In the midst of a growing legal battle with Qualcomm, Apple is designing its iPhone and iPad in 2018 without Qualcomm LTE chips , reports The Wall Street Journal . Apple is considering using only Intel's and perhaps MediaTek's modem chips in its next-generation devices instead.
Qualcomm is supposedly retaining software that Apple has to test on the LTE chips of its iPhone and iPad prototypes, making movement necessary.
Sources of The Wall Street Journal say that Qualcomm has stopped sharing the software after the lawsuit filed against Apple in January, which hinders the development efforts of this, but Qualcomm affirms that Apple has already tested the chip that would be suitable for the next generation of iPhone.
Qualcomm said its " modem that could be used in the next generation iPhone has already been fully tested and released to Apple ." The chip company said it is " committed to supporting Apple's new devices " as it does to others in the industry.
Apple has used Qualcomm modem chips in its devices for many years , but began to diversify last year with the addition of Intel chips in the iPhone 7 and iPhone7 Plus. The iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus also use Intel and Qualcomm chips. In the United States, AT & T and T-Mobile models use Intel chips, while Verizon and Sprint models use Qualcomm chips.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Apple's plans to stop using Qualcomm's chips in its 2018 devices could still change. Apple could change supplier in June , three months before the launch of the iPhone 2018.
Apple and Qualcomm have been embroiled in a legal battle since the beginning of the year after Apple sued Qualcomm for a dizzying figure , accusing the company of charging unfair royalties and not paying for quarterly discounts.
Apple stopped paying Qualcomm's license fees at that time, as did Apple's suppliers. They argue that Qualcomm charges an excessive license fee by requesting a percentage of the entire value of an iPhone, while Qualcomm says its technology is " at the heart of every iPhone ."
Qualcomm has filed a counterclaim and filed several lawsuits for patent infringement against Apple. Qualcomm has also asked the US International Trade Commission to block imports of some iPhone and iPad models and has requested that China stop manufacturing and selling iPhones.
Source : macrumors.com
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