Apple Watch

Apple Hit With $5.7B Verdict Over the iPhone's Taptic Engine

A federal jury in San Diego ordered Apple to pay more than $5.7 billion to Taction Technology, finding the Taptic Engine in iPhones and Apple Watches infringed two haptics patents — one of the largest US intellectual-property verdicts on record. Apple disputes the findings and says it will appeal. Full story in slides above — Sources: CNBC, Reuters, MacRumors, TechRepublic, NotebookCheck, October 2026.

iPhone and Apple Watch with vibration waves illustrating the haptic patent verdict

Apple Ordered to Pay $5.7 Billion in Record Haptic Patent Verdict

A federal jury in San Diego ordered Apple to pay $5,721,961,750 to Taction Technology on Friday, ruling that the Taptic Engine in iPhones and Apple Watches infringes two of the small company’s haptic patents. Reuters describes it as the country’s largest such verdict to date. Seven jurors heard the case after a trial that opened September 14. They deliberated two days and returned the verdict Friday afternoon. The Apple $5.7 billion patent verdict lands as one of the biggest patent damage awards in American legal history, period. ...