The chipmaker and the iPhone manufacturer are embroiled in several lawsuits.
Qualcomm and Apple are at it again. After fighting lawsuits over patents and payments, Qualcomm has now taken a dig at Apple before its launch event tonight. In a blog post, Qualcomm declared that Android is the home of all “firsts” in cutting-edge mobile technology. While the global chipmaker doesn’t mention Apple anywhere, some of the features mentioned in the blog post are widely rumored to be coming to the upcoming iPhones.
Qualcomm’s post comes merely hours before Apple kicks off its showpiece event at the Steve Jobs Theater in its Cupertino campus, where it is likely to announce the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus and the iPhone X — Apple’s tenth anniversary edition that is tipped to be priced at $1,000. “Qualcomm Technologies has enabled some notable world firsts on Android, and some remain Android exclusives to this day… Inventions from Qualcomm lay the foundation for so many technologies and experiences we value in our smartphones today — on Android and other platforms,” Francisco Cheng, Director, Technical Marketing at Qualcomm, stated. ALSO READ: Apple ‘iPhone X’ event: Roundup of all the expected announcements
Qualcomm’s timing of the scathing blog post is not to be missed. This could well be a retaliation to Apple’s billion-dollar lawsuit in January, in which the iPhone manufacturer accused the chip-maker of “charging royalties for technologies they have nothing to do with.” Apple alleged that Qualcomm had taken “radical steps” that included “withholding nearly $1 billion in payments from Apple”. It even said that the chip-maker was charging Apple five times more than all other cellular patent licencors it had agreements with. ALSO READ: Qualcomm lashes back at Apple, seeking import ban on iPhones
Qualcomm, in response, sued Apple for patent infringement in July, and sought a ban on the import of iPhones. “Apple continues to use Qualcomm’s technology while refusing to pay for it,” Don Rosenberg, executive vice president and general counsel of Qualcomm, alleged. Now, two months later, on the same day as the world gears up for Apple’s new chapter, Qualcomm has fired its salvo. “We’ve worked closely with Google and leading smartphone OEMs all along, including Samsung, LG, HTC and Motorola/Lenovo. We also work closely with new entrants so that they can become tomorrow’s leaders,” the company highlighted.