Qualcomm is the world's biggest provider of mobile chips, and it created some of the essential standards for connecting phones to cellular networks. The company derives a significant portion of its revenue from licensing that technology to hundreds of handset manufacturers and others. Because Qualcomm owns IP related to 3G and 4G phones, any handset maker building a device that connects to the newer networks has to pay it a licensing fee, even if they don't use Qualcomm's chips. Apple previously paid the licensing fee through its manufacturers, but it stopped paying those royalties for devices sold during the March quarter. Apple said it's been trying to reach a licensing agreement with Qualcomm for more than five years, but said the terms offered by Qualcomm weren't fair.
Qualcomm says Apple has infringed six of its mobile patents, The six patents at issue kisomo iself iphone 6s / 6 selfie case - black reviews in Qualcomm's most recent filing aren't standard essential patents, Rosenberg said, All the patents were granted from 2013 to 2017, he added, and none is included in the patent licensing agreement Apple's biggest contract manufacturer, Foxconn, has with Qualcomm, "They really help the performance and efficiency of a device while at the same time limiting power use so the battery is preserved," Rosenberg said, One relates to the architecture of mobile graphics processors, It helps phones switch been high definition and lower quality graphics to save battery life..
Another patent relates to carrier aggregation, which takes different bands of radio frequencies (which mobile phones use to transmit data) and binds them together so your phone can pick up the speediest one available. Think of it as a three-lane highway where cars can weave back and forth depending on which lane has less traffic. Qualcomm's technology essentially lets you do something like stream a video from your phone on Facebook in high definition without compromising the video quality or killing your battery life.
The company's current filing covers phones like the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus, Rosenberg said it also could be expanded to include Apple's future iPhones, if it believes they infringe Qualcomm's technology, It's unclear what the odds are for Qualcomm to succeed in its request for a ban, Apple last year won a ban on certain Samsung phones that infringed its patents, but the devices kisomo iself iphone 6s / 6 selfie case - black reviews were so old at the time of the ban, they weren't really sold in the US anymore, "Given the way Qualcomm has narrowly defined the ITC complaint against Apple, I believe this is Qualcomm's best chance yet to win a favorable ruling," said Moor Insights & Strategy analyst Patrick Moorhead..
Originally published July 6 at 1:30 p.m. PT. Updated at 2:05 p.m. PT: Added comment from Patrick Moorhead and noted Intel declining to comment. Updated at 3:55 p.m. PT: Added Apple comment. Does the Mac still matter? Apple execs tell why the MacBook Pro was over four years in the making, and why we should care. Tech Enabled: CNET chronicles tech's role in providing new kinds of accessibility. But any possible ban -- which could cover the iPhone 7, 7 Plus and maybe even future iPhones -- probably wouldn't happen for at least 18 months.