In recent times, the spotlight has been brought up in the conflict between the "well-known" Apple company, and Qualcomm, "the company specializing in the production of semiconductors and wireless communications, which also produces smart phone processors based on the ARM architecture and the production of the Snapdragon processor, which has witnessed a large turnout in recent times." .
On the fourth of last October, the international news agency Bloomberg unveiled the truth about the conflict between the American technology giant Apple, whose official headquarters is in the American city of Cupertino, and the semiconductor giant Qualcomm, which has its official headquarters in the coastal city of Sandiego in southern California as well.
How did the conflict start?
Since the dawn of wireless technology, Qualcomm has maintained a monopoly on patents in the main semiconductor industry used in mobile phones. Since the first iPhone, Apple has relied on Qualcomm in the production of the modem that allows the iPhone to receive data wirelessly, and Qualcomm has received revenues from every iPhone that was sold until its highest revenue reached nearly $ 30 per unit.
But this coexistence changed in 2015 when Apple began to deal with Intel to develop the modem, which was used in some versions of the iPhone 7. Apple's advisor Bruce Sewell told International News Agency Bloomberg, "Apple should provide it with a second source."
This year, the dispute turned into a full-scale war, as Apple filed a lawsuit against Qualcomm, accusing it of blackmailing it and imposing high fees on it because of its use of basic patents monopolized by Qualcomm in a way that disrupts innovation, as well as making licenses more expensive, as Qualcomm pursued a policy of "No license, no chips" This led to an increase in licensing fees to use its own patents, and it also forced the companies that produce phones to pay more fees in order to pressure these companies not to use processors for other companies.
And last July, Qualcomm filed a lawsuit against Apple, claiming that Apple was violating its patents. US World Trade Commission By opening an investigation and imposing a ban on the import of some iPhones produced by Apple in the United States, as these phones are equipped with electronic chips from Intel and thus violate Qualcomm's patents.
Results of the conflict between Apple and Qualcomm
That Apple CEO Tim Cook allied with Samsung against Qualcomm, and it is known that Samsung and Apple have the longest lawsuits in the history of Silicon Valley over patent infringement, but in this war they are allies against Qualcomm.
◉ In 2015 Tim Cook met with Samsung CEO Jay Y Lee who is currently in custody over a bribery case - they met in Idaho to put pressure on the South Korean antitrust organization according to Qualcomm's legal allegations.
◉ In December 2016, the Korean antitrust organization fined Qualcomm $ 853 million.
◉ The following month, the US Federal Trade Commission accused Qualcomm of working on deterrent tactics for its competitors.
◉ This month, the Taiwan Trade Commission decided to punish Qualcomm and fine it $ 773 million for violating the antitrust law. The authority said Qualcomm is carrying out monopolistic practices and has raised 400 billion New Taiwan dollars (13 billion US dollars) from companies in exchange for licensing fees.
The iPhone uses an "Intel X modem" which may make it slower than its competitors
Although Intel's modem gave Apple the courage to ditch Qualcomm, it is not as good as Qualcomm's.
For the iPhone X, Apple chose not to add the GigaByte LTE network technology to Qualcomm, which means that the iPhone X will be slower than its competitors in terms of data transfer speeds.
It is worth noting Gigabyte LTE technology is still a little common technology, and the first phone to support this technology is the Samsung S8, which is an advanced technology of 4G networks and named Gigabyte because the highest connection speed reaches 1 GB per second, while the regular 4G LTE network has a speed between 100 MB and 300 MB.
Did you know that the Apple Watch Series 3 has LTE? Thanks to Qualcomm
Apple Watch Series 3 features GPS + Cellular, a full LTE mobile network, and switches to the mobile network when the watch is away from the iPhone, and thanks to Qualcomm, the Apple Watch is not restricted to the iPhone.
Qualcomm believes that the innovation of 5G technology will make the iPhone X rudimentary in data communication, which could be a painful blow to Apple in this legal war.
Double strikes from Apple and Samsung also severely damaged Qualcomm, in addition to a fine for South Korean regulators, and Apple's refusal to pay dues, which led Qualcomm to lose a quarter of its market value.
◉ Also in July of this year, Huawei, the second largest seller of smartphones in the world, stopped paying financial dues to Qualcomm, following in Apple's footsteps, which led to the decline of Qualcomm's shares in a short period.
We summarize the history of the conflict between Apple and Qualcomm in the dates next:
The battle between Apple and Qualcomm raged in 2017
???? January 17, 2017:
The US Trade Commission is suing Qualcomm for forcing Apple to use its chips in its devices.
???? January 20, 2017:
Apple filed a billion-dollar lawsuit against Qualcomm, where Apple accused Qualcomm of imposing high fees and royalties on it for its use of technologies and patents.
???? January 22, 2017
Apple has filed a full lawsuit against Qualcomm in this regard.
???? 25 Jan 2017
Apple has filed two lawsuits against Qualcomm in Beijing, China, and in the first lawsuit, Apple alleges that the chip maker Qualcomm is misusing its market position, claiming about $ 145 million. In the second lawsuit, Apple accused Qualcomm of failing to fulfill its promises to license essential patents at low cost, according to Reuters reports.
???? 2 March 2017
Apple launched a new lawsuit against Qualcomm in the United Kingdom.
???? 11 April 2017
Qualcomm has sued Apple for breaching the terms of the agreement in their contract.
???? 3 May 2017
Qualcomm planned to take revenge on Apple and ask the International Trade Commission to stop sales of the iPhone.
???? 6 July 2017
Qualcomm has filed a complaint against Apple with the International Trade Commission for patent infringement.
???? 19 July 2017
Apple joins a new lawsuit against Qualcomm filed by suppliers:
- Foxconn, a multinational electronics manufacturer.
- Pegatron Corporation, a Taiwanese manufacturer of electronics.
- Western Corporation, a financial transaction and communication service company.
- Kampal Corporation, a company that produces laptops, monitors and televisions.
???? 21 July 2017
Intel has filed a statement with the ITC claiming that Qualcomm is trying to force it to cancel production of modems for Apple.
???? 14 2017سطس XNUMX
The US Securities and Exchange Commission called on Qualcomm to provide more information about the dispute with Apple.
???? October 12, 2017
The Taiwan Trade Authority has decided to punish Qualcomm and fine it $ 773 million for violating the antitrust law.
???? October 13, 2017
Qualcomm is suing Apple to prevent it from producing and selling iPhones in China.
Source:
thestar|patentlyapple|bloomberg
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