Oh, the irony! iPhone 6 copies the Nexus 4.

[Rigon]

http://www.computerworld.com/article/2687612/oh-the-irony-iphone-6-copies-the-nexus-4.html
Apple’s iPhone 6 has been met with effusive praise from the tech press and long lines wherever it is sold.

But many in the tech industry are accusing Apple of copying many features found in Android phones and the operating system they run. There is an irony here, since Apple is one of the most aggressive patent lawsuit filers in the world and has famously been at war with Samsung, charging that its Android phones have closely copied features of earlier iPhones.

In one example of the iPhone 6 backlash, Ron Amadeo of Ars Technica Reviews recently told The Huffington Post, “A lot of iOS 8 features were on Android first, and bigger iPhones are a validation of the direction Samsung and the other Android OEMs have been pushing things. Android copied Apple a lot in the early days, but now it seems like the pendulum is swinging in the other direction."

Amadeo has a point. The iPhone 6 looks a lot like the Nexus 4, a Samsung phone that came out way back in 2012 with a 4.7-inch screen, 760p resolution, notification action widgets, third-party keyboards, cross-app communication, cloud photo backup and battery stats — all to be found on the iPhone 6. What’s more, Apple has just been awarded a new patent for adding moving radial menus to both Macs and iOS devices. According to Cult of Mac, this feature is reminiscent of a feature introduced way back in 2011 by — you guessed it — Samsung. It’s hardly surprising that smartphones would have similar features, and this wouldn’t be worth writing about except for that central irony — the fact that Apple has been locked in an epic legal rivalry with Samsung for the better part of the last decade over exactly this type of copycat design.

Apparently, Apple’s view is that when Samsung does it, it’s patent infringement, but when Apple does it, it’s giving customers what they want.

The legal feud began when Apple sued and was awarded a $929 million jury verdict in a patent case that claimed that Samsung infringed several of Apple’s design patents in Samsung smartphones and graphical icons. Apple famously argued that the Samsung devices resembled the rounded rectangular shape of Apple’s iPhone. Samsung was ordered to pay Apple all of the profits from its products that contained those designs even though Apple never showed that the design patents in question drove sales of Samsung devices.

Apple and Samsung recently called off their 40 separate patent cases in courts outside of the U.S., indicating that both parties are trying to wind down this bitter legal rivalry. But the two companies are still battling over that nearly $1 billion verdict.

Apple’s penchant for aggressively pursuing litigation and excessive claims of financial damage against competitors is emblematic of a bigger problem in the tech space. According to The New York Times, as much as $20 billion was spent on patent litigation and patent purchases in the last two years. Putting that amount in perspective, that is an amount equal to eight Mars rover missions. Last year, for the first time, spending by Apple and Google on patent lawsuits and unusually big-dollar patent purchases exceeded spending on research and development of new products, according to public filings.

Which brings us back to the obvious similarities between the iPhone 6 and Nexus 4. Apple has every right to defend its intellectual property, but to turn around and do exactly what it has accused Samsung of doing is almost comical.

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[Singlebyte]

Does Computerworld know the nexus 4 was manufactured by LG?  Why do they keep referencing Samsung?  Samsung hasn't produced a nexus product since the Galaxy.  

"The iPhone 6 looks a lot like the Nexus 4, a Samsung phone that came out way back in 2012 with a 4.7-inch screen, 760p resolution, notification action widgets, third-party keyboards, cross-app communication, cloud photo backup and battery stats — all to be found on the iPhone 6. "

FAIL

[PeanutCoins]

This is crazy on how fast these phones come out, all for the name of the Green dollar

[1Referee]

Every tech company is copying, don't see a problem here.

It wil help companies to improve their products and eventually we (the consumers) are the one that will get a better product in return.

[catena5260]

Apple is dead since Jobs died.

No innovation, and now plain copies.

Wondering how long they will survive.

[b!z]

What is so ironic about this? I don't understand your title.

[catazabala]

Iphone for hipters kids,  Iphone always presuming that is the best of the best, when everybody know is not truth the Iphone 6 has technology of 2012, paying a huge money for something that you can get cheaper somewhere else and better.

[PenAndPaper]

Although i don't like overpriced apple products, i don't think that a bigger iphone is a copy of something else... I mean you can't patent size can you?

[Bitcoin Magazine]

yeah but the iPhone 6 is unbendable, as opposed to the next model, the iPhone 7, which can be wrapped around your wrist (literally)

[bitcoinforhelp]

dont like apple personally, but its normal that IT borrows solutions from others

[jbrnt]

I haven't had the chance to play with an iPhone 6 yet, but having used iOS 6 and 7, I must admit Apple is adding a lot of features to iOS that were originally found on Android. I think Apple is falling behind and they know it. The only way to retain the remaining Apple users is to introduce these missing features into iOS reducing the need to switch OS. Introducing a large screen version of iPhone6 is an example of this. Users are used to larger screens and iPhone 5's screen is a disgrace, they knew they have to catchup.

[noviapriani]

I'm impressed that apple can take things android has had for years and do a better job of implementing them. I think widgets in the Notification Center of iOS is awesome. It looks much cleaner and is more accessible than widgets which are on the home screen.

[HTC123]

Apple is dead since Jobs died.

No innovation, and now plain copies.

Wondering how long they will survive.

But it sell well.

[umair127]

All tech companies borrow from each other to some extent. The legal battles are just part of the game. Samsung got iPhones banned in South Korea for an extended period of time.

[Nobitcoin]

Isn't the iPhone 6 plus trying to copy Samsungs Note but sadly if you compare the specs the Note 4 has it is obvious who's the winner.

[ziiiggy]

Yeah, I read this article already. It was even compared in photos.

[CoinsForTech]

Can't wait to see widgets and live wallpapers on the iPhone 7!

[hyphymikey]

10 million phones sold and only 9 have been reported to have been bent. They did a stress test of most popular phones and iPhone was in the middle of the pack.

I'll stick with my iPhone as android has back doors to the government. Apple has publicly come out and said they will not release any info to the government if they asked because they have no control over the encryption on the iPhone.

If anybody copied, it's all other phones copying the iPhone. It was the first full touchscreen phone.

I love how all the fandriods like to pick on the iPhone but know absolutely nothing.

[hyphymikey]

Can't wait to see widgets and live wallpapers on the iPhone 7!

They already have this on iOS 8

[hyphymikey]

Isn't the iPhone 6 plus trying to copy Samsungs Note but sadly if you compare the specs the Note 4 has it is obvious who's the winner.

The iPhone blows that phone out of the water. Dual density pixels, way better camera, way better battery life, and the OS is so easy to use my grandma can do it.

The only thing the note has that the iPhone doesn't is a stylus. But who the f*** needs a stylus for a phone? Get a tablet or a computer poor bastards.