I would like to know what (or who) exactly these unspecified "headwinds" are. Since when do government agencies get cowed so easily if they believe to be in the right?
Is there a citation for this or is it presumption/opinion?. . . Apple dropped the case and reached a settlement with Qualcomm in 2019 after it became clear there were no other options for 5G modems for use in 2020 iPhones.
Know what? I would watch these type of things in movie form and all.The cynic is me says that Apple was pushing this with the FTC. And when Apple bought Intel, they no longer had a reason to neuter with Qualcomm, and in fact every reason to keep the Qualcomm monopoly as it would harm Apple's competitors.
That’s discouraging. For a patent troll, at least Qualcomm does make
how is QC a patent troll. They actually make modems. Using their own technology. Use it you pay for it. Same as Apple.My opinion, but Qualcomm should’ve gotten tagged with a Sherman act violation. The FTC would’ve won at least a portion of their argument before the Supreme Court. I can only imagine the amount of political lobbying involved and death threats heaped upon the FTC.
The problem isn’t that Qualcomm is smart or successful or even the best at what they do. I wholeheartedly agree that they are super-smart and entitled to the profit of their labor. However, they are using their patents and market position to squeeze every last dollar out of their licensees. They also charge based on the final sale price of the device, so the same modem or license for a $1300 phone costs more money than a $700 phone. The customer is being taxed additional money by Qualcomm, with no additional features, simply because the end-user can afford it. This is not a Qualcomm/Apple spat - Qualcomm is doing this to everyone.
Someone joked about chargers disappearing because the modem costs went up, but that’s exactly what happened. Apple will only absorb so much cost before it gets passed to the consumer. The result: Apple’s elimination of the charging blocks was spun as some kind of tree-hugging gesture and Qualcomm recorded record profits after the launch of 5G iPhones.
This shenangan trial had no teeth beyond Koh's court in Apple backyard.This is disappointing... Is the FTC in need of some teeth?
The cynic is me says that Apple was pushing this with the FTC. And when Apple bought Intel, they no longer had a reason to neuter with Qualcomm, and in fact every reason to keep the Qualcomm monopoly as it would harm Apple's competitors.