Quick answer? Qualcomm . But let's elaborate. A few weeks ago, Apple was ordered to stop selling certain iPhone models in China due to a lawsuit filed by Qualcomm. The chipset manufacturer alleged that the California-based company was infringing on one of its patents, and a court ruled in its favor in the first instance.
Qualcomm goes all out
As we were able to know beforehand, Apple did not pay too much attention to the lawsuit, since it ensured that the latest update to the iOS system did not infringe any type of patent, but things were not going to stop there, since Qualcomm has returned to the burden. But this time he has preferred to change the country, and has attacked neither more nor less than in Germany.
According to Qualcomm 's new lawsuit , Apple is allegedly infringing several patents related to tracking battery consumption during wireless communications, a feature that saves battery power when using wireless networks. This technology, called "envelope tracking," is used in iPhone models with Intel chips, which in turn are paired with chips from the supplier Qorvo , a company that has denied any patent infringement.
iPhone 7 and iPhone 8, those affected
But the process continues its course, to such an extent that the court in Munich has agreed with Qualcomm, with the possibility that Apple can appeal. Those from Cupertino have followed orders (nothing to do with China's decisions), but have confirmed that they will appeal the sentence. They allege that these decisions by Qualcomm do not seek more than to distract from the real problems between the companies, ultimately harming innovation and consumers. The withdrawal of the phones can be done in a few weeks, but Apple has preferred to cut its losses immediately.
Following the statements, they confirmed that their 15 stores in Germany will stop selling the iPhone 7 and iPhone 8 (the models affected by the case), although carriers and authorized retailers (more than 4.500 locations nationwide) will continue selling the units as usual. Similarly, the new iPhone XS, XS Max, and XR will continue to be available as before, since demand does not appear to be affected in any way.
For now, Qualcomm has not made any further statement, so we will have to wait to see if the manufacturer will continue to be determined to block sales in other countries, even more so taking into account this second victory in Europe.