Apple 5g chip research and development failure: continue to rely on Qualcomm, but also worry about being prosecuted?

In the past few years , Apple has been working hard to develop its own 5G Baseband chip , To get rid of the dependence on supplier Qualcomm . But recently, news came out , Apple's plan may have fallen through .

6 month 29 Japan , Famous apple analyst Guo Mingxuan broke the news on twitter , According to his latest survey , Apples are made by themselves iPhone 5G Baseband chip development may have failed , So Qualcomm will continue to be 2023 New in the second half of the year iPhone Of 5G Exclusive supplier of chips , The supply share is 100%（ Qualcomm previously estimated that 20%）.

And then , He expressed his views at the bottom of this post ：

1. Apple failed to replace Qualcomm , Therefore, Qualcomm relies on its identity as an exclusive supplier , Its 2023 In the second half of the year 2024 The performance in the first half of the year is likely to exceed market expectations .

2. Apple will continue to develop itself 5G Baseband chip , But when Apple succeeds and can replace Qualcomm , Other new businesses of Qualcomm will also develop enough to offset the negative impact of Apple's order loss .

“ Love that kill ” Apple and Qualcomm

since 2010 Published in iPhone 4 Since the first use of Qualcomm chips , The relationship between apple and Qualcomm has always been controversial .

Qualcomm provides Apple iPhone Used in the series LTE Baseband chip , until 2016 year , It has always been Apple's sole supplier . But in 2017 year , Apple filed a lawsuit against Qualcomm , Claims that Qualcomm has been charging high royalties for technologies unrelated to them , The cost it pays is five times the total cost of other partners ; Gao Tong said , Its technology is “ Each iPhone At the heart of ”.

In the next two years , The two companies have launched legal battles over patent disputes and import bans in many countries around the world . in the meantime , Apple stopped using Qualcomm chips , stay 2018 In, he chose the full Intel chip lineup . However, due to Intel 5G Immature R & D technology , Apple feels 2020 Year of iPhone On use 5G Chip hopelessness , Finally, I had to choose to go back and cooperate with Qualcomm .

Apple finally 2019 Reconciliation with Qualcomm , Both parties decide to cancel all lawsuits worldwide . The settlement agreement includes the payment made by apple to Qualcomm , The two companies have reached a six-year patent license agreement . Since the agreement 2019 year 4 month 1 Effective from , This includes a two-year extension option , And a multi-year chipset supply agreement .

But as early as the relationship between the two companies deteriorated , Apple has started its own research 5G Baseband chip work . So soon after apple and Qualcomm reconciled , Intel announced its complete withdrawal 5G Baseband chip business . meanwhile , Apple with 10 Acquired all the baseband chip businesses of Intel at a price of US $billion , These include 2200 Many Intel engineers and employees , And related IP And equipment .

Apple may face prosecution from Qualcomm in the future

Just when everyone expects apple to develop itself 5G Baseband chips appear in iPhone 15 Upper time , The news revealed by Guo Mingxuan has aroused various speculation about Apple's R & D failure .

Some people think that , This means that apple is not ready for this technology . However , Patent blog FOSS PATENTS Put forward the opposite view , It believes that apple is not facing technical problems , It's a legal issue .

Because of the 6 month 27 Japan , The U.S. Supreme Court also rejected Apple's appeal applications for two Qualcomm patents . What's interesting is that , These two patents are related to 5G It doesn't matter much ： One is to let users reject calls through text messages , The other is about the application switching interface .

because 2019 The settlement agreement signed by the two companies in involved thousands of patents , These include these two patents , So apple is worried that once the license agreement is in 2025 Years due , Or postponed to 2027 year , Qualcomm may reuse these patents in litigation .

However , According to the Supreme Court , Because Apple has reached a settlement with Qualcomm , So it is not qualified to sue again . As for what will happen after the agreement expires , That remains to be seen .

Regarding this , You think Apple 5G Baseband chip development failed , Is it technical reason or legal reason ？

Reference link ：

1.Report: Apple's facing legal problems with in-house 5G modem - GSMArena.com news

2.https://twitter.com/mingchikuo/status/1541814293599252481

3.Apple and Qualcomm Reach Settlement, Agree to Drop All Litigation - MacRumors

4.Kuo: Apple's Work on 5G Modem Chip 'Failed,' Qualcomm to Remain Supplier for 2023 iPhones - MacRumors

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