PALO ALTO, U.S./TAIPEI -- Apple and Qualcomm on Tuesday reached a settlement to end a two-year multibillion dollar battle over patent royalties in a move which almost immediately prompted U.S. chip giant Intel to announce it was pulling out of the 5G smartphone chip market.
The two U.S. companies have been negotiating details of the settlement for weeks, sources told the Nikkei Asian Review. They have agreed to drop all litigation worldwide and struck a six-year licensing agreement, that will ensure the launch of the first 5G iPhone in 2020. The settlement included an undisclosed payment to Qualcomm by Apple, which several weeks ago asked its suppliers to begin testing the chipmaker's 5G modems, sources said.
