Apple has finally released a dock for its mobile devices that are fitted with Lightning ports. The new $40 dock is available now for iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, the iPhone 5 series and the fifth generation iPod Touch.
The arrival of the Lightning dock comes about three years after Apple launched the Lightning tech with the iPhone 5.
The Lightning dock has a smooth top with the Lightning port protruding from it -- the free-standing port appears to be reinforced. The flat surface enables any Lightning compatible device to find rest in the dock.
"Your iPhone sits upright in the dock as it syncs or charges, so it's perfect for a desk or countertop," says Apple. "Even when your iPhone is in an Apple-designed case, it's easy to dock. And you can unlock iPhone or use Touch ID without having to remove it from the dock."
There's also a 3.5 mm audio port on the back of the Lightning dock. Users can connect the dock to a portable speaker system, using the 3.5 mm audio cable to stream audio from an iPhone or iPod.
While Apple was launching the long-awaited Lightning dock, the company has also been wrapping up a long-standing patent suit with rival -- or good friend, maybe -- Samsung.
Apple won $930 million in a patent suit against Samsung in 2012 and that decision was appealed. The appeals inquisition found that Samsung was guilty of infringe on design and not its trade dress, the way in which the product is displayed and marketed.
"We therefore vacate the jury's damages awards against the Samsung products that were found liable for trade dress dilution and remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion," the ruling states.
Factoring out the trade dress count, Samsung's $930 million fine just got a lot smaller. Samsung's latest appeal has been denied.
"We remand for immediate entry of final judgement on all damages awards not predicated on Apple's trade dress claims and for any further proceedings necessitated by our decision to vacate the jury's verdicts on the unregistered and registered trade dress claims," stated the ruling.
