Apple has some serious backup in its battle against Qualcomm, as a lobbying group representing some of tech’s heaviest hitters (including a handful of Apple’s biggest historic enemies) have called on regulators to reject Qualcomm’s bid to ban the importing of iPhones.
Some of the names in said group? Alphabet, Amazon, Microsoft, and Samsung — all of whom have filed official comments in support of Apple with the U.S. International Trade Commission.
Their argument is that banning imports of iPhones assembled overseas, as Qualcomm has asked, would cause “significant shocks to supply.”
“If the ITC were to grant this exclusion order, it would help Qualcomm use its monopoly power for further leverage against Apple and allow them to drive up prices on consumer devices,” Ed Black, CEO of the Computer & Communications Industry Association said in a statement. “What’s at stake here is certainly the availability of iPhones and other smartphones at better prices.”
Apple itself is not a member of the Computer & Communications Industry Association.
The story so far
The dispute between Apple and Qualcomm broke out in January, when Apple sued Qualcomm for allegedly withholding $1 billion in rebates because Apple assisted South Korean regulators investigating Qualcomm’s business.
Qualcomm hit back back by claiming Apple was being purposely misleading, and that it had breached its contract with the company. The decision by Apple to withhold royalty payments to Qualcomm then meant that Qualcomm was forced to revise its earnings forecasts to give a smaller number, due to Apple cutting off one of its major sources of revenue.
The point that most upset the other tech companies, however, was Qualcomm’s decision to file a complaint with the International Trade Commission to ban iPhones being imported to the United States that use chips, “other than those supplied by Qualcomm affiliates.” Apple started using Intel chips in the iPhone 7.
Source: Reuters
Luke Dormehl is a U.K.-based journalist and author, with a background working in documentary film for Channel 4 and the BBC. He is the author of The Apple Revolution and The Formula: How Algorithms Solve All Our Problems … and Create More, both published by Penguin/Random House. His tech writing has also appeared in Wired, Fast Company, Techmeme and other publications.
3 responses to “Apple’s biggest rivals back fight against Qualcomm”
I have held back form buying a 15″ for a while hoping Apple would release 17″Mac Book Pro.
I appreciate there may not be a demand for 17″ Mbp, I wonder why not release limited edition online order only and see how they sell. I love working with multiple windows and really need to space that 15″ doesn’t give on a laptop. I must be a screen addict. : ) Please! Apple, 17″ Mac Book Pro : D
@Dale, I’m thinking your comment doesn’t seem related to the Apple VS Qualcomm legal dispute?
To your point, the rMBP is a much higher resolution than the 17″ MBP. Try demoing one and adjusting the screen scaling. I work two up or more with app windows all the time. The rMBP has more than twice the reosolution than the old 17 inch. Apple has indicated which way they are going by introducing the 12 inch MacBook below the existing 13 inch.
The company does not “release limited edition online order only” products for a number of reasons related to scope and scale.
@Dale Your comment doesn’t seem related to the Apple VS Qualcomm legal dispute.
To your point, the rMBP is a much higher resolution than the 17″ MBP. Try demoing one and adjusting the screen scaling. I work two up or more with app windows all the time. The rMBP has more than twice the reosolution than the old 17 inch. Apple has indicated which way they are going by introducing the 12 inch MacBook below the existing 13 inch.
The company does not “release limited edition online order only” products for a number of reasons related to scope and scale.