Apple replaces Intel modem iPhone 7 and 8 with Qualcomm one in Germany

Apple confirms that it is offering modified variants of the iPhone 7 and 8 in Germany, due to the previously imposed sales ban. The new versions have a Qualcomm modem instead of an Intel modem and are therefore excluded from the ban.

Apple has confirmed the arrival of the modified versions to various German publications. This can be read in the newspaper Die Zeit, among other things. There will be versions of the iPhone 7 and 8 with communication chips from Qualcomm instead of Intel, Apple says. iPhone 7 and 8 models are now being offered again on the German Apple website.

Late last year, a German judge banned the sale of the iPhone 7 and 8 in Germany after Qualcomm filed a patent case against Apple. The case specifically concerned chips for wireless communications from Apple’s supplier Qorvo, which Qualcomm said infringed patents on envelope tracking technology. That chip is integrated into the Intel modems that Apple uses in the iPhone 7 and 8.

The sale ban is the result of a long-running global legal dispute between Apple and Qualcomm. That conflict started with a lawsuit from Apple in which the iPhone maker accuses Qualcomm of charging excessive royalties and unfair competition. Qualcomm subsequently sued Apple in several countries for patent infringement.

The adjustment does not mean that Apple will give in to the lawsuit with Qualcomm. The company states in a statement that Qualcomm is trying to impose a sales ban on Apple with blackmail claims. Apple says it will continue to fight ‘for what is right’.