Apple yanks iPhones from sale in Germany – and maybe China, too – amid Qualcomm spat The iPhone 7 and 8 have been removed from sale in Germany after a Munich court issued an injunction against Apple amid its ongoing patent fight with Qualcomm. The iGiant acknowledged that the smartphones had been taken off the shelves in all its stores in Germany, although they will still be available through third parties. …
... why aren't they suing Intel? It seems Apple are only buying the infringing modules, not actually making them. Qualcomm may be incensed that Apple are buying elsewhere, but from what I can find, the copyright and/or patent infringement is being perpetrated not by Apple, but by Intel. So why don't Qualcomm sue Intel? I may be a little simple in this, but I don't get it.
I'm not well versed in the details, but I believe the patent suit is in relation to software, hence why Apple is claiming to have fixed the infraction in an update. I'm not certain what software, perhaps a technique for communicating with a modem chip that Qualcomm "owns".
P.S., While I find patent debates ridiculous and stifling to innovation, I personally hope Qualcomm succeeds in getting some compensation here, as if they go bankrupt the market will have significantly less competition.
The issue may not be related to any Intel product - just Apple buying from Intel too (and thereby reducing Qualcomm revenues - and with the risk of being replaced wholly) could have been what triggered the search for a way to hurt Apple. What's better than patents?
Even if Apple win in court, they may have lost their customer base in their 2nd(?) biggest market.
Nearly everyone I have seen is using either Huawei or Xiaomi phones; whereas 4 years ago, both brands were ridiculed by the locals.(Seen a few Oppo and Vivo users).
Even my wife is now deciding between which of two Xiaomi phones she is going to buy (her sister works for China Unicom, so BIG discounts).
I would be interested to know how much of this hometown turn-in-fortune for Huawei or Xiaomi is due to national pride (you ban us, we'll ban you), and how much of it is due to these companies making significant strides in product quality and performance due to massive industrial espionage R&D spend.
As the “cholera meet plague” comment above points out - both of these companies are scummy fuckers.
I like iOS. The Apps I use on it are not available elsewhere. Replacing their functionality will be hard, but it will be a dark day in hell if I ever buy anything Apple again!
I’ve cancelled my Apple Dev licence and sold off all my Apple gear apart from this 6S+. Once this dies, I’m off to anything else. Now, if I can avoid Qualcomm as well, I’d be super-happy!
A pox on their houses indeed!!
punter: What's this, sir, my car is brand spanking new and has a dent, although I only just paid for it and was about to leave in it.
Sales bloke: No, that dent is nuthin' just manufacturing made it that way, that dent is by design, the specific location of the dent changes from car to car, so, your's is precious, it is unique, no other has a dent at that specific location!
Yeah, sure!
Don't be ignorant, Qualcomm has some patents registered under the sharing system, which is supposed to prevent them from charging excessively for the same in exchange for those patents not being challenged.
Qualcomm however do not honour that commitment. Like it or not, as people demonstrate buying an Apple or not buying an Apple (and paying or not paying the "Apple Tax") is a purely voluntary thing; whereas if Qualcomm have their way, paying Qualcomm excessively for being able to use a modem won't be avoidable. Good on Apple for doing this, and if you don't like Apple, then don't buy the fucking things.
>Meanwhile, Apple has put out an equally forthright statement claiming that "Qualcomm’s campaign is a desperate attempt to distract from the real issues between our companies."
So that is why they thew the olive branch into the thrash and is backing companies not paying licensing fees to Qualcomm?
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