MacRumors

Toshiyasu Abe, a resident of Vancouver, Washington, has filed a lawsuit against Apple in Oregon district court this week, accusing the company of infringing upon his patent with Key Flicks and 3D Touch on select iPhone and iPad models.

The patent in question is No. 6,520,699, granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office in February 2003.

Mr. Abe has been an entrepreneur and inventor for nearly his entire life. In the early 2000s, Mr. Abe dedicated substantial time and resources into developing, promoting, and protecting the then-novel user interface device claimed in United States Patent No. 6,520,699, titled "KEYBOARD."

Like most patents, the description and claims for this one are very long and exhaustive, but from a high level, it at one point refers to a "user interface device" comprising "a plurality of buttons displayed on a touch sensitive screen," with "each button being associated with a plurality of characters or functions."

Here's how the patent is described in the complaint, obtained by MacRumors:

The '699 patent covers at least a touchscreen device having a plurality of buttons displayed on the screen, each button being associated with a plurality of characters or functions. When a user touches or taps on a button, the device will respond by displaying a plurality of characters or functions associated with that button. The device can also detect an applied force and direction of motion, which enables a user to simply flick or swipe their finger toward the desired character or function to thereby select that character or function.

There are several other embodiments of the invention, including physical thumb control pads on a mobile phone, notebook, or steering wheel in a vehicle, each with a multitude of pressure-sensitive, geometrically-shaped keys.

The touchscreen embodiment does sound similar to how accented characters are managed on the iPhone keyboard. When a user taps on the E key, for example, a menu appears with diacritics such as È, É, Ê, and Ë. The user then slides their finger over the desired character and releases to input it in a text field.

Abe believes Apple's infringement extends to the Flick Keyboard, introduced in iOS 11 for select iPad models. When enabled, the feature allows an iPad user to simply tap and swipe down on a key to input a number or symbol. If a user taps and swipes down on the D key, for example, a $ symbol is inputted.

The complaint alleges that 3D Touch also infringes upon his patent, given its pressure-sensitive, multifunction attributes.

Apple is also said to be further inducing infringement by aiding and abetting the development of third-party iPhone keyboards and apps that implement flick-style keys and 3D Touch, available through the App Store. Abe, who is Japanese, said flick input has particularly gained popularity in Japan.

The accused products include at least the following iPad and iPhone models sold in the United States: iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, iPhone X, iPad Air, iPad Air 2, iPad mini 2, iPad mini 3, iPad mini 4, 9.7-inch iPad, 9.7-inch iPad Pro, and the 10.5-inch iPad Pro.

The complaint alleges that Apple has known of Abe's patent since at least as early as 2009, when he first gave written notice of its infringement. The plaintiff allegedly exchanged a number of emails with Apple, and engaged in at least one phone call with the company's in-house counsel, but no agreement was reached.

Then, in 2017, the complaint alleges that Abe discovered an increase in Apple's infringing activities relating to the release of iOS 11, prompting him to send Apple another patent infringement notification letter last December. Apple and Abe communicated again, through counsel, but nothing transpired from the talks.

Abe is seeking damages adequate to compensate him for Apple's alleged infringement of his patent, in an amount to be proven at trial, but no less than a reasonable royalty. The court still has to agree to hear the case.

Apple senior vice president of retail Angela Ahrendts gave a new interview today at Cannes Lions, an annual international festival in France that celebrates individuals and companies in creative spaces. During her talk, Ahrendts discussed a variety of topics related to Apple and its pivot away from retail "stores" over the last few years to become community gathering places (via NBC News).

Ahrendts' discussion also included Apple vice president of marketing communications Tor Myhren, and the SVP of retail explained that Apple's approach is to be "in the human business" and to "humanize technology."

I love the creative arts... that's kind of when we came up with the tagline: maybe we're in the human business. Maybe the largest tech company has these 65,000 kids and maybe it's our job to humanize technology.

Looking to the future of retail in general, Ahrendts mentioned numbers from an analytic firm that suggest while the majority of shopping will move online, many customers will still venture out to physical locations to finalize a purchase. This means that shoppers will use apps and online websites to research products and items, and perhaps reserve them for in-store pickup, much like Apple already does today.

You have your instincts and you use a lot of smart outside guys, and the smart outside guys they don't say retail is dying. They say digital is gonna grow at three times the rate of physical, but in the next five years... 75 percent of people will shop online, shop to learn [about what they want to buy], but 75 percent of business will still be done in physical stores.

Because of this, Ahrendts explained that "retail isn't going away" or "dying," but it will have to "evolve" as time passes. Apple has already made moves to change up Apple retail locations with next-generation layouts that emphasize communal gathering and encourage interactivity during Today at Apple sessions. This plays into another of Ahrendts' talking points in the interview, when she said, "I think [retail] has to serve a bigger purpose than just selling."

Ahrendts also discussed an internal social network that Apple calls "Loop," which was built for the company to measure how well it is doing in its retail mission to keep customers happy, accomplished through surveying both customers and retail employees. Loop is examined by Ph.D. students and results in data that helps Apple executives "improve systems" surrounding its retail business.

Ahrendts went on to discuss Apple store employees:

“They are not hired to sell," she said. "There is no commission, no quotas. What we’ve tried to do is keep uniting them around the big vision and the impact we want to make.”

Ahrendts routinely discusses Apple's next-generation retail plans in interviews, and last year even appeared onstage at the iPhone X event to briefly talk about retail and Today at Apple sessions. Shortly following that September event, Ahrendts climbed to the 13th spot on Fortune's Most Powerful Women list for 2017, jumping from 14th in 2016 and 16th in 2015.

Apple this morning released the second beta of iOS 12 to developers, and as expected, there are tweaks and changes to many of the new features introduced in iOS 12.

Changes to Screen Time include new options to sort by device and view additional details on a per app basis, while tweaks made to Battery Usage make it easier to see which apps are eating up battery. There are several other smaller changes in iOS 12 beta 2, which we've listed below.

- Battery Usage - The charts for activity and battery level for the last 24 hours have been redesigned in iOS 12 beta 2, and some of the wording has been updated in this section.

- Screen Time - Apple has removed a toggle for clearing Screen Time data, and the interface for adding time limits to apps from the main Screen Time screen has been tweaked. In the first beta, when you tapped an app it went right into the limits interface, but now tapping on an app displays more info on the app, including daily average use, developer, category, and more, and lets you tap to set a limit. There's also a new splash screen when opening Screen Time for the first time.

- Screen Time By Device - There's now an option to view activity on a single device or all devices.

- Notifications - There's a new toggle in the Notifications section of the Settings app that allows you to toggle off Siri Suggestions for individual apps. In iOS 12, Siri makes suggestions about limiting the notifications you receive from apps that aren't often used.

- Password AutoFill - There's a new interface for autofilling a password saved in iCloud Keychain.

- Voice Memos - There's a new introductory splash screen for Voice Memos in iOS 12 beta 2.

- Face ID - When unlocking content using Face ID, the iPhone X now says "Scanning with Face ID."

- Photos - The text size for the "Media Types" and "Albums" listings in the Photos app is now much bigger, making it easier to read.

- Photos Search - In iOS 12 beta 2, Photos appears to support more advanced searches. For example, if you search for a specific date like July 10, it will show all photos from all years taken on July 10. This is different than the behavior in iOS 12 beta 1.

- iPhone apps on iPad - When you open iPhone apps on the iPad, like Instagram, they're now displayed in a modern device size (iPhone 6) in both 1x and 2x mode.

There are also multiple known issues in the second developer beta of iOS 12, with full details available from Apple's developer site. We've listed a handful of the more prominent problems users might run into:

• The Weather widget is not functional.
• Universal Links might not open the expected target app.
• Netflix might unexpectedly quit when downloading a video.
• Twitter might display a blank login screen.
• Playback might not pause when one AirPod is removed from your ears.
• CarPlay might not connect to certain vehicles.
• Group FaceTime calls can't be initiated between iOS 12 beta 2 and iOS 12 beta 1. FaceTime calls may also be interrupted by a poor connection message, and FaceTime might unexpectedly quit.
• Screen Time must be re-enabled after installing iOS 12 beta 2, and all Screen Time settings are reset after updating.
• Voice Memos might not sync between devices even when iCloud syncing is enabled.

iOS 12 is limited to developers at the current time, but Apple has promised a public beta for its public beta testing group before the end of June, so we could be seeing a public beta as soon as later this week.

In the first watchOS 5 beta, the Walkie-Talkie app, which is one of the key new features in the update, was unavailable and said only "Coming Soon," but in the second watchOS 5 beta, the Walkie-Talkie feature is available.

When you launch the Walkie-Talkie app after installing the second beta update, you'll be able to scroll through your contacts and choose a person to connect to. The person on the receiving end of your Walkie-Talkie message will hear their Apple Watch beep and then they'll see a screen that will allow them to approve a connection.

At the current time, it appears that you can only choose "always allow" when opting to enable a connection with a person.

Once a two-way connection is established, you simply press and hold down on the talk button to communicate, as does the person on the other end. Conversations, which we've been testing, are crisp and clear with excellent audio quality.

If your Apple Watch is on silent mode, Walkie-Talkie ignores it, so you're still going to hear Walkie-Talkie beeps and incoming conversations. The same is true for Do Not Disturb Mode and Theater Mode, but there is a Walkie-Talkie volume toggle accessible by turning the Digital Crown. With a push-to-talk connection turned on, you and the person you're connected to can chat at any time, with no additional approval options available.

You can have multiple Walkie-Talkie conversations going at once, with each conversation listed in the app.

While a Walkie-Talkie conversation is enabled with another person, both of you will see a yellow Walkie-Talkie icon at the top of the Apple Watch.

If you want to mute a Walkie-Talkie conversation so you can no longer be contacted, you can scroll up on the Walkie-Talkie app interface and toggle off the "Available" icon. When unavailable, if someone tries to speak to you, they'll see a message that you are unavailable, and you'll receive a notification.

If you want to resume your conversations with people, you can turn the toggle back to "Available" and everything will work as normal. Both people in the conversation need to have themselves set to "Available" in the Walkie-Talkie app for it to be fully functional.

Walkie-Talkie and the other watchOS 5 features will be limited to developers until watchOS 5 is released in the fall, as Apple does not provide betas of watchOS to the public.

Apple today seeded the second beta of an upcoming macOS Mojave update to developers for testing purposes, two weeks after releasing the first beta following the new software's debut at the Worldwide Developers Conference.

macOS Mojave introduces a new method of installing software updates, so after you've installed the first beta from the Apple Developer Center, additional betas can be downloaded clicking on the Apple in the menu bar, choosing "About This Mac" and clicking "Software Update." Alternatively, open System Preferences and choose the "Software Update" icon.

The macOS Mojave update introduces a long-awaited and much-desired systemwide Dark Mode, with Mojave users able to choose between a light theme or the new dark theme. Dark Mode is accompanied by Dynamic Desktops, aka wallpapers that subtly change throughout the day.

Stacks, a new Desktop organization system, keeps all of your desktop files nice and neat, while Finder has been enhanced with a Gallery View, a Sidebar, a revamped Quick Look option and Quick Actions, so you can do more in the Finder window than ever before.

Screenshots can now be edited using Markup tools, while Continuity camera, a new feature, lets you import photos and document scans directly from the iPhone to the Mac.

Apple News, Stocks, Home, and Voice Memos apps have been ported from iOS to macOS as part of a multiyear project Apple is working on to make it easier to port iOS apps to Macs, and Apple has introduced several privacy protections to keep your data safer.

Apple is also making it harder for websites to track you with a range of new tools, plus there's an entirely revamped Mac App Store that makes it easier to discover apps.

macOS Mojave will be beta tested by developers and eventually public beta testers for several months so Apple can work out bugs and other issues before releasing the software to the public in the fall.

Apple this morning seeded the second beta of the upcoming iOS 12 update to developers for testing purposes, two weeks after seeding the first beta following the Worldwide Developers Conference.

Registered developers can download the first iOS 12 beta from Apple's Developer Center or over-the-air after installing the proper certificate.

The iOS 12 update brings major changes to the iOS operating system, with Apple working from top to bottom to make iPhones and iPads, especially older models, faster and more responsive.

On the iPhone X, there are new Animoji characters along with "Memoji" customizable, personalized Animoji that can be used both in Messages and in FaceTime. Messages and FaceTime have also gained fun new camera effects, and Group FaceTime support allows for calls with up to 32 people.

Siri is smarter in iOS 12 with a new Shortcuts feature that lets you create custom automations using first and third-party apps that can be activated with Siri, and Apple built a comprehensive set of time management and monitoring tools into iOS 12 with Screen Time.

New Do Not Disturb options make turning off notifications and distractions easier than ever, with a new Do Not Disturb at Bedtime feature cutting down on nighttime interruptions.

Group Notifications make notifications easier to view and manage, while a new Instant Tuning feature lets you tweak your notification settings on a notification-by-notification basis.

Apple News has a new Browse feature, the Stocks app has been redesigned, iBooks has been overhauled with a new look and a new name -- Apple Books -- and Voice Memos has been revamped with iCloud support and an iPad app. There's also a new Measure app.

ARKit 2.0 introduces new capabilities like shared experiences that let two people see the same AR environment on separate devices, and persistence, which allows AR experiences to be saved across multiple sessions.

Tons of other small tweaks and features have been added to iOS 12, so make sure to check out our roundup and our tidbits post for additional detail on what's new in iOS 12.

Early betas of new operating system updates always introduce tweaked features and new functionality, and everything new in iOS 12 beta 2 can be found in our dedicated what's new in iOS 12 beta 2 post.

iOS 12 is limited to developers at the current time, but Apple will provide a public beta later in June. iOS 12 will see an official release this fall alongside new iPhones.

IHS Markit conducted a new survey in March and April 2018, asking 937 smart speaker owners various questions about the usage of their devices, spreading across the United States, United Kingdom, Japan, Germany, and Brazil. According to the findings that have been shared today, just six percent of smart speaker owners used their speakers to command smart home devices like lights, switches, and thermostats.

The speakers and assistants included in the survey were HomePod/Siri, Google Home/Google Assistant, Microsoft Cortana, Bixby, and Amazon Echo/Alexa. The most popular category for smart speaker control for all speakers was asking about the weather and news, followed in descending order by: basic questions, music controls/discovery, sending a message and making a phone call, video controls/discovery, making a purchase, controlling smart home devices, and lastly a "none of these" category.

Despite the low usage rates for users interacting with smart home products through their speakers, IHS principal analyst Blake Kozak believes this will change in the near future.

“Controlling smart home devices by voice currently represents only a small fraction of total smart-speaker interactions,” said Blake Kozak, principal analyst, smart home, IHS Markit. “However, this category will continue to trend upward as more video-streaming devices come to rely on voice control, as security alarm systems adopt voice control to arm and disarm, and as more builders embed smart devices throughout new homes.”

Kozak believes that one area of potential smart home growth will come from insurance companies, who will "play a role" in educating customers about connected devices that could help them in their homes. These include products for water leak detection, flow detectors, and shutoff valves. In total, Kozak predicts more than one million home policies in North America will include at least one connected home device by the end of the year, and 450,000 smart speakers will be connected to insurance companies by that time as well.

In terms of smart assistant usage, Amazon Alexa was the most widely used voice assistant with 40 percent of respondents owning an Alexa device, and 23 percent owning a Google Home device. Siri came in third place, with the most inquiries for Apple's assistant also pertaining to the weather, news, and asking Siri a question.

For HomePod, Apple yesterday launched the smart speaker in Canada, France, and Germany via the Apple online store, Apple Store app, and in its retail locations in each country. HomePod allows users to command Siri to activate or deactivate their personal HomeKit products in the Home app, and represents Apple's first entry in the smart speaker market.

Apple CEO Tim Cook has arrived in Ireland, the latest destination on his European tour, which has included stops in Italy and the Netherlands.

Leo Varadkar, the Taoiseach or Prime Minister of Ireland, tweeted that he had a "good meeting" with Cook in the capital of Dublin on Monday. It's unclear what was discussed, but it appears to have been a routine meeting.

Cook has since headed to Cork, where Apple's European headquarters are located. There, he will formally announce an expansion of its Hollyhill campus. Apple says a new building will provide space for an additional 1,400 employees. Since 2012, Apple says it has invested nearly €220 million to develop the facility.

Apple, on its recently updated Job Creation page in Europe, says it is Cork's "largest private employer" and "proud" that many of its employees in the area have worked at the company for decades.

Apple's website notes that it "has been based in Cork for over 35 years and now directly employs 6,000 people throughout Ireland supporting all aspects of the business." The company also says its Irish team has "doubled in size over the last five years and includes over 80 different nationalities."

Apple says Cork is home to its "only wholly owned manufacturing facility in the world. It provides configure-to-order iMacs which are for customers across Europe, Middle East, and Africa." AppleCare support for those regions is also based in Cork.

While in Cork, Cook also visited The English Market, according to photos shared on Twitter. Earlier, in Dublin, he met with developers from Hostelworld. The app, featured on Apple's website, allows travelers to search for and book thousands of hostels in more than 170 countries around the world.

All of this amounts to good PR for Apple in Ireland, just over a month after it abandoned its plans to build a $1 billion data center in the country due to "delays in the approval process," primarily due to concerns from some local residents. Apple and Ireland are also in a major tax dispute with the European Commission.

Apple's updated Job Creation page also reveals that it now supports 1.7 million jobs across Europe, including around 1.5 million jobs attributable to the App Store ecosystem, some 170,000 jobs supported by Apple's supply chain in Europe, and some 22,000 direct Apple employees in 19 countries across the continent.

Since the App Store was created, Apple says it has now paid €20 billion to European app developers. The company says the United Kingdom leads Europe in terms of jobs linked to App Store development, at 291,000.