After years of planning what promises to be Silicon Valley's most iconic landmark, Apple this week enters the final stretch in its plan to open its new saucer-shaped headquarters in Cupertino. On Tuesday afternoon, the company and city officials will hold a public discussion that could help determine the building's fate, allowing political leaders and the public to weigh in on the completed environmental impact study and learn how Apple intends to address concerns that have been raised. The excitement is growing.

T-Mobile grew to 13.2% of smartphone sales in the U.S. market in the 3 month period ending August 2013, marking its highest share of sales over the past year, and realized a growth of 1.1% points, reversing an on-going trend of year-on-year decline. The sales growth comes as a result of strong iOS sales and strategic discounts, based upon analysis by the company.

Every so often, a company changes our lives, not just with its products, but also with its ethos. This is why, following Coca-Cola's 13-year run at the top of Best Global Brands, Interbrand has a new #1—Apple. Few brands have enabled so many people to do so much so easily, which is why Apple has legions of adoring fans, as evidenced by the record-breaking launch of the iPhone 5c/5s. For revolutionizing the way we work, play, and communicate—and for mastering the ability to surprise and delight—Apple has set a high bar for aesthetics, simplicity, and ease of use that all other tech brands are now expected to match, and that Apple itself is expected to continually exceed.

A report published by Hankyung in Korea today states that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) will handle the majority of the manufacturing for Apple's next-generation A8 processors, and the remainder will go to Samsung Electronics.

Apple's first wearable computer project surfaced in 2008 in the form of a video headset that may one day surface either as an iDevice accessory or one that's related to gaming. That particular invention has since been granted a patent. Yet it's Apple's most recent wearable computer invention that seems to have ignited something big at Apple. Once the buzz surrounding a possible future Apple iWatch-like computer hit fever pitch levels we began to hear news about a new special projects team forming at Apple. In early July we learned that Apple hired Ex-Yves Saint Laurent CEO Paul Deneve to work on "Special Projects." Then the news of Bob Mansfield, Senior VP of Technologies was shifting to work on "Special Projects." Yesterday, Apple reportedly hired one of Nike's top Fuel Band Designers Ben Shaffer to work on "Special Projects."

The Hong Kong Patent Office has granted Apple 59 new design patents covering everything from the iPhone through to all-things related to Apple's "Maps" App and much, much more. The designs related to the iPhone were published yesterday while the remainder were published late last week. Interestingly the newly granted design patents were buried on pages 5 to 7 of the Hong Kong database instead of their customary first page placement. Whether this was a clerical error or one requested by Apple is unknown at this time. Our report provides you with a full overview of the 59 design patents along with a few enlarged Graphics for clarity and your visual enjoyment.

On Wednesday we reported that IDC was forecasting a huge leap in iOS 7 adoption in China for 2014. The holdup to the iPhone being released in China is a technical one at the moment as the carriers await new 4G licensing. A new report out of China presents us with China Mobile's prepared advertising for a launch supposedly to occur sometime in November if the licensing remains on schedule.

It's being reported today in Japan that the Tokyo District Court has ordered Apple to pay US$3.35 million in damages to Japanese inventor Norihiko Saito for patent infringement involving iPod music player. Update 7:30 PM PST

Early last week we noted in a report that there were "rumours on some mainland Chinese technology websites about the possibility of a new gold-color iPad." At the time we stated "Is that just 'gold hysteria' running rampant in China or could there be such a twist coming our way in the next few weeks?" Today, a Chinese website called DoNews is running two photos of the iPad mini in gold. If they're fakes, then they're damn good ones – but it's not really a stretch to think that Apple would extend their color scheme and Touch ID to the iPad or iPad mini.

To date, our most comprehensive report on Liquidmetal was posted back in April 2013. Today, Patently Apple is the first to discover four new yet painfully detailed patents in Europe on this subject matter. These extremely difficult reads were more about the science behind liquidmetal than products and yet at the heart of each we were able to find a few interesting trickles of new thinking of how Apple could translate this material into elements related to future products. In fact, one of the four patents delves into liquid metal as it relates to plastics and more particularly, to plastic injection molding. It makes you wonder if there's a connection between Apple's new iPhone 5c and Apple's work with liquidmetal.

In June we reported that TSMC (Semiconductor Manufacturing Company) and its Integrated Circuit Design service partner Global UniChip had secured a three-year agreement with Apple to supply foundry services for the next A-series chips built using 20nm, 16nm and 10nm process nodes. The foundry was to complete installing a batch of new 20nm fab equipment, which is capable of processing 50,000 wafers, in the first quarter of 2014. Today a report claims that TSMC is aggressively ahead of schedule.

In the first two days after iOS 7 was released, the adoption rate quickly jumped to 32% which was a historic record for Apple. After a week, the adoption rate of iOS 7 has leapt to 51.8% which has already beaten Google's adoption rate for Android-Jelly Bean which was at 45% of the Android ecosystem in 14 months, according to Chitika Research. 

On September 26, 2013, the US Patent & Trademark Office published a series of 23 patent applications from Apple covering a wide array of technologies. Some days there just isn't a big knock-out patent to get excited about covering a new concept or design. Instead, we find a lot of smaller inventions that will contribute to future products in minor or major ways. In this report we cover a wide array of technologies relating to Apple's Maps, iDevice finishing processes, iTravel, how to convert a movie rental into a purchase and much more.

On September 26, 2013, the US Patent & Trademark Office published a patent application from Apple that reveals a new iBook autographing system and more specifically to techniques and systems for embedding autographs in electronic books. Book signing is the affixing of a signature to the title page or flyleaf of a book by its author. A book signing is an event, usually at a bookstore or library where an author sits and signs books for a period. Book signing is popular because an author's signature increases the value of books for collectors. The author may add a short message to the reader, called a dedication, to each book, which may be personalized with the recipient's name upon request. Book signings provide more than a just a chance to obtain signatures. Authors and bookstores are benefited by the fact that many copies of the book being promoted are sold. Signings also increase public goodwill and allow authors to connect with their fans. For fans, signings give them a chance to see and meet a favorite author and ask them questions. In order for this process to have value in the digital world, Apple has invented this new advanced autographing system.

South China Morning Post quoted James Yan a senior analyst at IDC China as saying that Apple's share in the world's largest smartphone market, which has declined dramatically in the face of strong competition from Samsung Electronics and popular mainland brands, "is expected to remarkably improve with the launch of the new iPhones on China Mobile's network." The IDC chart indicates that iOS adoption could double in 2014.

The Korean Press is reporting this morning that Lee Young-hee, executive vice president for marketing at the company's mobile division, stressed its first wristwatch ㅡ the Galaxy Gear ㅡ is "definitely receiving a warm response." He added that "The Galaxy Gear is a wow product. It's a wholly new and must-have accessory," downplaying growing criticism about the wristwatch. The funny thing is that another Samsung official laughingly shot his boss in the foot by stating that the Galaxy Gear lacked something special. Ouch – how embarrassing is that?

In April when the mainstream press was falling over themselves to proclaim Samsung as the next digital messiah, we boldly questioned Samsung's S4 success in our report titled "Is Samsung's Galaxy S4 Really Selling Off-the-Chart or are they Just Playing a Marketing Game?" In our follow-up report in June, we reported on the reality of the Galaxy S4's false hype with Samsung having to embarrassingly revising their Galaxy S4 sales down from their lofty expectations. Last month Samsung wound up their hype for their upcoming Galaxy Note 3 and digital wristwatch called Gear. But their hype for the Note 3 is already crashing before it ever hits the market.

On September 25, 2013, the US Patent & Trademark Office published Apple's latest trademark application for "Advertising Re-Imagined." The trademark is in relation to Apple's iAd which is a mobile advertising platform developed by Apple Inc. for its iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad line of mobile devices allowing third-party developers to directly embed advertisements into their applications. Apple first announced their new iAd service back on April 8, 2010 for use in iOS 4.

In February we posted a report titled "Bizarre Ruling has Apple Losing their iPhone trademark in Brazil." We noted at the time that Apple-Legal would appeal that decision and yesterday their appeal resulted in the overturning of the previous ruling from the Brazilian Intellectual Property Institute. The decision was issued by a court in Rio de Janeiro.

Apple today updated their iMac with fourth generation Intel quad-core processors, new graphics, next generation Wi-Fi and faster PCIe flash storage options. The updated iMac brings the latest technology to the stunningly thin design and gorgeous display of the world's leading all-in-one desktop.

On September 24, 2013, the European Patent Office published Apple's latest trademark filing for "Guest Mode," which was originally published last Friday. While Apple's trademark is likely related to Apple's Airport extreme, it may also be for a future "Guest Mode" for iDevices which some think is long overdue. Apple's European filing includes extensive protection detailing for their new trademark under International Class 009 which makes it almost impossible to pin down its true application.

The US Patent and Trademark Office officially published a series of 36 newly granted patents for Apple Inc. today. Our report covers four specific granted patents touching on matters such as signature capture and swipe gestures. Noteworthy is one design patent which illustrates a very strange iPhone Home Button. Our report concludes with a list of the remaining granted patents that were issued to Apple today.

Today, Apple hailed the adoption rate of their new iOS 7 as being historic. The positive news continues with Britain's "CoolBrands" having chosen Apple once again as the coolest brand in the UK amongst 10,000 brands. Others on the list included Aston Martin, Virgin Atlantic, Bang & Olufsen and Google coming in at a distant fifth. 

While there was one high-profile Apple fan that Wozn't happy about Apple's new iPhones, the fact is that Apple sold over 9 million iPhones over the weekend setting a new 3-day first-weekend sales record for the iPhone. On Friday we reported that 32% of iOS devices were now running iOS 7. Today, Apple has translated that into representing 200 million iOS devices, making it the fastest Software upgrade in history.

In 2011, Senator Al Franken called on Apple and Google to participate in a hearing with the Judiciary Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology and the Law. Franken at the time had stated that technology had given us smartphones, tablets, and cell phones and yet allowed these devices to gather extremely sensitive information about users, including detailed records of citizens daily movements and location. The hearings were a first step in protecting consumers' privacy. Franken's  statement also noted that "Recent advances in mobile technology have allowed Americans to stay connected like never before and put an astonishing number of resources at our fingertips." Little did he know that three and half years later his statement would be literally true? Franken is now asking Apple for clarity on privacy concerns with the use of their new iPhone 5S fingerprint scanner.

On September 21, 2013, the US Patent & Trademark Office published Apple's latest trademark filing for "iTunes Radio" which was originally filed for on September 17, 2013. Apple officially launched iTunes Radio with iOS 7 earlier this week while first introducing it during their developer conference in June. Apple's iTunes Radio is a free, ad-supported service available to all iTunes user in the US only at present, featuring Siri integration on iOS. Users are able to skip tracks, customize stations, and purchase the station's songs from the iTunes Store. Apple iTunes Match subscribers will be able to use an ad-free version of the service.

The online ad network Chitika is running tabs on the adoption rate of Apple's new iOS 7 on iDevices. The latest tally is 32% of iOS devices are now running iOS 7. In perspective, Google reports that as of the beginning of this month, the adoption of Jelly Bean which was released in July 2012 comprises of about 45% of the Android ecosystem. Apple is likely to crush that adoption rate in just the next few days. Apple's developers have to be thrilled with that kind of adoption rate, because it's stunning. The adoption rate is running well ahead of iOS 6 which crossed the 30% mark in three days. So it would appear that iOS 7 is definitely on track to continue smashing all previous iOS adoption rate records.

In a new Businessweek article Craig Federighi, Apple's Senior VP of Software Engineering, dismissed the line against them that its pace of innovation is off. Apple's Senior VP of Design Jony Ive and Federighi pointed out that it's not just about new features, but also the deep layers of integration that went into each one. Of the 5S's fingerprint scanner, Ive said that "there were so many problems that had to be solved to enable one big idea." Today's market gurus, money exchangers and quick-buck thinkers will never appreciate that kind of dedication to overcoming a problem with the right solution and design. At the moment, they prefer to applaud the clowns and thieves in the market because that's how they make a living. But don't confuse that with Apple delivering quality products year in and year out.

On September 20, 2013, the Canadian Intellectual Property Office published Apple's latest trademark filing for "Touch ID," which was originally filed on Monday. Touch ID debuted on the iPhone 5S last Tuesday and is heavily integrated into iOS 7. Users will be able to unlock their iPhone as well as make purchases in iTunes, the App Store or iBooks using Touch ID. The sensor can read up to 5 fingerprints. Apple fans will be able to get their fingerprints on it starting today.

On September 19, 2013, the US Patent & Trademark Office published a patent application from Apple that reveals master details of their proposed wireless charging system. Apple's first patent application on this future wireless system was revealed in November 2012. In Apple's latest patent filing, their engineering team goes into more detail covering such things as the wireless power source, the wireless power delivery system and how the system will power nearby peripherals and more. The patent also hints that future peripherals may include an authentication module. Whether that means that Apple's Touch ID will extend to other peripherals in the future is unknown at this time. Generally speaking, Apple's inventions from scratch to finish take time to come to market. Yet with the release of their sexy new Mac Pro and maybe an iMac upgrade this fall, introducing an advanced wireless system to go along with it would be wildly applauded. Keep in mind that the latter is just a thought and not a rumor – but damn that would be nice.

Whenever I look at new mobile phones at a retailer I double-tap the display just to see if text will zoom out perfectly to fit the screen like Apple's famed "tap to zoom" feature does. Most competing smartphones fail at this test and miserably at that. I recently noticed that Samsung's Galaxy 3 (and/or Note) reacted to the double tap almost as well as Apple's iOS. But wasn't' Samsung found guilty of patent infringement for using this feature? Yes, most definitely and to make matters worse, Patently Apple has just discovered a new patent filing from Samsung that is trying to hijack Apple's long standing feature. Does that really surprise anyone anymore?

Last week the US Patent & Trademark Office published a surprising patent application from Broadcom. The company's patent filing reveals a new design for a gaming console with some new thinking behind a series of gaming controllers. Has Broadcom been commissioned to design a new gaming console by a partner not wanting the design to be discovered or are they designing a gaming console to showcase their future chipsets and wireless technologies? That's for you to judge. Our report covers the Broadcom gaming patent, the general buzz around a possible new gaming controller for iOS and a few twists along the way that includes a look back to a 2007 Steve Jobs keynote slide that some might find interesting. 

Apple's first gold-color iPhone sold out immediately in Hong Kong and mainland China, according to reports and online buyers desperate to snap up the new status symbol. State-run news website sh.eastday.com reported Wednesday that the gold iPhone 5S models were quickly bought up after online pre-orders began Tuesday morning.

According to Taiwan-based sapphire makers, Apple is expected to extend the use of sapphire glass home button to its new 9.7-inch iPad and 7.9-inch iPad mini to be launched in October, and possibly further adopt sapphire for making touch screen covers for its new iPhone to be launched in 2014.

According to a new end-user survey by a leading analyst firm, fifty percent of device screen time is spent on entertainment, such as playing games, reading books, watching live TV or listening to music/radio. The rest is spent on communication (26 percent), such as sending emails and visiting social media sites; production activities (15 percent), such as editing videos and writing blogs; and finding information (9 percent), including checking the news and weather and researching products and services. Yet what stood out in the report was that the analyst really didn't understand why Android OEM's hadn't figured out how to outsmart Apple at this point in time. 

The US Patent and Trademark Office officially published a series of 43 newly granted patents for Apple Inc. today. In our final granted patent report of the day we cover patents relating to three touchy inventions, one on security, another on the mysterious Macroscalar architecture and more. And for those who like to dig down into all of Apple's other granted patents of the day, we provide you with a full list the remaining patents.

The US Patent and Trademark Office officially published a series of 43 newly granted patents for Apple Inc. today. In this particular report we cover another single patent that relates to an advanced projection system with depth sensors. One of Apple's R&D teams is dedicated to projection systems and they've archived a number of fascinating inventions on this front over the years. The fact that we've yet to see a single projection project come to market yet, makes this engineering group all the more a mystery to us.

The US Patent and Trademark Office officially published a series of 43 newly granted patents for Apple Inc. today. In this particular report we cover a single patent relating to synchronizing mobile and vehicle devices. It's an important Apple patent that covers a method and system that could be a foundational patent supporting Apple's forthcoming "iOS in the Car" service due next year. For that reason alone, we wanted this patent to stand out from the others granted to Apple today.

When it comes to next generation biometric authentication for mobile devices, Apple succeeded with Touch ID where Samsung failed. For that matter, all of the rumors from the Korean press that LG would steal Apple's thunder on a fingerprint scanner were pure fantasy. Apple's technology was intricately crafted and invisibly presented to consumers using the all-familiar Home Button. Apple's new fingerprint solution was intelligently designed and is powered by Apple's new 64-bit architecture to capture a user's fingerprint image in the blink of an eye. Apple is likely to be the only company with a smart "area type" sensor as Android OEM's will now scramble to use technology from Korea's CrucialTec.

Apple is LG Innotek's largest client. LG Innotek is under the LG Corporation umbrella. LG Innotek has become increasingly vulnerable to the so-called 'Apple risk' as Apple is pulling back orders from LG. LG's reliance on Apple has put the company in a dire situation and the banks are telling clients to sell LG Innotek stock. Losing LG Innotek as a supplier can't be good for Apple in the long term either. Whether LG can resolve their reliance on Apple in time, or Apple ease up on their demands for heavy price cuts is unknown at this time.