Qualcomm today reported its earnings for the fourth quarter of 2020, which drove the company’s stock price higher tonight. This comes after the company introduced its 5G modems on several smartphones recently, including the iPhone 12 lineup.
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Last year, not too long after Apple abruptly settled its long-running lawsuit with Qualcomm, the chipmaker was hit with a ruling that its business practices were anticompetitive in a case brought by the Federal Trade Commission. After a year-long period to appeal that decision, Qualcomm today has won its bid to reverse that ruling.
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Qualcomm has announced its next-gen wireless chips that support the new Wi-Fi 6E standard. The “E” in Wi-Fi 6E stands for “extended” and supported devices will be able to operate on the newly opened 6GHz spectrum that should offer less network congestion and faster and more dependable connections.
In a new interview with Bloomberg today, Qualcomm CEO Steve Mollenkopf touched on the company’s evolving relationship with Apple. Following the bitter legal battle between the two companies, Mollenkopf says things feel “much more natural now.”
Qualcomm reported its fiscal Q2 2020 earnings today, announcing revenue of $5.21 billion and earnings-per-share of $0.88. Both of those numbers are above Wall Street expectations, but Qualcomm also predicted a forthcoming 30% drop in handset shipments.
Originally slated to share the news at MWC which was canceled due to coronavirus, Qualcomm held its “What’s Next in 5G” event today in its hometown of San Diego. At the event, the company highlighted its new 3rd-gen 5G X60 modem with the capacity for super-fast download and upload speeds. Qualcomm announced it is testing the X60 with partners this quarter, could the iPhone 12 lineup that will arrive this fall feature the new chips?
After settling its legal fight with Qualcomm last year and securing a 5G chip supply for its 2020 iPhones, things seemed to be looking up for Apple bringing the next-gen cellular standard to its iPhone 12 lineup. However, a new report today says that Apple isn’t satisfied with Qualcomm’s antenna designed to work with its 5G chips and that it may make its own… for this fall’s iPhones.
After agreeing to end a messy legal battle earlier this year, Qualcomm and Apple are now working closely on bringing 5G capabilities to the iPhone. Speaking at the company’s Snapdragon Tech Summit today, Qualcomm President Cristiano Amon emphasized that the relationship with Apple is currently “priority number one.”
Qualcomm reported its fiscal Q4 2019 earnings today and provided guidance for the fiscal first quarter of 2020. Following the chipmaker’s settlement with Apple, it continues to report strong numbers and remains bullish on the upcoming expansion of 5G.
While rival smartphones may tease Apple over launching a non 5G iPhone as its flagship this year, the reality is that there is so little coverage as yet that it’s almost irrelevant.
Waiting a year also enables Apple to benefit from two upcoming developments in 5G chips…
The Department of Justice is arguing that the Qualcomm antitrust ruling back in May poses a threat to national security. It is calling for the remedies issued by the court to be put on hold pending an appeal.
Although Apple settled its civil lawsuit against Qualcomm, the exact same evidence put forward for that case was earlier used by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to take the radio chipmaker to court — with judgement awarded against Qualcomm …
The Qualcomm antitrust ruling may well be reversed on appeal, say some legal experts, who think the chipmaker has ‘strong arguments’ on its side.
Qualcomm’s legal showdown with Apple may have fizzled out, but a separate case did go the distance. Earlier this month, the company lost a case brought by the FTC, and was ordered to renegotiate its licensing terms with smartphone makers.
However, that decision was based on a fairly obscure precedent involving a ski company, and some experts think it likely to be reversed …
Update: Qualcomm unsurprisingly disagrees with the judgement and will be appealing the ruling to the US Court of Appeals 9th Circuit. Original story below.
Judge Koh has filed her ruling on the FTC antitrust suit against Qualcomm, and it comprehensively concludes that Qualcomm business practices were anticompetitive as reported by FOSSPatents.
Qualcomm has been ordered to renegotiate existing licensing terms such that its supply of modem chips is wholly separate to any patent licensing agreement. It cannot enter exclusivity supply agreements and it must license standards-essential patents at fair and reasonable rates.
Various Qualcomm executives have received bonuses for settling the company’s legal battle with Apple. As first noted by CNBC, the bonuses were revealed in an SEC filing, with CEO Steve Mollenkopf taking home the biggest bonus.
The US Department of Justice is seeking to intervene in the remaining Qualcomm antitrust case, expressing concern about the penalties that might be applied if the chipmaker is found guilty.
While what was to have been the world’s biggest antitrust battle between Qualcomm and Apple ended with a whimper rather than a bang, we’re still awaiting the outcome of a federal case against the chipmaker …
Qualcomm today reported its earnings for the second fiscal quarter of 2019, revealing some new details about its surprise settlement with Apple. According to Qualcomm, it will record revenue of between $4.5 billion and $4.7 billion as part of the deal.
It didn’t take long for Tim Cook to get asked about Apple’s blockbuster settlement with Qualcomm during its Q2 2019 earnings call. Cook said that Apple is happy to put the litigation behind it.
There has been much speculation about what led to the Apple/Qualcomm settlement at the eleventh hour.
Did Intel tell Apple it was unable to deliver 5G modems by 2020? Did Apple reach its own conclusion that Intel wasn’t up to the job? Or was there some other factor at play that mysteriously led Apple to have a change of heart about a massive lawsuit centred on Qualcomm’s business practices, despite a long history of vehemently objecting to them … ?
Apple and Qualcomm came to a surprise agreement to end their legal battle earlier this week. The deal included a one-time payment from Apple to Qualcomm, though neither company was willing to disclose the value of the payment. Now, analysts are trying to gauge the details of the deal.
Industry experts have explained why Apple needed to sign a multi-year purchasing deal with Qualcomm after its hopes of switching to Intel finally fell apart: it will take years to design, develop and test an Apple 5G chip.
Indeed, they say, a modem is one of the most complex chips found in a smartphone …
Apple and Qualcomm announced a surprise settlement yesterday just as their trial was starting in a San Diego federal court. Now, Qualcomm CEO Steve Mollenkopf has offered up a bit more detail on the newfound partnership with Apple.
Yesterday brought a dramatic end to a long-running series of lawsuits between Apple and Qualcomm – with Intel news following close behind. Here’s a look at what’s likely to happened between Apple, Qualcomm and Intel …
Just hours ago, Apple announced that it had reached a deal with Qualcomm to end all litigation between the companies. Now, a report from Nikkei says that the agreement will see Apple use Qualcomm’s 5G modems in the 2020 iPhones.
Despite day one of the trial not having wrapped up yet, Qualcomm and Apple have reached a settlement in their royalty dispute. CNBC first cited sources in saying that the two companies have reached an agreement. Apple has now published a press release detailing the agreement.