The Apple vs. Qualcomm battle has entered a new phase with the latter winning a court order that makes the selling of some older iPhone models – iPhone 7 and iPhone 8 – illegal in Germany. Apple has responded saying they would be filing an appeal against the order.
But before that, Apple must first comply with the order, which it said is already in process as the said iPhone models are currently being pulled from its Apple Store outlets in the country. However, while the older iPhone models will cease to be sold from the 15 Apple Store outlets in Germany, the phones will still be available from third-party retailers as well as from the carriers.
Also, the ruling won’t have any effect on the current gen iPhone XS and XR devices. In fact, Apple has sidestepped a similar order banning the sale of older iPhone models in China by updating the software that introduces new animations. Unfortunately, the same strategy isn’t applicable in Germany considering that the ban is about how the iPhone saves on battery power.
Another point of contention between the iPhone maker and Qualcomm is the manner the former searches for contacts. While the same can surely be rectified via a software update, the power saving functionality is more of a hardware issue and is hence harder to solve immediately. Going for a hardware rectification for an older generation phone might not be too cost effective as well given that the phones are not likely to be much in demand either.
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Apple can still take it easy as its latest generation iPhones are unaffected by the ban. A far bigger issue Apple would like to avoid is another case ongoing in the US where the chipmaker is seeking a similar ban on the import of iPhone models in the country. Both Qualcomm and Apple are on a warring path with each filing suits and countersuits against each other.
