Skip to main content

Samsung and Apple’s lawsuit may finally be drawing to a close

The jury is set to decide the Apple vs. Samsung case on Monday

In the latest development of the Apple vs. Samsung legal case, Samsung is arguing that it should only have to pay for individual components that directly contravene Apple’s patents, rather than a higher fee for the entirety of a device.

If you’d forgotten that Apple and Samsung were still having a massive legal altercation, then you’re easily forgiven. The two tech giants have been feuding since the early days of smartphone tech with the original 2011 lawsuit still continuing to this day — but it may finally drawing to a close, as the jury is to deliberate on Monday and try to come to a verdict. The massive coffers on either side of the conflict have paid for the litigation to go on with appeal after appeal. Samsung’s last appeal over the legality of a ruling in Apple’s favor was rejected by the U.S. Supreme Court, and that essentially now leaves Samsung on Apple’s hook.

Recommended Videos

Don’t assume the matter is over just because the courts have ruled in Apple’s favor, however. While the courts said that Samsung did infringe on Apple’s patents, the arguments as to how Samsung’s components infringed, and how much Samsung should have to pay Apple, have only just begun. Traditionally, damages in this sort of case are paid based on the profits of the “article of manufacture” — or the product that was built using the violated patents. Apple is arguing that the entire smartphone counts as the manufactured article, while Samsung holds that it’s the individual components that count as the finished article.

This might seem like an unnecessary argument, but the difference between the two standpoints is significant. How significant? If Apple is correct, it calculates that damages of over $1 billion are owed. But if Samsung’s argument holds true, then damages for the components’ profits would amount to only $28 million. And while those numbers are by each company’s own calculations, it’s fair to assume the court’s number might not be far off.

Samsung has brought in an expert witness, Sam Lucente, to argue the point, and he pointed out that since the components could be replaced by third-party components and still work, you could not classify the phone as the manufactured article — a point made to work with the court’s own four-step classification on how to define a manufactured article.

With this lawsuit spanning seven years already — not including the initial steps taken by Apple to resolve the matter out of court in 2010 — and with arguments over the specifics still ongoing, to say this case has been a long one would be something of an understatement. But with closing arguments completed on Friday, we’re closer than ever to a conclusion — at least to this chapter. After deliberations on Monday, we could hear a verdict as soon as Tuesday. We’ll be sure to keep you updated as to how it all plays out in the courtroom.

Lulu Chang
Fascinated by the effects of technology on human interaction, Lulu believes that if her parents can use your new app…
The Galaxy S25 doesn’t look like the success Samsung will have wanted
The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra.

Samsung leads Apple in smartphone shipment market share, according to data from Counterpoint Research, and while this may appear good news for the brand, a deeper examination into two very different strategies indicates Samsung may not be happy with the situation at all. For the first three months of 2025, Samsung controlled 20% of the global smartphone market by device shipments, followed by Apple with 19%. This is “sell in” data, meaning devices purchased from the manufacturer by distributors. It is a considerable change over the data from the last three months of 2024, where Apple led with 23% of the market followed by Samsung with 16%.

This is crucial to understanding why Samsung may be looking at the latest figures, which on the outside appear positive, with concern. At the end of 2024 Apple would have been riding high on the release of the iPhone 16 series, while Samsung would have been far removed from the Galaxy S24 series and the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Galaxy Z Flip 6’s release. It makes sense for Apple to command a higher market share right after the release of its flagship devices for the year. 

Read more
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7: Everything you need to know
A side-view of a closed Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6.

Summer is fast approaching, and that means it won’t be long before we see Samsung’s new Galaxy Z Flip 7 make its debut. While the Galaxy Z Flip 6 is a top-notch foldable, it also felt like Samsung phoned it in last year. That new model offered mostly modest improvements over the Z Flip 5, with the most significant ones being hidden under the hood, like thermal improvements, or generally underwhelming, like a larger cover screen that didn’t improve in any other meaningful way.

We’re hoping that Samsung does better with the Galaxy Z Flip 7 this year. The good news is that plenty of leaks and rumors suggest the company is on the right track to hit it out of the park in its seventh inning. Let’s dig in and go over everything we’ve heard so far about what to expect from Samsung’s flagship flip phone this year.

Read more
Samsung One UI 7 has finally begun to hit Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Flip 6 handsets
The open Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6.

The new Samsung One UI 7 has been teased but not given to Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Flip 6 owners, until now.

At last it seems that the still-quite-new UI is beginning to appear on devices, in North America at least.

Read more