If it’s Thursday, it must be realityOS. Signs of Apple’s mixed reality moves turn up on GitHub. TMO Managing Editor Jeff Butts joins Ken to kick that around. Then, Qualcomm seems to be setting the smart car bar pretty high. Jeff tells us what’s coming down the road.
Qualcomm
iPhone Rumors and AirPods Max Attacks - TMO Daily Observations 2023-02-28
Having taken it off the table earlier this year, TF International analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has put iPhone SE 4 back in play. TMO Managing Editor Jeff Butts joins Ken to talk about what Apple building its own 5G modem for the SE could mean for other Apple gear. Plus – Bad guys are stealing AirPods Max off of people’s heads in NYC. HOW COULD YOU NOT HEAR THEM CO… oh… yeah…
Apple to Continue to Use Qualcomm's 5G Modem for 2023 iPhone Models
Reports from “Bloomberg’s” Mark Gurman indicate that Apple will continue to use Qualcomm’s 5G modems for 2023 iPhone models.
Europe's General Court Rules Qualcomm Won't Have to Pay $1 Billion Fine for Paying Apple to Use Its Chips Exclusively
Europe’s General Court ruled Qualcomm does not need to pay the $1 billion fine imposed for paying Apple to use its chips in iPhones.
Apple's Issue With In-House 5G Chip May Be a Legal, Not Technical Problem
Apple’s own 5G chip likely won’t be ready for the iPhone 15, and this may may be due to a legal problem between Apple and Qualcomm.
Qualcomm Dodges $1 Billion EU Fine Over Apple LTE Deal
European Commission fines against Qualcomm for its LTE chipset deal with Apple were overturned. The Commission can appeal to a higher court.
Qualcomm's New Snapdragon Chip Aims to Defeat Cops and Robbers
A report from PCMag today discusses Qualcomm’s latest chip, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1. It has anti-spoofing technology to protect against Stingrays.
Spoof cell sites can now be run on small, widely available boxes that pass bad data and phishing messages, Qualcomm said at its Snapdragon Summit today. Otherwise known as “Stingrays,” these faux cells can be run by criminals, law enforcement, or security agencies to collect your personal data without your permission.
Qualcomm Sets Out Apple Silicon Competitor
Qualcomm is preparing for battle with Cupertino and its M-series chips. It laid out its competition to Apple Silicon for Windows device, which will launch in 2023, The Verge reported. Perhaps most interesting of all is the fact that those working on this project used to work for Apple.
Dr. James Thompson, Qualcomm’s chief technology officer, announced the plans for the new chips at the company’s 2021 investor day event, with the goal of getting samples to hardware customers in about nine months ahead of product launches with the new chip in 2023. The new chip will be designed by the Nuvia team, which Qualcomm had bought earlier this year in a massive $1.4 billion acquisition. Nuvia, notably, was founded in 2019 by a trio of former Apple employees who had previously worked on the company’s A-series chips.
Apple Begins Work to Create its Own Cellular Modem
Johny Srouji, Apple’s senior vice president of hardware technologies, said the company has begun efforts to create its own cellular modem.
Custom 5G Apple Modem has Goal of 2022 Release
Reports say that Apple has moved its timeline for a custom 5G Apple modem to 2022.
It won’t be easy. In fact, bringing a new modem to the finish line in two years is really pushing it, my source said. After all the design work is done, and the fabrication of the chips themselves is underway, an arduous testing and certification process still awaits.
Right now I think 5G is overhyped and even the previous rumor of a 5G iPhone in 2020 didn’t make sense.
Intel Selling Modem Biz, USB Hubs – TMO Daily Observations 2019-07-23
John Martellaro and Andrew Orr join host Kelly Guimont to theorize about Intel selling their modem business to Apple, and USB/USB-C hubs.
An Inside Look at the Qualcomm Monopoly Ruling
Timothy Lee did a nice deep dive into the 233-page Qualcomm monopoly ruling from Judge Lucy Koh. I’ve heard hot takes of the settlement between Apple and Qualcomm that suggested maybe Apple knew it was going to lose and gave up. But Judge Koh ordered Qualcomm to renegotiate with its customers.
The legal document outlines a nearly 20-year history of overcharging smartphone makers for cellular chips. Qualcomm structured its contracts with smartphone makers in ways that made it almost impossible for other chipmakers to challenge Qualcomm’s dominance. Customers who didn’t go along with Qualcomm’s one-sided terms were threatened with an abrupt and crippling loss of access to modem chips.
In her ruling, Koh ordered Qualcomm to stop threatening customers with chip cutoffs. Qualcomm must now re-negotiate all of its agreements with customers and license its patents to competitors on reasonable terms.
Qualcomm Could Get as Much as $4.7bn from Apple
Qualcomm revealed in its earnings report that it could get as much as $4.7bn from Apple after the two firms settled their legal dispute.
Apple Poached Lead 5G Intel Developer Umashankar Thyagarajan
Just weeks before Apple and Qualcomm reached a settlement, Apple poached Intel employee Umashankar Thyagarajan.
Mr. Thyagarajan’s departure is understood to have been a setback to Intel’s efforts, forcing the company to reshuffle the 5G project. Shortly afterwards, Intel said it would not be able to release a 5G smartphone chip until 2020, more than a year after Qualcomm.
Very interesting. More and more pieces of the puzzle are being revealed.
Intel Quit 5G Mobile Modem Market Because of Apple-Qualcomm Settlement
Intel CEO Bob Swan confirmed his firm’s exit from the 5G mobile smartphone market happened because Apple and Qualcomm settled.
Interview With Qualcomm CEO Steve Mollenkopf
A day after Qualcomm and Apple reached a settlement, CNBC released an interview with Qualcomm CEO Steve Mollenkopf.
Qualcomm CEO Steve Mollenkopf joins CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street” to discuss the Qualcomm-Apple settlement and the company’s future in 5G.
I can’t directly link the video here but I think it’s worth watching.
Apple and Modems, Buying Roku – TMO Daily Observations 2019-04-17
Andrew Orr and Charlotte Henry join host Kelly Guimont for a discussion of Apple’s current modem situation and why buying Roku makes sense.
Intel Exiting 5G Smartphone Modem Market
Intel is exiting the 5G smarptphone modem business. The announcement came shortly after Apple and Qualcomm settled their legal dispute.
Apple Qualcomm Court Battle Starts Today
The Apple-Qualcomm court battle starts today over chip royalties, and billions of dollars could be at stake.
Qualcomm Owes Apple $1 Billion Rebate Payment
A federal judge recently ruled that Qualcomm owes Apple almost US$1B in patent royalty rebate payments.
Judge Gonzalo Curiel of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California on Thursday ruled that Qualcomm, the world’s biggest supplier of mobile phone chips, was obligated to pay nearly $1 billion in rebate payments to Apple, which for years used Qualcomm’s modem chips to connect iPhones to wireless data networks.
Apple Accuses Qualcomm of Witness Tampering in Latest Clash
Apple has accused Qualcomm of tampering with ones its witnesses, a notion the chipmaker describes as “ridiculous.”
Qualcomm Launches Latest Legal Challenge Against Apple
The latest round of legal clashes between Apple and chipmaker Qualcomm will take place in San Francisco this week.
Qualcomm had 4 Lawsuits Against Apple Dismissed by German Court
Apple scored its second legal victory against Qualcomm this month when a German court threw out 4 cases brought by the chip maker.
It Doesn't Look Good for Qualcomm in Antitrust Trial
Qualcomm and the FTC have presented closing arguments in the antitrust trial, and it doesn’t sound good for Qualcomm.
The evidence is overwhelming that Qualcomm engaged in exclusionary conduct. The effects of Qualcomm’s conduct, when considered together, are anticompetitive.
It will be interesting to see if this case will finally close, or if Apple and Qualcomm will keep fighting like Apple and Samsung do.