Jury says Apple owes $5.7 billion after finding Taptic Engine infringed haptic technology patents in iPhones and Apple Watches

A U.S. jury has handed Apple a staggering $5.7 billion patent verdict after finding that the Taptic Engine inside iPhones and Apple Watches infringed haptic technology patents owned by San Diego-based Taction Technology.

The verdict, delivered Friday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California, is reportedly the largest patent infringement award in U.S. history. The jury found that Apple infringed claims covering two Taction patents, U.S. Patent Nos. 10,659,885 and 10,820,117.

The award totals roughly $5.72 billion, according to court reporting. The jury did not find Apple’s infringement willful. The court had not yet entered a final judgment on the docket after the verdict, leaving more legal steps ahead. Apple has already said it plans to appeal.

“While we thank the jury for their consideration, we strongly disagree with today’s verdict and the damages awarded, which are entirely unsupported by the facts,” Apple told CNBC in a statement. “Apple’s Taptic Engine is fundamentally different from Taction’s technology, which Taction’s own testing of Apple’s products confirmed during trial. Apple does not use Taction’s technology, and we will appeal,” the company added.

Taction attorney Lance Yang welcomed the decision.

“We’re happy the jury found for Taction and vindicated its patent rights,” Yang said.

A patent fight that came back from the dead

At the center of the case is Apple’s Taptic Engine, the hardware that produces the taps, vibrations, and other tactile responses users feel when interacting with an iPhone or Apple Watch.

Taction’s patents relate to tactile transducers that generate vibrations users perceive through touch. Taction, whose technology has been used in products such as headphones and gaming headsets, sued Apple in 2021, accusing the company of infringing its intellectual property through haptic systems used in certain iPhones and Apple Watches.

In its complaint, Taction accused Apple of “capitalizing on Taction’s innovation and success” by selling devices that allegedly infringed its haptic technology. Apple initially prevailed in 2023, but the Federal Circuit later revived the case on appeal.

A federal judge granted Apple summary judgment of noninfringement, effectively ending Taction’s infringement case before trial. Taction appealed. In August 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit vacated that ruling and sent the dispute back to the lower court for further proceedings.

That decision opened the door to the trial that produced Friday’s multibillion-dollar verdict.

Apple maintained during the case that its products do not infringe Taction’s patents and challenged the validity of the patents themselves. The jury rejected those arguments and sided with Taction on the asserted patent claims.

The $5.7 billion figure makes the dispute remarkable for more than the technology involved. Patent cases routinely produce large damage awards, but a verdict of this scale puts the Apple-Taction fight in rare territory.

It does not mean Taction is about to receive a $5.7 billion check.

The verdict can face post-trial motions, judicial review and Apple’s planned appeal. Patent awards can be reduced, overturned or sent back for further proceedings during that process. The current figure reflects what the jury determined Apple should pay, not the end of the legal battle.

For Apple, the case now moves from an extraordinary jury loss into what could become another long fight through the federal courts. For Taction, a lawsuit that looked finished three years ago has produced one of the biggest patent verdicts the U.S. technology industry has ever seen.