MacRumors

Apple has paid VirnetX a total of $454,033,859.87 following the conclusion of a long-running patent infringement battle, VirnetX announced today.

The patent dispute between VirnetX and Apple dates back to 2010 when VirnetX accused Apple's FaceTime feature of infringing on its intellectual property, and there are multiple lawsuits involved.

In this particular case, Apple was ordered to pay $302 million in October 2016, but with interest and other costs included, the judgement was increased to $440 million. Though Apple appealed the $440 million award many times, courts have continually ruled in VirnetX's favor.

Most recently, Apple attempted to get the U.S. Supreme Court to hear its appeal, but the Supreme Court in February 2020 declined to intervene.

Apple claimed that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office had canceled "key parts" of many of the patents involved in the case, but the courts rescinded that cancelation, leaving Apple responsible for the $440 million payment.

This is just one of two VirnetX cases that Apple has been fighting. In the second case, VirnetX was awarded $502 million, but the ruling was partially overturned last year and sent back to the lower courts to determine new damages. Apple in February attempted to get a rehearing to determine patent validity, but was denied.

Amid the ongoing COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak in the United States, people are relying heavily on home internet connections for work and school as many employers have asked employees to work from home and schools have canceled classes for the next few weeks.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) today said [PDF] that major U.S. internet providers, including Comcast, AT&T, CenturyLink, Charter, Sonic, Cox, Verizon, and more, have all agreed not to terminate service for any residential or small business customers unable to pay their bills due to the coronavirus.

Non-payment will not result in cancelation for the next 60 days, with internet providers also agreeing to waive late fees for payments and open WiFi hotspots to any American who needs them.

Along with the major internet providers, many other smaller internet providers across the United States have also agreed to the terms, which the FCC has called the Keep Americans Connected Pledge. FCC chairman Ajit Pai said that it is "imperative" that Americans stay connected.'

As the coronavirus outbreak spreads and causes a series of disruptions to the economic, educational, medical, and civic life of our country, it is imperative that Americans stay connected. Broadband will enable them to communicate with their loved ones and doctors, telework, ensure their children can engage in remote learning, and--importantly--take part in the 'social distancing' that will be so critical to limiting the spread of this novel coronavirus. That's why I'm asking all broadband and telephone service providers to take the Keep Americans Connected Pledge. I don't want any American consumers experiencing hardships because of the pandemic to lose connectivity.

Some internet providers have also agreed to suspend data caps in states that have them, such as AT&T. AT&T yesterday told Motherboard that it is waiving internet data overages for all customers who do not already have unlimited home internet access.

Comcast has not waived fees for data overages, but it is providing higher connection speeds on its Internet Essentials plan, which is a service for low-income Americans.

Last March, MacRumors received an anonymous tip claiming that Apple would announce new iPad, iMac, and iPod models with three consecutive days of press releases the following week, and that information proved to be two-thirds accurate with new iPad Air and iPad mini models announced on Monday, March 18 and an iMac refresh on Tuesday, March 19.

Apple did announce a new product on the Wednesday, but it was new AirPods, not a new iPod. Given both products have "Pod" in their name, perhaps there was some confusion there, but it is clear the tipster was relatively informed.

Now, the same anonymous tipster has informed MacRumors that Apple plans to announce new MacBook Air models next week. We have yet to confirm this information, but given the tipster now has an established track record, we have elected to share this rumor. The tipster did not provide any further details at this time.

A few days ago, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said Apple plans to launch updated MacBook Air and MacBook Pro models with scissor keyboards in the second quarter of 2020, following in the footsteps of the 16-inch MacBook Pro.

While the second quarter does not begin until April, an announcement next week would be just a few weeks earlier. Apple has announced new or refreshed products in March for the last five consecutive years, so there is precedence. In terms of covering all bases, however, we cannot rule out the possibility that the tipster received wrong information.

The current MacBook Air and 13-inch MacBook Pro are still equipped with butterfly keyboards that can suffer from issues such as sticky or unresponsive keys after prolonged use, which prompted Apple to initiate a free repair program worldwide in 2018. Apple finally solved this problem by reverting back to a scissor mechanism with the new Magic Keyboard on the 16-inch MacBook Pro, which has proven far more reliable.

Kuo has previously said that several other Apple products are planned for the first half of 2020, including the so-called iPhone 9, refreshed iPad Pro and MacBook Pro models, AirTags, a small wireless charging mat, and high-end over-ear headphones that may have AirPods branding, so it is possible Apple has more announcements in store next week.

Beyond receiving a True Tone display and a tweaked butterfly keyboard in July 2019, the MacBook Air was last updated in October 2018.

Apple today announced that its 31st Worldwide Developers Conference will be a digital-only event with no physical gathering due to the ongoing spread of the coronavirus around the world. The online-only event will take place in June.

Apple normally holds WWDC at the McEnery Convention Center in San Jose, California, but the area has seen multiple coronavirus cases and Apple is canceling the physical event as it is unknown if the infection will still be an issue in the summer months.

Apple says the new online event will be "packed with content" for consumers, press, and developers alike. Millions of creative and innovative developers will be provided with early access with new software, and will be able to engage with Apple engineers.

"We are delivering WWDC 2020 this June in an innovative way to millions of developers around the world, bringing the entire developer community together with a new experience," said Phil Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. "The current health situation has required that we create a new WWDC 2020 format that delivers a full program with an online keynote and sessions, offering a great learning experience for our entire developer community, all around the world. We will be sharing all of the details in the weeks ahead."

"With all of the new products and technologies we've been working on, WWDC 2020 is going to be big," said Craig Federighi, Apple's senior vice president of Software Engineering. "I look forward to our developers getting their hands on the new code and interacting in entirely new ways with the Apple engineers building the technologies and frameworks that will shape the future across all Apple platforms."

Though there will not be a physical event in San Jose, Apple will hold an online keynote to unveil new software (and perhaps hardware) products. We're expecting Apple to unveil iOS 14, iPadOS 14, macOS 10.16, tvOS 14, and watchOS 7.

Right now, it's not known if Apple will unveil new hardware in June, but products such as the MacBook Pro and the MacBook Air are expected to receive updates this year, so it's possible we could see some hardware refreshes.

Apple will also make developer sessions and new information on the upcoming operating systems available through the Apple Developer website or the dedicated WWDC app for iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV.

Apple plans to provide additional information about the event between now and June through an email, in the Apple Developer app, and on the Apple Developer website.

In addition to announcing today's digital only event, Apple has also pledged to donate $1 million to local San Jose organizations to offset the associated revenue loss as a result of WWDC 2020's online format.

Apple is not the first major company to cancel a major developer event. Facebook's F8 and Google's I/O developer conferences have also been canceled due to the coronavirus.

A rare fully functional Apple-1 computer has sold for $458,711 at auction this week, according to Boston-based RR Auction.

RR Auction says the computer was acquired by Michigan computer store SoftWarehouse in the 1980s as part of a trade for a newer IBM machine. It was subsequently displayed in the store in a custom-made museum style case, before being placed into storage. The computer was restored to its original, operational state in June 2019 by "Apple-1 expert" Corey Cohen, who evaluated the current condition of the unit as 8/10.

"The Apple-1 is not only a marvel of early computing ingenuity but the product that launched what is today one of the most valuable and successful companies in the world," said Bobby Livingston, Executive VP at RR Auction, adding that early Apple products continue to attract interest from passionate fans of the company worldwide.

The computer was sold with all components and accessories required for operation and proved to be fully functional for around eight hours in a comprehensive test.

It is believed that Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak built 200 of the Apple-1 computers and sold 175 of them, making it a rare collector's item. The computer was originally conceived as a bare circuit board to be sold as a kit and completed by electronics hobbyists, but Steve Jobs later sold 50 fully assembled units of the computer to The Byte Shop in California.

Another fully functional Apple-1 computer sold for $905,000 back in 2014.

Apple Arcade today gained a new roleplaying game "Roundguard" for the iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV:

Roundguard is a bouncy dungeon crawler with pinball physics, lots of loot, and a randomized castle full of oddballs. Press your luck against hordes of dangerously cute monsters and challenging roguelike elements in this all-round bouncy adventure!

If you love roguelikes & Peggle, then Roundguard is for you.

Roundguard is available on the App Store with an Apple Arcade subscription. The subscription-based service provides iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, and Mac users with access to over 100 games with no in-app purchases or ads for $4.99 per month or $49.99 per year.

Apple shipped more than 43.4 million wearables in the last quarter of 2019, according to data compiled by research firm IDC (via DigiTimes).

The figures for Apple include unit shipments of Apple Watch, AirPods, AirPods Pro, and its Beats lineup. Taken together, the data suggests Apple had a 36.5 percent share of the wearables market. The only blot on its report card was a slight decline in Apple Watch shipments over the quarter because of supply shortages.

According to IDC, Xiaomi came a distant second in Q419, with 12.8 million unit shipments (9.4 million of which were wristbands) and just 10.8 percent market share. Shipments of Samsung's Galaxy Active and Active 2 smartwatches saw the company come third with 10.5 million units shipped and an 8.8 percent market share.

"2019 marked a strong step forward for the worldwide wearables market," said Ramon Llamas, research director for IDC's Wearables Team. "Hearables were the big story due to new product introductions and more smartphones cutting the cord with traditional earphones, practically driving users to purchase a hearable. Not to be overshadowed were smartwatches and fitness trackers, which both posted record annual volumes from an abundance of lower-cost models."

The global wearables market grew by 82.3 percent in the fourth quarter of 2019, reaching a new high of 118.9 million devices shipped, according to IDC data.

The rapid growth is said to have been mainly due to the increasing popularity of earbuds and headphones, which captured 55.3 percent of the entire market. Other popular categories during the quarter included smartwatches (15.3 percent) and wrist bands (17.7 percent).

Across the whole of 2019, Apple is said to have shipped more than 106 million units in the market, up 121.7 percent from the previous year.

DigiTimes sparked interest recently by suggesting Apple is planning to launch an "AirPod Pro Lite," describing the earbuds as an "entry-level version of Apple's AirPods Pro series." Apple already offers AirPods for $50 less than AirPods Pro, so it's unclear how "AirPods Pro Lite" would fit into Apple's lineup.

According to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, Apple is also prepping new high-end over-ear headphones to round out its wearable lineup. Icons allegedly representing the Apple-branded headphones were recently found in leaked iOS 14 code.

A Bloomberg report claimed Apple's upcoming over-ear wireless headphones will feature active noise-canceling and launch in the second half of 2019 for the over-ear headphones, but Kuo in January 2020 said that "high-end Bluetooth headphones" would launch during the first half of the year, which could refer to the same product.

Microsoft has announced that the 2020 Build developer conference will not go ahead as an in-person gathering and will take place online this year instead, owing to concerns over the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

The tech giant had planned to hold the annual conference in Seattle from May 19 to May 21, but Microsoft has decided to make it an altogether "digital event." A Microsoft spokesperson provided The Verge with the following statement:

The safety of our community is a top priority. In light of the health safety recommendations for Washington State, we will deliver our annual Microsoft Build event for developers as a digital event, in lieu of an in-person event. We look forward to bringing together our ecosystem of developers in this new virtual format to learn, connect and code together. Stay tuned for more details to come.

Like Apple's WWDC, Build annually brings together thousands of developers from all over the world, and Microsoft typically uses the event to preview its latest software and services updates. This year, Microsoft is expected to share more details about its dual-screen plans for Android and Windows 10X.

It's not the first tech company to cancel a major developer event in light of the pandemic. Facebook's F8 and Google's I/O developer conferences have been canceled due to the coronavirus. On Wednesday, organizers for both the E3 gaming convention and NAB trade show also announced cancelations.

Other public events and sports seasons in the U.S. have been either canceled or suspended amid the viral outbreak, in an effort to limit the possibility of a rapid rise in infection rates. Similar containment measures have been implemented or are actively being considered in many other countries.

Apple hasn't provided word about its upcoming Worldwide Developers Conference, which is normally held in San Jose, California, in June, but it now seems only a matter of time before Apple announces that the event has been canceled or will be held in some digital capacity.

Apple today announced that it is temporarily pausing its "Today at Apple" programming as a precautionary measure amid the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, with sessions canceled at all Apple Stores in the United States and Canada until further notice.

"Today at Apple" typically offers free hands-on group sessions focused on photography, video, music, coding, art and design, and more at Apple Stores.

For more on Apple's response to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, read our guide.

(Thanks, Christian!)

As the coronavirus continues to spread in the United States and other countries, Apple is preparing to reopen its retail stores in mainland China. All 42 locations in the country will be open as of Friday local time, Apple confirmed to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.

Apple started shutting down select stores in China in January, and in early February, closed all stores in China. As the spread of the virus has abated in China, Apple has been reopening stores, and at the end of February, more than half of retail locations in the country were open.

Following the closure of its stores in China, Apple announced that it will not meet its March quarter revenue goals, citing both constrained iPhone supplies worldwide and lower customer demand for Apple products in China.

Government data shared earlier this week suggested Apple sold 60 percent fewer iPhones in China in February 2020 compared to February 2019.

Coronavirus infection numbers and deaths have been steadily declining in China over the course of the last few weeks, and the worst of the outbreak seems to be over.

Apple may soon be facing store closures in the United States as the coronavirus continues to spread. Large events and gatherings have been banned in many states, major sporting events have been canceled, and Disneyland has shut down for the rest of the month. There are more than 1,500 known coronavirus cases in the United States and over 30 people have died.

France's competition authority is set to fine Apple next Monday for anticompetitive behavior in its distribution and sales network, reports Reuters.

Specific details about the fine and the fine amount are expected to be announced next week, and there's no word yet on just how much Apple will owe.

Apple in its October earnings call said that France's competition authority had alleged that some aspects of its sales and distribution practices were in violation of French law, but did not provide details on which aspects of its business were under investigation.

In June 2019, the French Competition Authority ("FCA") issued a report alleging that aspects of the Company's sales and distribution practices in France violate French competition law. The Company vigorously disagrees with the allegations, and a hearing of arguments was held before the FCA on October 15, 2019. The Company is awaiting the decision of the FCA, which may include a fine.

Apple earlier this year was fined 25 million euros by French consumer fraud group DGCCRF for intentionally slowing down iPhone 6, ‌iPhone‌ SE, and ‌iPhone‌ 7 models with the power management software that was meant to prevent older iPhones with degraded batteries from shutting down during times of peak power usage.

Apple Music has secured new deals for songs from major record labels that include Universal Music, Sony Music, and Warner Music, reports Financial Times.

The licensing deals, which have been signed "in recent months," will allow for music from popular artists like Taylor Swift, Lizzo, Adele, and others to continue to be streamed on the ‌Apple Music‌ service.

There are no terms in the deals for bundling ‌Apple Music‌ with Apple TV+, so despite rumors that Apple is working on bundling its subscription services, such a bundle does not appear to be in the works at this time.

Apple revisits deals with major record labels every few years to determine royalty rates and renew rights to songs. Apple has inked multiyear deals at this time, but ‌Apple Music‌ competitor Spotify is said to be having a harder time.

Spotify has been in licensing talks with Universal Music and Warner Music for approximately a year and the record labels have been extending existing agreements on a month by month basis as they work to agree on new terms.

As of last summer, ‌Apple Music‌ had 60 million paid subscribers. Apple hasn't released updated data since then, but Spotify in October said that it had 113 million paying subscribers.

AirPods shipments could increase by 50 percent in 2020 on a year-over-year basis, according to sources within Apple's supply chain cited by DigiTimes.

A paywalled preview of the report reads as follows:

AirPods shipments to soar 50% in 2020
Shipments of Apple's AirPods are expected to surge 50% on year to 90 million sets in 2020, according to sources at suppliers engaged in the supply chain.

Apple folds AirPods revenue into its "Wearables, Home, and Accessories" category in its quarterly earnings reports, so keep in mind that these are estimated figures. 90 million shipments of AirPods representing 50 percent growth in 2020 would imply 60 million shipments in 2019, in line with an estimate from research firm Strategy Analytics earlier this year. However, as is common with estimates, some analysts have disputed that figure.

Regardless of exact numbers, it is clear that AirPods have been tremendously popular, with the new AirPods Pro facing lengthy shipping estimates on Apple's online store since being released last October. Apple's wearables category set a new all-time revenue record last quarter, which Apple attributed to the success of the Apple Watch and AirPods.

Apple released the higher-end AirPods Pro in October 2019 with several improvements over regular AirPods, including active noise cancellation, improved sound quality, and water and sweat resistance, along with a new in-ear design. AirPods Pro are priced at $249 in the United States, while regular AirPods with a wireless charging case are $199.

Last week, it was rumored that a new entry-level version of AirPods Pro will enter production by the second quarter of 2020, but no further details have been shared. It has been speculated that the earphones could end up being third-generation regular AirPods with the same design and sound quality as AirPods Pro, but without active noise cancelation.