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# A jury says the buzz in your iPhone uses someone else's patents, and Apple owes them $5.7 billion
- URL: https://www.businessbagel.com/apple-taction-haptic-patent-verdict/
- Published: 2026-09-28T08:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-28T07:59:59.000Z
- Description: A San Diego jury found that the Taptic Engine in iPhones and Apple Watches infringed two Taction patents, and Apple says it will appeal the $5.7 billion award.
- Author: Christian Maidman
- Tags: Companies, Business Bagel News

The little tap you feel from an iPhone or an Apple Watch comes from a part Apple calls the Taptic Engine, which makes those tapping vibrations. On Friday a federal jury in San Diego decided that part infringes two patents owned by Taction Technology, a San Diego company, and that Apple owes it more than $5.7 billion. News24 puts that at about R93 billion.

Taction uses its own technology in headphones and gaming headsets. It sued Apple in 2021, arguing in its complaint that Apple was "capitalizing on Taction's innovation and success" by selling devices that infringed on its vibration technology. After the verdict, its lawyer Lance Yang said: "We're happy the jury found for Taction and vindicated its patent rights."

## A case revived on appeal

It has not been a straight road. A federal judge in San Diego ruled in 2023 that Apple had not infringed the patents, and last year the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit brought the case back to life. This time the jury found that Apple had infringed claims from both patents, though it also found the infringement was unintentional.

If the award holds, Engadget reckons it would rank among the largest patent payouts in the US, ahead of a $3 billion case against Intel that is still running.

## Why Apple says the engine is its own

Apple's defence is that the two technologies are not the same thing. It says its "Taptic Engine is fundamentally different from Taction's technology", and that Taction's own testing of Apple's products confirmed as much during the trial. "Apple does not use Taction's technology, and we will appeal," it said. It told CNBC it strongly disagreed with the verdict, and that the damages were "entirely unsupported by the facts".

Apple has been here before. Immersion accused it of patent violations in the haptic technology in iPhones, Apple Watches and MacBooks, and that case ended in a settlement for an undisclosed amount. In November, a separate federal jury ordered Apple to pay $634 million over patents belonging to Masimo, and Apple plans to appeal that verdict as well.

The $5.7 billion is a jury's number, not a cheque. Apple says it will appeal this one too.