Apple and Qualcomm may have made up again, but the two parties aren’t going to spill the beans regarding exactly how much their financial settlement involved.
Speaking on CNBC today, Qualcomm CEO Steve Mollenkopf said that he wouldn’t discuss the payment Apple agreed to in the settlement. However, he did note that the two companies are excited about working together once again.
“The reality is two great product companies, it’s a natural position for them to work together and want to work together,” Mollenkopf said.
“The energy of the companies right now is lets figure out how to ramp up as quickly as possible,” he continued, alluding to further 5G chip development. “That’s where the focus is, that’s what we are excited about.”
Paving the way for a 2020 5G iPhone
The settlement means that Qualcomm will provide 5G chips to Apple, probably resulting in a 5G iPhone as early as 2020. As Apple revealed in a press release yesterday, the deal means that Qualcomm and Apple have a six-year license agreement, effective as of April 1, 2019. This includes a two-year option to extend, and a multiyear chipset supply agreement.
Soon after the news was announced about Apple and Qualcomm making up, Intel revealed that it was dropping out of the 5G smartphone modem race.
Qualcomm stock soared 23% on Tuesday following the news. Pundits had long suggested that Apple and Qualcomm would eventually come to terms in their multi-year clash. The reason for this is 5G technology, which both companies stand to benefit from.
Had the two parties gone to court, the patent battle could have involved damages of up to $30 billion. That would have made this the biggest legal battle of its kind.
In the end, it appears that cooler heads prevailed. We’d certainly be interested to know what the terms agreed between the two tech giants were, however!
Source: CNBC
