Qualcomm, one of the main manufacturers of SiP chips for Android terminals, but also of modems for mobile terminals, does not want a long-term war with Apple. Although Qualcomm is considering taking Apple to court, after a lawsuit has already been opened by those in Cupertino, the company still hopes that the problems will be resolved amicably.
Last week the US authorities sued Qualcomm for anti-competitive practices based on which Apple was forced to accept improper terms to buy Qualcomm products. Those from Apple also sued Qualcomm, stating that they must receive 1 billion dollars from the company, but reaffirming the same irregularities as the authorities.
Despite these processes, those from Qualcomm do not want to lose Apple as a client, because its revenues would be dramatically affected by this situation. In the past, those from Qualcomm did not refuse to sell products to partners even though they had lawsuits with them, but with Apple the situation is more delicate because we are talking about its biggest customer.
Qualcomm designed its contracts with Apple in such a way that those from Cupertino will exclusively use Qualcomm products in the launched mobile terminals. The strategy was to keep Apple as a customer based on the very large number of products purchased, so it would be illogical for Qualcomm to force Apple to choose another partner.
"Qualcomm requires those who want its chips to also have a license to its underlying cellular patents. However the sources note that the company hasn't cut off chip supplies in the past, even when there were disputes over patent licensing."
Those from Qualcomm will probably look for a compromise solution with Apple to avoid possible problems and lose the company from Cupertino, but it remains to be seen what this will entail.
