New patents reveal that future Apple headphones could tell which ear they’re in using machine learning.
Apple notes that “During operation, capacitive sensor electrodes may be used by the control circuitry in capturing capacitive sensor ear images that are processed by a machine learning classifier. The machine learning classifier may be used to determine whether the headphones are being worn in a reversed or unreversed orientation.
Navigating in a car with AR and maps on an iPhone, even on the upper dashboard, is not the right way to go. John has a much better idea.
Apple revealed plans to acquire the majority of Intel’s smartphone modem business, which will see 2,200 staff leave Intel for Apple.
Apple is in advanced talks to buy Intel’s smartphone-modem chip business, both patents and staff, valued at around $1 billion.
According to a report, Apple has been sending executives to meet with Samsung to discuss possible iPhone chip shortages.
Apple and other tech companies have been summoned to Capitol Hill to testify on antitrust in front of the House Judiciary Committee.
While Samsung is stilling working to get its foldable phone released, others are trying to find new form factors. Techradar reported on rumors that Sony is developing a rollable phone.
Considering the lack of solid evidence to back up these claims, we wouldn’t bet your house on them just yet. They are, however, an intriguing hint about where Sony and the rest of the industry might head next. We’ve previously seen patents from Sony detailing how rollable (and foldable) phone screens could work. We also know that LG – tipped to be supplying Sony with flexible screens – has the expertise to make displays that roll up. Add in the news that the likes of LG and Samsung are apparently busy developing rollable smartphones of their own, and this new rumor about a Sony device starts to sound a lot more credible.
Apple’s autonomous vehicle project – Project Titan remains ongoing. We have not seen much of anything yet. However, a patent, awarded today and reported on by Cult Of Mac, gives us some insight. It appears Apple wants to reinvent a normally uninspiring feature.
A car’s bumper may not be its sexiest feature but they are a critical line of defense in the event of collisions. True to Apple form, it believes it can improve on what already exists. According to claims in its application filed in 2016 with the United States Patent and Trademark Office, Apple’s bumper would include an inflatable structure between the bumper cover and car body. It would also be able to retract to reduce the length of the car for parking. Apple says an extended bumper changes the initial point of collision.
The long, sad tale of iTunes is recounted in this extensive, charming essay. It provides us with many lessons to learn about Apple.
Senator Elizabeth Warren said that the Justice Department’s anti-trust chief should recuse himself from investigations into Apple and Google. Senator Warren, who is seeking the Democratic presidential nomination, said that Makan Delrahim had previously lobbied for the firms and therefore should not investigate them, Reuters reported.
In a letter to Delrahim, Warren said Alphabet Inc’s Google had hired him in 2007 to lobby federal antitrust officials on behalf of the company’s proposed acquisition of online advertising company DoubleClick Inc, and he had reported an estimated $100,000 in income from Google in that year. She said Apple Inc had hired Delrahim in 2006 and 2007 to lobby the government on its behalf on patent reform issues.
Timothy Lee did a nice deep dive into the 233-page Qualcomm monopoly ruling from Judge Lucy Koh. I’ve heard hot takes of the settlement between Apple and Qualcomm that suggested maybe Apple knew it was going to lose and gave up. But Judge Koh ordered Qualcomm to renegotiate with its customers.
The legal document outlines a nearly 20-year history of overcharging smartphone makers for cellular chips. Qualcomm structured its contracts with smartphone makers in ways that made it almost impossible for other chipmakers to challenge Qualcomm’s dominance. Customers who didn’t go along with Qualcomm’s one-sided terms were threatened with an abrupt and crippling loss of access to modem chips.
In her ruling, Koh ordered Qualcomm to stop threatening customers with chip cutoffs. Qualcomm must now re-negotiate all of its agreements with customers and license its patents to competitors on reasonable terms.
We have a deal on a pair of Oomo 3D 5.1 Virtual Surround Sound Bluetooth Earphones. According to the manufacturer, they feature a patented acoustic structure that separates the sound frequencies to provide clarity and 3D Virtual 5.1 Surround Sound. the deal listing has all the details. They’re $102.95 through our deal, which is 20% off retail.
Patents and a memo from engineer Sir James Dyson regarding his company’s plans for an electric vehicle have been revealed.
Perspectives by different people vary. Sometimes a unique, idiosyncratic view is wrong but thought provoking. And it takes courage to write anyway. This is one of those.
The 2019 iMac came nine months after the Coffee Lake Macbook Pros of July 2018. Why that happened is becoming much more clear.
Apple is no stranger to patent and legal tussles. However, one currently happening in Germany is a bit out of the ordinary. It thinks a German bike path’s logo is too similar, AppleInsider reported.
The logo for the “Apfelroute” — Apple Route — was registered with the German Patent and Trademark Office in 2018, and is already in use for tourism marketing in the Rhine-Voreifel region, said Westdeutscher Rundfunk. Lawyers for Apple have not only filed an appeal with the GPTO, but sent cease-and-desist letters to Rhine-Voreifel Tourism. Apple’s trademark objections revolve around the Apfelroute’s green leaf and “bitten” side.
Between 2005 and 2018 Apple spent US$60 million lobbying Congress. Here’s how the company spends that money.
FastCompany writes:
Facebook has just been awarded a patent for technology that could let the social network scan through your photos, see what products you like, and then send that data to advertisers in the hopes of selling you more of the product.
So every photo a user posts to Facebook may, someday, be used to manipulate that user. But it’s just a patent award, right?
Apple and Qualcomm agreed to end all litigation in their long-running dispute, with Apple making a payment for an undisclosed amount.
The Apple-Qualcomm court battle starts today over chip royalties, and billions of dollars could be at stake.
Huawei is “open” to selling its 5G modems to Apple for use in the iPhone, its founder and CEO revealed in an interview.
Huawei says that it’s open to selling its 5G modems, but only to rival Apple. Meanwhile Apple is considering Samsung and Mediatek.
A key Apple semiconductor engineer has quit the firm, having been responsible for the development of many of its own-branded chips.
A federal judge recently ruled that Qualcomm owes Apple almost US$1B in patent royalty rebate payments.
Judge Gonzalo Curiel of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California on Thursday ruled that Qualcomm, the world’s biggest supplier of mobile phone chips, was obligated to pay nearly $1 billion in rebate payments to Apple, which for years used Qualcomm’s modem chips to connect iPhones to wireless data networks.
