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Apple Warns Chinese iPhone Ban Would Force a Settlement With Qualcomm, Result in 'Irreparable Harm' to Apple and Others [Updated]

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In a court filing related to the ongoing dispute with Qualcomm that has resulted in a partial ban on iPhone sales in China, Apple this week warned that upholding the ban would cause "truly irreparable harm" to Apple, other companies, and consumers if Apple is forced to withdraw its devices from the market, according to Bloomberg.

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The ban would cost Apple millions of dollars a day and affect both the Chinese government and consumers, the company added, noting it has created 5 million jobs in China across the supply chain and third-party software developers.

The Chinese government "may suffer hundreds of thousands of tax losses" from the iPhone ban because of lost taxes from sales of the devices, the company also said, citing estimates of 50 million units sold in the country in 2017. [...]

"Apple and many other companies, consumers, and government will suffer truly irreparable harm," the company said in the filing.
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As a result, Apple says the ban would force Apple to settle with Qualcomm, a move that would lead the entire mobile phone industry to "relapse into the previous unreasonable charging mode and pay high licensing fees."

Apple and Qualcomm have been locked in a patent battle over chip-related license fees, but the current issue instead stems from separate patents that cover allowing users to "adjust and reformat the size and appearance of photos" and "managing applications using a touch screen when viewing and navigating apps."

Qualcomm earlier this week won an import ban on iPhone 6s through iPhone X models, although Apple has argued the ban does not apply to devices running iOS 12, so it has continued sales for the time being. In an effort to expand its victory, Qualcomm is now seeking to include Apple's latest iPhone XS and iPhone XR devices in the ban.

Update 8:30 PM: Apple says it will push a software update to iPhone users in China early next week that the company says should address the patent-related issues, according to Reuters.
"Based on the iPhone models we offer today in China, we believe we are in compliance," Apple said.

"Early next week we will deliver a software update for iPhone users in China addressing the minor functionality of the two patents at issue in the case."
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Article Link: Apple Warns Chinese iPhone Ban Would Force a Settlement With Qualcomm, Result in 'Irreparable Harm' to Apple and Others [Updated]
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2018/12/13/apple-warns-qualcomm-ban-irreparabl/
MacRumors said:
As a result, Apple says the ban would force Apple to settle with Qualcomm, a move that would lead the entire mobile phone industry to "relapse into the previous unreasonable charging mode and pay high licensing fees."
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I'm pretty sure Apple could make up the extra cash if anybody even so much as poked ol' Timmy.

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Maybe don’t sign licensing agreements that you don’t plan on paying for? Apple knew exactly what they were doing when they accepted Qualcomm’s terms. They are just mad because they don’t want to lose the total $ increase/unit from the % agreement they made when the phone used to be $650 and is now $1000.
 
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acorntoy said:
Do you have the current licensing fees per phone, as well as competitors as well as the licensing fees going back to the original iPhone?

Honestly curious. It would help me settle my opinion on this matter.
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Just a ball park on the number that I care about as a consumer. It squeezes in somewhere in the $999 starting price for the Xs.
 
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ob81 said:
Just a ball park on the number that I care about as a consumer. It squeezes in somewhere in the $999 starting price for the Xs.
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So because Apple has high priced phones you want them to lose a court case that doesn’t relate to the price? Or because the price is high you want them to be punished, and therefore losing a court case would satisfy that?
 
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acorntoy said:
Do you have the current licensing fees per phone, as well as competitors as well as the licensing fees going back to the original iPhone?

Honestly curious. It would help me settle my opinion on this matter.
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The key is not the price, but how price is calculated. Do some digging, I’m too lazy to move my fingers.

Keywords,

% of the unit price vs direct chip price
Subsidizing small manufactures (aka Apple’s potential competition)
 
69Mustang said:
I'm pretty sure if Trump keeps playing chicken with China, Apple's going to end up being a sacrificed pawn in that game.
/metaphor mixed intentionally
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I get this argument and yet I don’t. If it was a Chinese electronics company vs Apple it would make more sense, but they are both American corporations, China aiding Qualcomm doesn’t really “hurt” the US (at least not anymore than China aiding Apple) if Qualcomm wins, an American company will make more money, if Apple wins a different American company will make more money.

In fact Qualcomm winning would probably be bad for Huawei, as they would be forced to pay more to license their phones.
 
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Wow, so Apple builds a new campus in Austin for 1 Billion and hires 15k workers...

Meanwhile China got 5 million Apple jobs.

Ahh, what will America look like in the future? A growing population and an ever shrinking supply of jobs. Buckle up, we are headed for a cliff.
 
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As a result of the ban, Apple is forced to settle with Qualcomm...

Uh... yeah? That's the idea? That's how things are supposed to end - you're not supposed to just drag things out forever until the other company goes bankrupt, Apple.
 
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acorntoy said:
I get this argument and yet I don’t. If it was a Chinese electronics company vs Apple it would make more sense, but they are both American corporations, China aiding Qualcomm doesn’t really “hurt” the US (at least not anymore than China aiding Apple) if Qualcomm wins, an American company will make more money, if Apple wins a different American company will make more money.

In fact Qualcomm winning would probably be bad for Huawei, as they would be forced to pay more to license their phones.
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No offense but you're looking at it entirely the wrong way. This would have nothing to do with money and everything to do with perception... who makes the other look bad (China or US). Qualcomm would be the weapon China uses to bludgeon the US' darling Apple, and by proxy, bludgeon the US. Public sentiment would be pretty bad and the perception would be it's Trump's fault. Who makes money would be an ancillary concern for Apple and Qualcomm, not the US or China.
 
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69Mustang said:
No offense but you're looking at it entirely the wrong way. This would have nothing to do with money and everything to do with perception... who makes the other look bad (China or US). Qualcomm would be the weapon China uses to bludgeon the US' darling Apple, and by proxy, bludgeon the US. Public sentiment would be pretty bad and the perception would be it's Trump's fault. Who makes money would be an ancillary concern for Apple and Qualcomm, not the US or China.
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In the process, China would harm Chinese mobile phone manufacturers, is the point of Apple’s argument.
 
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kreasonos said:
Wow, so Apple builds a new campus in Austin for 1 Billion and hires 15k workers...

Meanwhile China got 5 million Apple jobs.

Ahh, what will America look like in the future? A growing population and an ever shrinking supply of jobs. Buckle up, we are headed for a cliff.
Click to expand...

The 15,000 in Austin probably make more than all of the 5 million in China.
 
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acorntoy said:
So because Apple has high priced phones you want them to lose a court case that doesn’t relate to the price? Or because the price is high you want them to be punished, and therefore losing a court case would satisfy that?
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Not only that but they are clueless that if affects all other phones as well. It will allow Qualcomm to charge extra to whomever it wants.
 
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69Mustang said:
No offense but you're looking at it entirely the wrong way. This would have nothing to do with money and everything to do with perception... who makes the other look bad (China or US). Qualcomm would be the weapon China uses to bludgeon the US' darling Apple, and by proxy, bludgeon the US. Public sentiment would be pretty bad and the perception would be it's Trump's fault. Who makes money would be an ancillary concern for Apple and Qualcomm, not the US or China.
Click to expand...


That’s the part I do get. I just think if China wants to be petty and go that route they have better options that trying to punish an American company with another one in a very public display. Seems like a move a country would make only when it’s starting to run out of options.

Especially if the punishment is done in a way that would eventually harm their own manufacturers.
 
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tromboneaholic said:
In the process, China would harm Chinese mobile phone manufacturers, is the point of Apple’s argument.
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At what point in history has China had an issue harming it's own for the perceived greater good of China? China's beef is with the US. Apple's argument is a much smaller concern (if it's a concern at all) when put against the the specter of governmental leverage.
 
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