Apple sued Qualcomm in 2017 over patent costs; The move escalated legal issues around the world, and finally in April 2020, the two companies agreed to a multi-year contract that included the payment of about $ 9 billion in royalties by the iPhone maker. The Cupertino-based tech giant used Intel “baseband” hardware from 2016 to 2018; But it was said that Intel was not able to deliver 5G technology on time in 2020, and this led to an agreement between Apple and Qualcomm.
With the agreement between Qualcomm and Apple, Intel stopped developing its 5G modem technology and eventually sold its patent portfolio and 5G modem division with more than 2,200 employees to Apple for $ 1 billion. Beyond the intellectual property of Intel Modems, Apple has recruited engineering talent from Qualcomm and other key players in the industry over the past few years.
Apple is said to be building its own cellular modems, and this has apparently raised Qualcomm’s concerns about its modem business; Because Apple is the largest buyer of Colcomcom high-end modems, the replacement of these communication chips can have an irreparable effect on Qualcomm. Qualcomm now appears to have filed at least one outdated lawsuit against Apple and wants to sue the Cupertinos again.
Qualcomm alleges that the complaint was previously erroneously dismissed and appears to have been authorized by the United States Court of Appeals. As mentioned, it was previously thought that Apple and Qualcomm would fully resolve their differences in 2019.
Qualcomm reportedly has until Tuesday to convince the court of infringement of one of its patents. At this point, it is unclear which Qualcomm patent was considered invalid and has now been sent for re-evaluation.
According to rumors, the first products equipped with Apple’s proprietary modem will be released in 2023. TSMC, which is currently supplying all of Apple’s custom chips, is said to be preparing for the company’s custom 5G modem. Qualcomm recently announced that it expects to supply only 20% of Apple modem chips by 2023, which is a testament to the use of Apple’s proprietary modems.
However, it will definitely take years for Apple to completely remove Qualcomm from its modem supply chain; Therefore, at least until 2027, we will see the cooperation of these two companies in the production of communication chips.
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