Amaya Toman China has banned the import and sale of most iPhones into the country. The reason is said to be a patent dispute with Qualcomm. However, the ban only applies to older phone models and does not apply to the latest iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max and iPhone XR. The problem lies in the operating system itself.
Chinese court according to CNBC banned the import and sale of almost all iPhone models. CNBC cites Monday's statement from Qualcomm. However, Apple has disputed the scope of the ban, saying the penalty only applies to iPhones preinstalled with an older operating system. Specifically, it should be iPhone 6s to iPhone X models, so the latest generation of Apple smartphones should remain unaffected by Chinese sanctions. Apparently, it depends on which operating system was current at the time of the official release of the given model.
The lawsuit by Qualcomm concerns patents related to image resizing and the use of touch-based navigation applications. iOS 12 apparently came with changes that are not covered by Qualcomm's complaint, which is not the case for older operating systems. Apple issued the following statement on the matter:
Qualcomm's attempt to ban our products is just another desperate move by a company whose illegal practices are being investigated around the world. All iPhone models continue to be available to all our customers in China. Qualcomm is claiming three patents that have never been issued before, including one that has already been invalidated. We will pursue all our legal options through the courts.
Qualcomm has repeatedly expressed its interest in resolving the dispute with Apple in a private way, but Apple is confident that it can afford to publicly prove itself in court. In the past, Apple CEO Tim Cook has expressed his interest in a successful resolution of the entire dispute, but he clearly prefers to go to court. Among other things, Qualcomm is demanding seven billion dollars in license fees from Apple, but Apple strongly rejects its obligation to Qualcomm.
