Apple cuts off nose to spite face
Caught my attention too, that one...
Apple ... claiming there was "prior art" on the patents
Seems like a nuclear option which leaves them liable to having said patents invalidated, a kind of "have it our way or nobody has it".
Also, this begs the question how the fuck did these get awarded in the first place? When the patent applicant knows there's prior art, and still their patent is granted, there can be zero doubt the US patent system is hopelessly fucked.