“Qualcomm and Apple — perhaps the closest the technology sector has to corporate ‘frenemies’ — are ‘on the doorstep’ of resolving their ongoing issues, Qualcomm CEO Steve Mollenkopf told CNBC on Wednesday,” Elizabeth Gurdus reports for CNBC. “‘We do talk as companies,’ the CEO told Jim Cramer in an exclusive interview on Mad Money.”
“Mollenkopf attributed the back-and-forth to ‘activities that are consistent with’ what he called ‘the fourth quarter of the game, and not the first quarter,'” Gurdus reports. ‘We’ve always talked about — I’ve been very consistent — that … the second half of this year and into next year is when we’re really on the doorstep of finding a resolution and we don’t see anything different than that,’ the CEO said.”
“Even though relations have cooled amid the lawsuits, Mollenkopf had a positive outlook on future of the tech giants’ relationship, particularly with the cellular industry on the cusp of 5G adoption,” Gurdus reports. “‘I think there’s always an opportunity and a risk when you have these big G transitions, or the generations of wireless change,’ he told Cramer. ‘It’s the opportunity to either be left behind or to make sure that you’re part of that new generation. Of course, we work with everybody. We would love to work with Apple’ …When Cramer jokingly said he wanted an Apple iPhone equipped with 5G ‘with Qualcomm in it,’ Mollenkopf’s response was succinct: ‘We do, too.'”
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Mollenkopf knows the jig is up.
Qualcomm’s unreasonable, illogical, and irrational licensing scam, which charges a percentage of the total cost of all components in the phone, even non-Qualcomm components, must end.
SEE ALSO:
Apple not in settlement talks ‘at any level’ with Qualcomm – November 7, 2018
Qualcomm claims Apple owes them $7 billion in royalties while Apple says 73% of Qualcomm’s patents have expired – October 27, 2018
Qualcomm seeks to keep patent claims out of legal fight with Apple – October 26, 2018
Qualcomm and U.S. FTC ask judge to delay ruling to pursue settlement talks – October 16, 2018
20-year-old court filing comes back to haunt Qualcomm in antitrust dispute with U.S FTC – October 5, 2018
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Qualcomm accuses Apple of stealing ‘vast swaths’ of chip secrets and passing them to Intel – September 25, 2018
Qualcomm dealt another blow in second ITC action against Apple – September 19, 2018
Qualcomm CEO sees chance of Apple settlement this year – September 18, 2018
Qualcomm makes a tactical error in its battle with Apple – September 7, 2018
Magistrate judge rebukes Qualcomm for iPhone patent infringement allegations it originally chose not to bring – September 6, 2018
EU regulators charge Qualcomm with additional violation in pricing case – July 19, 2018
Apple petitions U.S. Patent Office to invalidate four Qualcomm patents – June 22, 2018
Apple brings 5G and national security into Qualcomm patent battle – June 18, 2018
Analyst: Apple, Qualcomm legal fight could settle this year – June 11, 2018
Apple CEO Tim Cook to be deposed in Qualcomm lawsuit – April 6, 2018
Judge Koh sets aside sanctions order against Apple in FTC v. Qualcomm antitrust case – February 8, 2018
Apple gets support from Lawyers for Civil Justice in fight against discovery sanctions – February 1, 2018
EU fines chipmaker Qualcomm $1.2 billion for paying Apple to shut out rivals’ chips – January 24, 2018
Apple sanctioned in Qualcomm FTC case for withholding documents – December 22, 2017
Apple countersues Qualcomm for patent infringement – November 29, 2017
Apple designing next-gen iPhones, iPads that would dump Qualcomm components – October 31, 2017
“Mollenkopf knows the jig is up.”
Or he knows that Apple knows that Qualcomm is the only supplier of high-performing and high-quality 5G modems Intel has nothing on Qualcomm right now.
Apple will use one or the other for now but Apple is already building a team to build their own modems. That approach worked very well for processors.
Intel has nothing that we know of. Just because Intel has been quiet relative to Qualcomm in 5G “news” doesn’t mean they don’t have viable chips Apple could use. 5G technology is FRAND eligible so Intel or anyone will have access to use these Qualcomm patents/technologies. In the end, it will come down to price of the chips.
Translation: “I’m about ready to fold.”