Apple will begin to sell iPhones in Germany but only the older models that have Qualcomm’s chips in them after losing a lawsuit with the mobile chip maker.
According to a report in CNBC, citing Apple, the Cupertino, California iPhone maker said it didn’t have any other choice but to stop selling the iPhones in Germany that had an Intel chip in them. The move was to comply with the patent infringement lawsuit Qualcomm was successful in against Apple. Qualcomm had filed a lawsuit against Apple in Germany contending a portion of its iPhone 7 and iPhone 8 models being sold in Germany violated the patents of Qualcomm. The court ruled in favor of Qualcomm and banned sales of the iPhone models that had the Intel chips. That prompted Apple to remove iPhones off the store shelves of 15 retailers in the country.
Apple said it will only use the Qualcomm iPhones in Germany. “Qualcomm is attempting to use injunctions against our products to try to get Apple to succumb to their extortionist demands,” Apple said in a statement to Reuters, according to CNBC.
The blow to Apple comes at a time when its iPhone business is struggling, particularly overseas. According to a recent Bloomberg report, Apple’s iPhone shipments fell roughly 20 percent in the fourth quarter in China. Citing IDC, Bloomberg reported the smartphone market in China contracted 9.7 percent in the last three months of 2018, but the dip at Apple was more pronounced. The hefty price tag of Apple’s newest iPhones, coupled with an economic slowdown and extending smartphone replacement cycles in China has been hurting the smartphone maker.
At the same time that iPhone sales are lackluster, Apple is seeing its subscription-based business grow. Sensor Tower, the market research firm, found that revenue generated from mobile apps per U.S. iPhones increased 36 percent in 2018, with a large part of the growth coming from subscription-based apps.