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iPhone beats Samsung in court, but Apple has to pay you $50

Your juiciest iPhone news this week.

Perla Shaheen Editorial Intern
Perla Shaheen is heading into her junior year at UC Berkeley and spends her spare time hiking or reading. She's been captivated by tech and all its advancements since age 10, when she got her first hot pink Motorola Razr flip phone. And after 19 years as a Southern California native, she still cannot surf, but that doesn't mean she'll ever stop trying.
Perla Shaheen
2 min read
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The iPhone won a huge -- and lucrative -- legal battle against Samsung Galaxy phones , but will wind up giving some of it back to pissed-off iPhone owners, and next-gen iPhone chips might already be underway. Here's what happened in the world of iPhone this week.

After a major seven-year litigation between the two biggest phone makers in the world, a jury decided that Samsung must pay Apple a mind-boggling $539 million for infringing on five patents with its Android phones, proving that iPhone design patents count for more than the combined movie budgets of Iron Man, the Incredible Hulk and Doctor Strange. But it's not over yet -- Samsung plans to fight the verdict. Hey Samsung, it could be worse. Apple wanted a cool billion.

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A separate lawsuit is keeping Apple lawyers busy. Turns out "Bendgate" from way back in 2014 was totally a thing. Public documents revealed that Apple knew that the iPhone 6 Plus was a whole 7.2 times more likely to bend than the iPhone 5S . The iPhone 6 was 3.3 times more susceptible. But Apple shipped the phones anyway, giving me one more reason to hate my iPhone 6.

But, you may get a chance at vindication. If you paid $79 to replace your iPhone battery last year, then Apple owes you 50 bucks. Apple is finally taking responsibility for intentionally slowing down the performance of older phones in order to keep up with declining battery life, and refunding customers who paid for an out-of-warranty replacement before Apple slashed those rates to $29.

Watch this: Samsung owes Apple $539 million

Looking ahead, Apple may already be working on the processor for its next iPhone. The A12 chip is said to be made with 7-nanometer technology that could make future iPhones faster and more efficient than the iPhone X, whose A11 chip uses a 10-nanometer process.

And while we don't expect to see the 2018 iPhone as early as Apple's WWDC , you should definitely be on the lookout for upgraded processors, iOS 12, smarter Apple TVs and HomePods , changes to the Apple Watch's functionality and much more.

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