Wired
IT House July 1 news, previous reports showed that Apple’s iPhone 15 will be the first iPhone to use Apple’s self-developed 5G baseband chip, but some analysts recently said that this is not the case, because Apple suffered a “design failure” question. Now, according to a new analysis, that’s only half right.
The new analysis report believes that there are indeed problems with Apple’s attempt to get rid of Qualcomm and use Apple’s self-developed modem chips, but this is a problem of patent law, not a technical design problem…
background
Apple has used Qualcomm modem chips — the radio chips that provide mobile data connections — for years. When the iPhone 12 launches in 2020, Apple is again relying on Qualcomm chips to deliver new 5G capabilities.
However, the relationship between Apple and Qualcomm has been fraught. In particular, the iPhone maker is uneasy about the “double whammy” of Qualcomm, which sells chips to Apple while demanding that Apple pay royalties for the technology used in the same chips.
Qualcomm has previously accused Apple of extortion. The CEOs of the two companies held a “hostile” meeting. Qualcomm has refused to sell Apple chips for the iPhone XS and iPhone XR. Both companies have shelved earlier discussions of a settlement and have been fighting. And so began a multibillion-dollar trial.
Apple’s plan is to temporarily switch Qualcomm modem chips to Intel chips while it develops its own radio chip design work. Unfortunately, that plan fell through when Intel announced it was getting out of the 5G smartphone modem business. Since Apple’s own chip designs are still years away from being ready, that leaves Apple no choice but to continue to use Qualcomm chips. So the two companies quickly reached an out-of-court settlement.
To speed up work on its in-house 5G modem chips, Apple later acquired Intel’s modem division.
Apple’s 5G chip problem
With the advantages provided by the acquisition of Intel technology, it was previously reported that Apple is expected to prepare to use a self-developed 5G chip design in next year’s iPhone 15.
However, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said recently that the situation has changed, saying it is because Apple’s 5G chips have experienced “development failures.”
“The latest investigation shows that Apple’s own iPhone 5G modem chip development may have failed, so Qualcomm will continue to be the exclusive supplier of 5G chips for the new iPhones in 2H23, with a 100% supply share (the company’s share was previously estimated to be 20%).
But now a new analysis shows that the problem with Apple’s 5G chips is not the chip development itself, but the legal issues involving patents.
To design its own chips, Apple needs to invalidate two of Qualcomm’s patents. Despite the settlement, the battle continues, litigating all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. But unfortunately for Apple, the U.S. court ultimately dismissed its appeal.
Patently Apple says Apple won’t be able to use its own 5G chips next year not because of a technical glitch, but because it expects it to infringe two of Qualcomm’s patents. The site links to a lengthy Foss patent analysis that supports this interpretation — the belief that Qualcomm will sue Apple and ultimately win.
“In a hypothetical 2025 or 2027 infringement lawsuit by Qualcomm suing Apple, the above two smartphone patents are likely to be asserted again. The PTAB dismissed Apple’s valid challenge, and Apple’s appeal was unsuccessful for lack of support. Unless Apple can unearth some previously undiscovered powerful existing technology, these patents will be difficult to bypass.”
Apple still owns Qualcomm’s patent licenses, but the two sides don’t appear to have reached an updated agreement on new patent fees.