Daily briefing
September 26, 2026
3 stories · about 3 minutes
Jury orders Apple to pay $5.7 billion over Taptic Engine patents
A federal jury says Apple's Taptic Engine infringes two of Taction Technology's haptic feedback patents, ordering the company to pay more than $5.7 billion in one of the largest patent verdicts in U.S. history.
- A San Diego federal jury found Apple's Taptic Engine infringes two Taction Technology patents on vibration feedback.
- The $5.7 billion award is one of the largest patent verdicts in US history, close to a fifth of Apple's most recent quarterly profit.
- Jurors did not find Apple's infringement willful. Apple says it will appeal.
- Apple already lost a similar fight: a trial judge denied Apple's bid for a new trial in the $634 million Masimo verdict in July.
Why it matters: A San Diego federal jury ordered Apple to pay more than $5.7 billion to Taction Technology, ruling that the Taptic Engine, the part that makes iPhones and Apple Watches buzz, infringes two of Taction's vibration patents. Jurors found the infringement was not willful. The award is among the largest patent verdicts in US history, close to a fifth of Apple's latest quarterly profit. Apple says its technology is different and will appeal, so the amount isn't final.
Read the full story →Microsoft breaks Excel's 40-year one-value-per-cell rule
Excel is rolling out Lists, Arrays in Cells and Nested Arrays, letting a single cell hold multiple values that still work individually for filtering and calculations.
- Microsoft is rolling out Lists, Arrays in Cells and Nested Arrays for Excel, ending the spreadsheet's 40-year rule that a cell can only hold one value.
- A cell holding a list like 'Carlos, Henrietta, Jacob' now lets each name be filtered, calculated and analyzed individually, instead of being treated as one text string.
- The feature is available now in Excel for Windows and Mac Beta Channels, opt-in, and not yet ready for important workbooks.
- External tools that read Excel files, including openpyxl, pandas and calamine, may need updates once Microsoft publishes how the new data types are represented in .xlsx files.
Why it matters: Microsoft is rolling out Lists, Arrays in Cells and Nested Arrays for Excel, letting a single cell hold multiple values that still work individually, ending a 40-year one-value-per-cell rule. A cell like 'Carlos, Henrietta, Jacob' can now be filtered and calculated per name. It's live now in beta channels for Windows and Mac, opt-in only. Tools like openpyxl and pandas may need updates once Microsoft documents the new format.
Read the full story →Meta lets smart glasses owners opt out of AI training on their visual data
A new setting in the Meta AI app lets smart glasses owners stop Meta from using camera-fed 'visual data' to train its AI models, though opting out can disable some features.
- Meta has begun rolling out a setting in the Meta AI app that lets smart glasses owners opt out of providing 'visual data' from AI experiences for AI training.
- Visual data is collected only during certain AI features, like asking Meta AI about something you're looking at or using Live AI, not ordinary photos and videos captured with the record LED on.
- Opting out means that data isn't stored after processing, but it can disable features like visual reminders that rely on Meta remembering what the glasses saw.
- Meta's help center confirms visual data may be reviewed by humans as part of training and improving its AI models.
- The change lands days after Meta Connect, where the company's smart glasses lineup, including new camera-free audio-only glasses, dominated the show floor.
Why it matters: Meta added a Meta AI app setting letting smart glasses owners opt out of AI training on 'visual data' collected during features like Live AI. Meta's own help center confirms that data may be reviewed by humans, not just algorithms. Opting out can disable features like visual reminders, and doesn't cover ordinary recorded photos and video. The change lands days after Meta Connect put its glasses lineup front and center.
Read the full story →