After a long-year feud, Apple is considering ditching Qualcomm’s chips altogether. Its future iPhones and iPads would function on processors from Intel and MediaTek #hardwaremagic
The news comes from a Wall Street Journal report that claims the iPhone-maker is investigating new chip providers. The ongoing legal battle with Qualcomm is clearly behind Apple’s decision to think about a back-up plan. Plus, Qualcomm has refused to share the necessary testing software with Apple this year, just after the company took legal action against them.
The most likely candidates to fill in the chip-maker’s shoes – two, most probably, since this way Apple could negotiate royalties – are Intel and MediaTek. Apple has partnered up with Intel (alongside Qualcomm) starting with iPhone 7, anyway.
Nothing is for sure, though. The chips for the next iPhones can be integrated next summer, at the latest. So, Apple has several months to change their mind and take a final decision.
As for the battle against Qualcomm, Tim Cook has always been an advocate of settling than going to court. The conflict with the chip manufacturer started when the FTC accused them of anti-competitive policy. Afterwards, Apple filed a suit only to see its “enemy” respond with an attempted import ban on iPhones in U.S. and a sales block in China.
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