Apple and Qualcomm End Their Legal Beef and Drop Lawsuits
The convoluted legal battle between Apple and chipmaker Qualcomm may be coming to an end. The companies said Tuesday that they're dismissing all litigation against each other. Apple will pay Qualcomm an undisclosed sum as part of the settlement, which includes a six-year licensing agreement between the two.
The settlement also covers suits brought by Apple's manufacturing partners, which wanted Qualcomm to repay $9 billion—a number that reportedly could have been tripled under antitrust law—that they say the chipmaker overcharged them for patent royalties.
The announcement came while Qualcomm's lawyer was delivering his opening remarks in a trial of numerous claims and counterclaims that started Tuesday morning in San Diego, according to CNET. Qualcomm told investors last year that Apple would stop using its wireless chips, switching instead to chips made by competitors like Intel.
One potential catalyst for the settlement emerged a few hours later: Intel said it won't make wireless modems capable of connecting to the coming generation of 5G networks. Earlier this year, Intel had said it would have sample 5G modems ready in 2019, and officially launch the products next year. With Intel no longer an option, that would explain why Apple needed to work out a new deal with Qualcomm. There are few 5G-capable networks operating yet, but Huawei, Samsung, and other smartphone makers have announced 5G-capable phones based on Qualcomm's wireless chips.
