Apple says it will resume selling older iPhone models (the iPhone 7 and iPhone 8) in its stores in Germany after they were banned last year, but only with chips from Qualcomm, the world’s largest supplier of mobile chips, with whom Apple is involved in a global legal battle.
Apple said it had “no choice” but to stop using some chips from Intel Corp in iPhones headed to Germany in order to comply with a patent infringement lawsuit Qualcomm won against Apple there in December, according to Reuters).
“Qualcomm is attempting to use injunctions against our products to try to get Apple to succumb to their extortionist demands. In many cases they are using patents they purchased or that have nothing to do with their cellular technology to harass Apple and other industry players,” an Apple spokesperson said. “To ensure all iPhone models can again be available to customers in Germany, we have no choice but to stop using Intel chips and ship our phones with Qualcomm chips in Germany. Qualcomm is working to eliminate competition by any means they can, harming consumers and stifling industry innovation along the way.”
In December 2018, the District Court of Munich ruled that Apple is infringing Qualcomm’s patented power savings technology used in smartphones. The tech giant was ordered to cease the sale, offer for sale and importation for sale of all infringing iPhones in Germany. The court also ordered Apple to recall infringing iPhones from third party resellers in Germany.
