Amidst its ongoing legal battle with Apple, Qualcomm today stated that it expects the iPhone maker will not use any Qualcomm modems in its upcoming iPhones. While Qualcomm will still provide modems for older iPhones that remain available for sale, losing out on all new business is a huge blow for the company…
Qualcomm financial chief George Davis made the comment on the company’s earnings call this evening, as noted by CNBC. While he didn’t delve into specifics, he said that Qualcomm believes “Apple intends to solely use our competitor’s modems rather than our modems in its next iPhone release.”
When asked about whether or not Qualcomm has lost Apple’s business forever, Qualcomm president Cristiano Amon said that “this is a very dynamic industry” and that “if the opportunity presents itself, I think we will be a supplier of Apple.”
The “competitor” Qualcomm refers to is, of course, Intel. Apple started using Intel chips in iPhone with the iPhone 7, but it did not completely move away from Qualcomm, instead splitting orders between the two.
Past reports have indicated Apple’s plan to ditch Qualcomm entirely. Originally, some suspected Apple would be unable to completely switch to Intel this year, perhaps giving Qualcomm 30 percent of its modem orders. It now seems, however, that Apple will be able to make the jump entirely this year.
Qualcomm’s announcement today comes as the modem manufacturer has turned against Apple in its advertising. Earlier this week, it released a series of graphics comparing download performance between Android phones with Qualcomm modems and the iPhone with Intel.
Apple and Qualcomm have been engaged in a nasty legal battle over the last year. The trouble started when the FTC lodged a complaint against Qualcomm, alleging that the chipmaker forced Apple to use its baseband chips for higher royalties. Apple then filed its own $1 billion lawsuit on the matter. For its part, Qualcomm has attempted an import ban on iPhones in the United States, while it also filed to block iPhone sales and manufacturing in China.
For Qualcomm, the legal battle with Apple has become incredibly expensive. The company announced a “workforce reduction” earlier this year in an effort to cut operating costs by $1 billion.
