Accident! Apple and Qualcomm actually reconciled

In the early morning of April 17, 2019, both Apple and Qualcomm issued a statement on their official websites, and both parties agreed to abandon all lawsuits worldwide. In their statement, it was revealed that the two sides signed a six-year licensing agreement, which also includes a two-year extension option, effective April 1, 2019. The two parties also signed a multi-year chipset supply agreement. In addition, in the settlement agreement, Apple paid a fee to Qualcomm, but the exact amount of the fee is unknown.

With the release of the statement, Apple and Qualcomm's two-year patent war has finally come to an end. The patent war between Apple and Qualcomm is launched in many countries around the world, involving 16 jurisdictions, and the number of lawsuits is as high as more than 50. The scope of litigation is not limited to standard essential patents in the field of 3G,4G and other communications, but also involves Many software patents. Among them, Apple and Qualcomm also have a confrontation in China. In December 2018, the Fuzhou Intermediate People's Court issued a temporary injunction against Apple, requiring Apple's four Chinese subsidiaries to stop selling 7 mobile phone products including the iPhone 6s to iPhone X.

The outside world has been mixed on the unexpected handshake between Apple and Qualcomm, but there is no doubt that this settlement is a win-win situation. For Apple, 5G chips are guaranteed. At the beginning of this month, some analysts looked down on Apple's 5G phone, believing that Apple would not be able to launch a 5G iPhone in 2020 because Apple could not ensure that it had the necessary 5G modem. At present, Apple is already at a low position in the competition for 5G mobile phones. Intel, Apple's modem supplier, may not be able to provide 5G chips for mobile phones until 2020. Its development speed in 5G is far lower than Qualcomm's. By then, Qualcomm is expected to launch a new generation of 5G modems. Apple's rival in the mobile phone field, Samsung Huawei, etc., has made a breakthrough in 5G phones, Samsung has listed a 5G phone based on Qualcomm chips, Huawei as a rising star, has been in the 5G field has a bright performance. Now, with the settlement reached, Apple's 5G iPhone business is gradually on track. It is expected to release a prototype in September 2019, and Apple will be able to launch 5G iPhone at the spring conference in March 2020. Even if the 5G iPhone is not launched in 2019, the signing of this agreement will have a certain boost to the sales of Apple's new phones. In 2018, Apple's mobile phones did not sell well in the Chinese market. On the one hand, it adopted a high pricing strategy and actively eliminated a group of consumers. On the other hand, it was because the Intel chips used by Apple were in terms of signal reception and even call effects. Not satisfactory, it has discouraged many consumers' enthusiasm for changing phones. Therefore, the conclusion of the settlement agreement is not only conducive to speeding up the research and development process of 5G mobile phones, but also boosting sales. It can also crack the suspicion of the outside world that Apple is restricted by chips.

For Qualcomm, the signing of the agreement between the two sides is even more beneficial and harmless. The first is to benefit Qualcomm's revenue. In 2018, when it was in a fierce confrontation with Apple, Qualcomm's performance was dismal, with its first loss since its listing, with a net loss of $4.9 billion. The outside world generally believes that the reason for the serious decline in Qualcomm's performance in 2018 is the loss of Apple, a big customer. Even if Apple's mobile phone sales decline in 2018, it still holds the top spot in the mobile phone sales list. With the signing of the agreement, Qualcomm regained Apple's orders, and its revenue will increase significantly in 2019. It is no wonder that after the announcement of the two sides, Qualcomm shares soared 23% and 33% in two days. Qualcomm can win Apple this big order, but also help ease Qualcomm's own anxiety. Qualcomm's revenue decline or even losses in 2018, coupled with the rise of some new stars, such as Huawei, also made Qualcomm feel the crisis. After the signing of the agreement between the two sides, Qualcomm will be able to relax, at least in terms of revenue pressure is not so great. Finally, the signing of this agreement also brings Qualcomm an invisible benefit, that is, the rationality of Qualcomm's patent tax. The point of contention between Qualcomm and Apple was that Apple accused Qualcomm of violating market practices, raising chip prices, limiting competition in the industry and harming customers' choices, I .e. questioning the reasonableness of the Qualcomm tax. And now the settlement between Apple and Qualcomm indirectly shows that Apple has recognized Qualcomm's patent fee model, and Qualcomm's business model of levying Qualcomm tax will be maintained. Before, many other manufacturers hoped that Apple would put pressure on Qualcomm to change its charging model. Now this hope has become a bubble.

However, the settlement between Apple and Qualcomm is also expected. This kind of patent litigation game between large companies has always been to gain more bargaining chips and get more benefits. Now, both Apple and Qualcomm can get what they want in a settlement, so the settlement is a matter of course.