–2013 13-inch MacBook Air with the same storage capacity and 53 percent slower when uncompressing files.

The Blackmagic Disk Speed Test also showed the new models running slower than the older models, with write/read speeds as follows (in MBps):

– 2013 13-inch with 128GB SSD: 445/725
– 2013 11-inch with 256GB SSD: 687/725
– 2014 13-inch with 256GB SSD: 520/676
– 2014 11-inch with 128GB SSD: 306/620

All four of the drives in the MacBook Airs tested came from different manufacturers, with two from Samsung, one from Toshiba, and one from SanDisk, which accounts for the performance discrepancies. Speed differences between SSDs used within Apple’s MacBook Air computers have been highlighted before in previous models and as suggested in the past, while the speed variations may be noticeable in some high-intensity tasks, they are unlikely to be noticed during day-to-day usage.

Released earlier this week, the new MacBook Airs are available from Apple’s website beginning at $899.

Apple Acquires Low-Power Display Company LuxVue Technology

Apple has purchased LuxVue Technology, a company that develops low-power microLED-based displays, reports TechCrunch, citing sources with knowledge of the acquisition. Micro-LEDs have the potential to improve battery life while offering brighter screens than competing technologies.

Little is known about LuxVue, which appears to operate largely under the radar. The company appears to create LED displays that use little energy for use in various consumer electronic products. Back in December of 2013, LuxVue raised $25.2 million in funding for to pursue its micro-LED technology. The company has also filed several patents on micro-LEDs, and one of LuxVue’s investors said the company had “a technical breakthrough in displays.”

LuxVue’s VP of technology, Kapil Sakariya, has ties to Apple, having previously worked as a Display Architect and iPhone Operations and Procurement Manager at Apple. Sakariya was employed at Apple from July of 2006 until November of 2011, when he joined LuxVue.

According to TechCrunch, Apple has made the acquisition to add to its hardware innovations area, which the company has been aiming to bolster in recent years. Apple has purchased several other hardware companies in an effort to bring more of its hardware production in-house, including Renesas Electronics and Passif Semiconductor.

Apple Expanding ‘Buzz Marketing’ Team Focused on Product Placement

Apple yesterday posted a job listing for a “Buzz Marketing Manager” based out of New York (via Dwight Silverman and Business Insider), with the description outlining a position responsible for managing such areas as product placement in film and television and fostering relationships with “high-profile influencers” to promote the Apple brand.

– Product placement in film & television. Work with the creative side of film & TV to place Apple products. This includes getting necessary approvals, managing and trafficking product inventory, following up with studios, and monitoring media for successful placements.

– Build and maintain relationships with high-profile influencers. Influential Apple users could be directors, actors, artists, athletes, designers and select brands or institutions. Determine which relationships have potential to maximize benefit to Apple.

– Leverage relationships to book events at Apple Store Soho. Collaborate with Apple Retail, PR and iTunes to ensure maximum positive outcome for the effort. Produce a podcast for each event into iTunes and maximize the promotional value of the content through PR efforts and partner channels.

Apple describes the role as new and reporting to the head of worldwide Buzz Marketing, suggesting that Apple is expanding its efforts in the area.

Buzz marketing has been receiving significant attention recently, in large part due to Samsung’s aggressive efforts in the area led by the “Oscar selfie” posted by Ellen Degeneres. The stunt, which became the most retweeted Tweet in history, was quickly revealed to have been coordinated by Samsung, which was a promotional sponsor

Modern Family’s “Game Changer” episode with iPad promotional tie-in
Apple’s Buzz Marketing program has been in place for two decades, however, having been developed and led by longtime Apple employee Suzanne Lindbergh until her departure for Jawbone last October. On her LinkedIn profile, Lindbergh highlights her role in helping produce over 1,500 events for Apple’s in-store Meet the Filmmaker/Actor series, as well as her work on Apple’s original “Hello” teaser ad for the iPhone and a promotional tie-in for an episode of Modern Family days before the launch of the original iPad.

T-Mobile ‘Very Interested’ in Adding iPhone to MetroPCS Prepaid Brand [iOS Blog]

In the wake of its acquisition of prepaid carrier MetroPCS last year, T-Mobile US indicated that adding the iPhone to MetroPCS’s lineup was “a possibility” but not an imminent move. A year later, things are looking a bit more positive for MetroPCS customers, with T-Mobile’s Mike Sievert telling Re/code the carrier is “very interested” in bringing the iPhone to MetroPCS.

“We are very interested in that,” Chief Marketing Officer Mike Sievert told Re/code. “We think the Metro PCS customer would be as well.” […]

Part of the challenge is finding an attractive way to make it affordable enough for all of MetroPCS’s customers, many of whom have tighter budgets and some of whom might not have good enough credit to qualify for device financing.

MetroPCS had approximately nine million customers at the time of its acquisition by T-Mobile, and the carrier now operates as a separate brand running on T-Mobile’s network in an expanded set of markets. T-Mobile has also reclaimed substantial portions of MetroPCS’s former spectrum for use in enhancing the overall T-Mobile network.

Apple Debuts New Monthly App Store Section Highlighting Best Apps, Games, and Updates [iOS Blog]

As first noted by MacStories, Apple today launched a “Best of April” section in the App Store, rounding up the best new apps, updates and games released within the past month.

At the top, the new section highlights the “Best App & Game” with separate picks for both the iPhone and iPad. For the iPhone, Apple selected The New York Times’ NYT Now news curation app and physics-based adventure game Leo’s Fortune, while Comedy Central’s official iOS app and Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft were chosen for the iPad.

Also included are picks for “Great Games” and “Amazing Apps”, which features new and recently updated apps including Monument Valley, SpeakaZoo, Hitman GO, and Union.

It is likely that Apple will regularly update this section with a new collection of apps every month, and joins the App Store’s other highlighted sections for “App of the Week” and “Editors Choice”. Apple also rolled out an “Indie Game Showcase” section on the App Store last month.