Back in mid-July news broke that Samsung would regain some of Apple's business for the A9 2015 chip based on 14 nano technology. The report even claimed that there was a signed agreement securing the deal. Two months later and DigiTimes is now reporting that Samsung is "eager" to snatch 14nm A9 orders from Apple. So apparently, Samsung has no such signed agreement which is going to mark a painful loss. Updated 9.16.13 6PM PST

Apple's iPhone 5S sports a fingerprint scanner that Apple is calling Touch ID. This was a technology fulfilling many patents. Another important patent that was fulfilled in-part last week relates to Apple's new layered appearance in iOS 7. The initial aspect of this technology was first discussed in a 2012 patent application. Whether Apple takes iOS into a full 3D environment in the future is unknown at this time.

When the news of Apple's new iPhone 5S color option of champagne gold was on the way, there was a lot of buzz. It was expected that Samsung would scurry to copy Apple's new hot color, but now HTC wants to join in the copycat-craze. They went into high gear to flood the blogosphere with HTC One photos of the new gold color shell. Earlier this Week, Samsung couldn't stand that Apple beat them to market with 64-bit versions of their A7 chip and operating system iOS 7. Samsung's mobile chief J.K. Shin rushed to the press to state that his company also has a 64-bit chip in the pipeline. For some of us, this is becoming hilariously familiar. 

Shipments of panels used in Apple's new iPhone 5S are expected to reach between 10 and 15 million units in the third quarter and leaping to 20 million plus units in Q4. Apple's 5C display orders will reportedly surpass 30 million units in the holiday quarter.

A new European Filing by Apple published yesterday reveals an update to the iOS "Notes" app. Not being overly familiar with the Notes application makes it difficult to assess the full extent of the upgrades that could be coming to Notes in the future. However, one option appears to illustrate a text-to-text conversion option which would be great for translations. For those wanting to further investigate the finer points of this patent could do so here. One of the current features of the "Notes" app is a "Speak" menu option which isn't a "standard" feature on Notes. Average iDevice owners would never know that this option even exists. Intuitive it isn't. Our report walks you through the steps that will turn on this feature if you'd like that option available to you in the future, whether you're disabled or not.

In 2012 AppAdvice asked the question: "Will an Anti-Reflective Screen Ever Come to the iPhone and iPad?" Well, the US Patent & Trademark Office published a patent application from Apple today titled "UV Mask with Anti-Reflection Coating and UV Absorption Material," that answers that question. Apple's patent reveals that an anti-reflection film will be added to the manufacturing process of a future iPad display. The new anti-reflective process may extend to other products in the future including the iPhone, other portables and a television.

On September 12, 2013, the US Patent & Trademark Office published a patent application from Apple that reveals their intention to add a sapphire laminate to future iDevices like the iPhone and iWatch to provide a stronger glass that is ultimately scratch resistant. It was revealed earlier this week that Apple's new iPhone 5S Home Button is made from laser-cut sapphire crystal. Apple's patent application describes their method of fusing a sapphire laminate sheet to a device's cover glass.

On September 12, 2013, the US Patent & Trademark Office published a patent application from Apple that reveals that legendary John Elias that was behind many of Apple's original multitouch patents that made the iPhone a reality is now back at refining the patent claims of a smart pen design that he first introduced in 2011.

During yesterday's iPhone Event, Phil Schiller introduced Apple's new A7 64-bit architecture. It's a powerful processor allowing an App like Apple's Touch ID to become a reality. With all of this raw computing power now available to developers, Apple went one step further yesterday. They introduced the new M7 Motion coprocessor. This technology could one day lead to backside iDevice controls and more.

In July we posted a report titled "This Week's rumored iPhone Lite Photos were Ridiculous." At the time we pointed to a photo from a Chinese website that most major Apple blogs decided to run with. We made it clear that it was ridiculous and now we see that the Chinese website pushed that fake photo and mocked the Apple blogosphere for their gullibility.

Leading up to Apple's iPhone event yesterday was exciting. Patently Apple first discovered and posted a report last Saturday detailing a phenomenal new Apple patent filing which detailed a secret fingerprint scanner project. One that would hide a fingerprint scanner right under Apple's famed Home button. When Apple revealed Touch ID at their iPhone Event yesterday, it was such a buzz. It may only be a security feature and one that will work seamless with future e-commerce applications, but the genius of how they implemented this is what makes it such a cool breakthrough. Powered by Apple's new A7 chip with a 64-bit architecture, this incredibly advanced feature came to life. It's so advanced and yet so simple. It's so advanced and yet invisibly seamless. It's this kind of legendary thinking that makes Apple the true innovator that they are.

It's official. Apple's iPhone 5S sports a fingerprint scanner that Apple is calling Touch ID. Being that this new feature was so important, we wanted to wait until Apple officially unveiled it and explained it before releasing our new report. Take a look back at Apple's biometric patent applications as they unfolded starting back in 2009 and then quickly ramping up eleven months ago until their latest patent which was only revealed a few days ago. What an exciting journey it's been – and it's only begun!

In just a few short hours, Apple will be unveiling the new iPhone 5S and the iPhone 5C. One of the twists that might be announced at the iPhone event is that the Apple and Japan's DoCoMo may have struck a distribution deal. If true, the Korean Press have stated this morning that this would be disastrous for Samsung. That's such a shame, isn't it? UPDATED 9.15.13 6 PM

Today's the day we've been waiting for. Apple will be unveiling their next generation iPhone with their brightly redesigned iOS 7. The updated iPhone is likely to be offered to consumers in two additional color choices including champagne gold and graphite grey. The second product being unveiled today is Apple's new mid-range iPhone class that will serve Apple well in emerging markets. The latter will be offered in a wide range of colors that will hopefully be as crisp and sharp as those found on the current iPod touch. On the "possibilities" list, we're likely to learn about one or two new iPhone distributors, mainly Mobile China and DoCoMo in Japan, with the latter still in the maybe column. And lastly, Apple may surprise us with a new fingerprint scanner with NFC (or AirDrop using iBeacon) either integrated into the iPhone's Home button or one of two other locations. The timing of Apple's new fingerprint scanner has been hotly debated for months with both pro and con reports surfacing. If this feature does in fact debut today, then we may see Apple unveil their long awaited micropayment application known as the iWallet (or whatever they'll finally call it). It was revealed earlier this summer that ISIS, an e-wallet service project developed by AT&T, Mobility, T-Mobile USA and Verizon Wireless would be launching a finalized version of their financial system in time for the holiday season this fall. They specifically mentioned working with the iPhone. So if all goes right, that could be the buzz of the day. Yet until the iPhone event kicks-off, it's still granted patent day for us at Patently Apple and today's report covers another major multitouch patent granted to Apple along with five design patents and much more. In total, Apple was granted 35 patents today.

A crazy rumor is already surfacing that Apple's preparation for their late 2014 smartwatch is running into an early snag. The rumors emanating from the Taiwan supply chain is that Apple's upcoming iWatch is reportedly suffering from low-yield-rate problems. The rumors are claiming that the upstream supply chain is only able to supply 30-40% of the original order volumes. Of course being more than a year away, the rumor mill noise isn't much to worry about. Apple is likely to find solutions to keep the iWatch-like product on track. Who knew that iWatch rumors would start this early?

A new report out this morning states that Taiwan component makers are expected to enjoy strong revenue growth as Apple is ready to release its new iPhone products. The assembly of the iPhone 5S is handled by Foxconn Electronics, while Pegatron Technology is in charge of 50% of the entry-level iPhone 5C's manufacturing. The report goes on to name the fingerprint scanner/detection system supplier while noting that the iPhone 5C will use Gorilla glass, in-cell technology and a less powerful camera than initially expected.

Apple launched iAd Workshop in early June of this year. It makes in-app advertising more accessible to developers. The service allows for ad campaign budgets starting at US$50, making it easier for developers to promote their apps directly to iPhone, iPad and iPod touch owners. Shortly after iAd Workbench was launched, Apple ran into a security breach which shut the service for days. Today, the US Patent and Trademark Office published Apple's trademark filing for iAd Workbench.

Using a familiar line from the late Steve Jobs, the head of Opera Software's Coast project Huib Kleinhout stated that Opera has ""cracked the code." Opera has supposedly cracked the code in delivering a new browser experience for iPad users. "This is not a mere mobile browser tweak, nor a scaled-down PC browser," states Kleinhout, "It is something new. Websites and apps today invite you to interact in new ways, but browser design for tablets has not pushed to liberate itself from the influence it has experienced from its computer and mobile phone cousins." Today, there are three alternative web browsers for iOS. However, ExtremeTech reminds us that Safari is the default browser, and we sadly can't change that without jailbreaking. Today, Opera offers all iPad users the ability to run their new "Coast" branded browser quick and easy without jailbreaking.

Surprisingly there were only 3.576 million tablets sold in China in Q2 2013. The good news is that Apple sold 64.6% or close to two-thirds of them. According to a new DigiTimes report, overall unit sales increased 5.2% sequentially and 52.8% on year. Samsung is shown in our cover graphic table to be in third place with a paltry 7.2% market share.

Earlier today Patently Apple posted a report covering a new fingerprint scanner that could be incorporated into the Home button of future iDevices. This patent application was discovered in Europe yesterday by Patently Apple. A number of lawyers have shown interest in seeing Apple's patent claims and so we've put together this secondary report spelling out Apple's 27 patent claims. Additionally, we've enclosed several new patent figure graphics that were difficult to include in our earlier report. While we're optimistic about this new feature coming to market shortly, you never know what Apple will debut or leave on the table for another day. That's why Apple's iPhone event this week is going to be an exciting one to watch.

When Apple revealed the iPhone 5 last year, many were confused as to why Apple didn't include NFC technology. Apple's VP of Worldwide Marketing Phil Schiller stated at the time that it wasn't clear that NFC was the solution to any current problem. That was a nice misdirection Phil, really. Because as Phil was saying that, Apple had already filed for a wild fingerprint sensor/NFC patent that he was fully aware of. Patently Apple discovered this new patent application in Europe yesterday. The patent filing details an incredible fingerprint scanner with advanced integrated NFC circuitry that will deliver features that no one saw coming! When Phil Schiller gave the Mac faithful a peek at the coming Mac Pro tower this fall, he blurted out: Apple "can't innovate anymore – My Ass!" Well, it appears that Apple may show the world a little more innovation Apple-style next week when they unveil the iPhone 5S. It may even include a newly designed Home Button with an integrated fingerprint scanner and much more. Report Updated 2:30 PM PST. Report Updated September 09, 2013, 6 PM MST

The Korean Press that ardently promotes LG and Samsung is anticipating the massive worldwide affect that Apple's iPhone 5C will have on the market when it's released next week. They believe it will be explosive, a real detonator in the global smartphone market. They deeply fear the ripple effect that will take place in the market and the incredible pricing pressure this will put on all of Apple's competitors.

On Monday we posted a report titled "Apple Passing on a larger iPhone Display still a Head Scratcher." We stated at that time that the "The mystery behind Apple's unwillingness to provide their fan base with a larger iPhone display option at this point in time is really a head scratcher. I can't figure it out whether there's real logic behind their madness or if it's simply a matter of arrogance and hard headiness. We understand that Apple missed out on this larger trend last year but have a harder time understanding it a year later." Our report pointed to LG's patent using a larger smartphone display as a mobile TV. Well, I guess the timing of our report was bang on. Today, The Wall Street Journal reports that Apple is indeed investigating iPhones with larger displays.

The week before Apple's big iPhone event, the US Patent and Trademark Office published 20 original patent applications from Apple with most of them being very low key. In this patent report we point to a series of interesting yet extremely detailed patents. One covers new processes behind Apple's iDevice touchscreens. Another covers a possible cooling system controller for Apple's upcoming Mac Pro with multi-core processors. Yet another covers teaching Siri how to remember name pronunciation for foreign names. And lastly, Apple may be thinking about providing iDevices with a simple zoom slider for taking photos near or far. If you're one that likes to read about the little hidden details behind some of Apple's greatest products of today and tomorrow, then you'll enjoy this report.

On September 5, 2013, the US Patent & Trademark Office published a patent application from Apple that reveals a change in Apple's Spiral Interface Invention that is to replace Cover Flow. We first reported on Apple's Spiral Interface for iTunes back in September 2010 and by December of that year Apple provided us with more detail. In that report we illustrated a working model of that design that was invented by a French Company under the Memory-Life brand. Then in October 2012, Apple was granted a patent for this spiral design. Apple's last patent application on this project was published in June 2013 where Apple reduced their patents claims from 36 down to 1. Today, Apple further refines their patent claims once again.

A new undercover investigation by China Labor Watch (CLW) has revealed a series of ethical and legal labor violations in a factory in Wuxi, China owned by U.S. electronics manufacturer Jabil Circuit that is currently producing the soon-to-be-released cheap iPhone for Apple. It must be said that the timing of this report being released just prior to Apple's iPhone 5C's debut next week appears to be politically motivated.

Unknown PanTaurus LLC has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Apple. The patent infringement lawsuit concerns Apple's iOS CoreCrypto Module found in certain iPhone models. PanTaurus is also claiming "Willful Infringement" in a formal Second Count which could triple the damages against Apple if they're found guilty.

If Apple delivers the iPhone 5S with a fingerprint scanner next week, then they'll have beaten Samsung to the punch. With the Samsung IFA event concluded, they failed to deliver this new feature that was highly anticipated. It appears that Apple could very well end up being the first top tier smartphone player to deliver this next generation biometric security feature. With Samsung missing out on a fingerprint scanning feature, you have to wonder if Apple will still be able to deliver this feature on cue next week. You have to admit, it sure ups the ante for next week's iPhone event.

According to a new IDC report, the worldwide mobile phone market is forecast to grow 7.3% year over year in 2013, marking a sharp rebound from the nearly flat (1.2%) growth experienced in 2012. Strong demand for smartphones across all geographies will drive much of this growth as worldwide smartphone shipments are expected to surpass 1 billion units for the first time in a single year. Worldwide smartphone shipments are forecast to grow 40.0% year over year to more than 1.0 billion units this year with strong gains in emerging markets and the sub-$200 smartphone segment. IDC's report presents a forecast of Smartphone OS growth, and they don't see Apple's iOS gaining much ground going forward.

The Chinese press has received invitations to an Apple iPhone Event set for 10AM in Beijing on September 11. This will mark the first time that Apple has held such an iPhone event for another country. This is definitely a sign of respect to hold such an event for the Chinese market and may be the time to officially announce a new deal with Mobile China. A combined announcement of a deal with Mobile China and the debut of the new iPhone 5C will definitely be a reason to release a few balloons and crack the bubbly. Hmm, I wonder if the bubbly Champagne would have anything to do with Apple's new iPhone color being a sign of celebration. Time will tell.

Sen. John McCain, perhaps the Senate's most outspoken voice in favor of military action in Syria, was caught playing poker on his iPhone Tuesday at the first congressional hearing about giving the president authority to use force in the war-torn country.

As Apple, Google and Samsung have swept Microsoft under the carpet over the last few years, the one-time tech titan wants back onto the fast-track to play with the big boys. Although Microsoft had been working with Nokia on a Windows based phone since 2011, Microsoft felt that they had to take control of their Windows Phone platform without any middleman getting in the way of their mobile vision which is currently on crutches. Late yesterday evening, Microsoft crossed the Finnish line and acquired Nokia's Devices and Services division.

There's a saying in business: Build a better mousetrap, and the world will beat a path to your door. Well, Samsung's design team has taken that a little too literally and decided to treat their loyal fans to a better treadmill. I mean, why not treat your loyal fans like the lab rats that they are, right? Samsung believes that they're fast followers and invites their entire fan base to join in the fun!

The US Patent and Trademark Office officially published a series of 41 newly granted patents for Apple Inc. today. In this particular report we cover three specific granted patents. The first relates to possible new iDevice & Mac authentication options. The second covers polarized flexible glass for future devices such as MacBooks and wearable computers. The third covers a superior manufacturing process that will deliver a stronger scratch-off material for promotional cards like gift or pre-paid phone cards and more. We conclude today's report with a full list of the granted patents issued to Apple for those who wish to do some treasure hunting.

The US Patent and Trademark Office officially published a series of 41 newly granted patents for Apple Inc. today. In this particular report we cover a major win for an advanced sensor-based user interface that could apply to a future iPhone, desktop display/monitor or even a television. The invention, if implemented, would enable a user to interact with a display at quite a distance. In a desktop application, as a user moves physically away from their desktop, the system will automatically switch from mouse controls to that of hand gesturing controls if the user so choses to do so. In theory, if applied to a TV scenario, the user would be able to use hand gesturing to control TV functionality without a remote. With new 3D depth cameras coming to market in late 2014, Apple may be able to further fine-tune such a unique system.

As 2013 kicked off, we wondered aloud as to whether Apple would follow the 5" or larger smartphone trend. Months earlier, Apple's Phil Schiller mocked Samsung's shift to a larger display size by saying that it's "really easy to make a new product that's bigger. Everyone does that. The challenge is to make it better and smaller." Schiller put Apple in a box with his keynote emphasis on keeping the iPhone to a limited size for hand comfort. A new study recently published shows that smartphones with large displays have now overtaken both tablet and portable PC Shipments. Although Apple could have nullified their competitors screen size advantage this fall, they've apparently chosen not to do so. Of course, Apple could always surprise us with one at their iPhone event in September, but at the moment, it doesn't appear to be in the cards.

As we near the release of Apple's new iPhones with iOS 7, Apple has now begun filing trademarks in Hong Kong China covering their revised icon designs that were first revealed at this year's World Wide Developer Conference. The first nine were revealed late on Friday as noted in our cover graphic. Apple filed their trademarks under the common International Class 009 which covers everything imaginable including electronic devices, televisions, telephones, sunglasses and the all-important fire extinguisher.