Apple had to pay $5.7 billion for infringing on the Taptic Engine patent

According to the verdict issued by the jury of the US federal court in San Diego on September 26, Apple illegally used patents US10659885B2 and US10820117B2 on "vibration modules to create force on the user's skin".

In the 2021 lawsuit, Taction claimed that Apple "took advantage of Taction's innovation and success" for its products. In 2023, Apple won, but after the appeal process, the federal court reached the opposite conclusion.

The Taptic Engine is a haptic feedback actuator that creates short, controlled vibrations to simulate the sensation of touching, pressing, or interacting with an interface. Unlike conventional vibration motors, the system can create many types of feedback with different intensities and times, helping users recognize operations without looking at the screen.

Apple first equipped the Taptic Engine on the Apple Watch in 2014, then on the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus in 2015 to replace the old haptic feedback vibration system. Since then, new generations of iPhone and Apple Watch have been equipped with this technology.

"While we thank the jury for their consideration, we completely disagree with the verdict and the compensation, because they are completely unsupported by actual evidence," an Apple representative told CNBC. "The Taptic Engine technology is fundamentally different from Taction's and has been confirmed through trial testing. Apple does not use Taction's technology. We will appeal."

Lance Yang, lawyer for Taction Technology, welcomed the decision: "We are happy that the jury has ruled to protect Taction's patent rights. We have waited 5.5 years, a very long process."

Taction Technology was founded in 2014 in San Diego, California. According to its LinkedIn profile, the company has 2-10 employees, focusing on electronics, especially haptic technology for headphones.