Qualcomm vs. Apple

Things aren't looking good for Qualcomm. First they are hit with a $853 million fine from South Korea over antitrust allegations, next the FTC joins the fray this Tuesday with a lawsuit in California. Today their largest client, Apple, is filing a lawsuit for licensing practices.

From the looks of it Apple was locked into an agreement with Qualcomm up until 2016 to use their modems. This makes sense since the iPhone 7 launched with both Qualcomm and Intel modems, the first time Apple has deviated from their go to partner. Intel for a long time has been trying to break into the mobile world, and it only makes sense that Qualcomm has been doing everything they can to keep them out.

Qualcomm Faces $853 Million Fine From South Korea Over Alleged Antitrust Violations

After a three-year investigation, the Korea Fair Trade Commission said on Wednesday that Qualcomm breached antitrust law by limiting competing chip makers’ access to its patents.

FTC’s Qualcomm Suit Exposes Tensions in Smartphone Industry

The commission’s complaint, filed Tuesday in federal court in California, alleges Qualcomm used illegal tactics to maintain a monopoly on a key type of chip used in cellphones, harming phone makers including Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co., whose names appear repeatedly in the complaint.

Apple Sues Qualcomm Over Licensing Practices

The suit, filed Friday in federal district court in the Southern District of California, claims that Qualcomm leveraged its monopoly position as a manufacturer of baseband chips, a critical component used in cellphones, to seek “onerous, unreasonable and costly” terms for patents, and that Qualcomm blocked Apple’s ability to choose another supplier for chipsets.

I think Apple has been trying to rid itself of their reliance on Qualcomm, they tend to bully suppliers and don't like to be pigeonholed. I can imagine that spurred them to comply with the South Korean government's investigation and to push matters even further in the US. Their timing on this has been perfect, after lining up a new supplier for modems and two governments have filed grievances they come in with the final blow.

I would love to know what you guys think. Has this whole thing been pushed through by Apple to break a supplier?