Huawei to Negotiate Royalties From Apple and Samsung for 5G Technology
Huawei will begin negotiating for royalties from Apple and Samsung for access to its portfolio of patents on 5G technology (via Bloomberg).
Huawei is the owner of the world's largest collection of 5G patents and is seeking to charge other large tech companies a "reasonable" fee for access to them, creating a substantial new source of revenue.
Huawei's Chief Legal Officer, Song Liuping, explained earlier today that the company will negotiate rates and comprehensive cross-licensing agreements with Apple and Samsung, promising to charge lower rates than competitors such as Qualcomm, Ericsson, and Nokia. "It's natural" for Huawei to capitalize on its patents, Song said.
Per-phone royalties will be capped at $2.50, which is markedly less than Qualcomm's $7.50 rate that led to a legal battle with Apple over supposedly unfair pricing.
While Apple is currently reliant on Qualcomm and expected to stick with external suppliers for its 5G technology until 2022, the company is rumored to be developing its own 5G modem for introduction on the 2023 iPhone models. Apple is also believed to have begun work on next-generation 6G wireless technologies.
With Apple seeking to move away from reliance on other companies for wireless technologies, it is unclear how a deal with Huawei may pan out. Though Apple could take advantage of Huawei's expansive portfolio of 5G patents to develop its own wireless technologies, the company's apparent desire for independence in this area may mire the chances of a sustainable long-term agreement.
Note: Due to the political or social nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Political News forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.
Popular Stories
Apple turns 50 this year, and its CEO Tim Cook has promised to celebrate the milestone. The big day falls on April 1, 2026.
"I've been unusually reflective lately about Apple because we have been working on what do we do to mark this moment," Cook told employees today, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. "When you really stop and pause and think about the last 50 years, it makes your heart ...
While the iOS 26.3 Release Candidate is now available ahead of a public release, the first iOS 26.4 beta is likely still at least a week away. Following beta testing, iOS 26.4 will likely be released to the general public in March or April.
Below, we have recapped known or rumored iOS 26.3 and iOS 26.4 features so far.
iOS 26.3
iPhone to Android Transfer Tool
iOS 26.3 makes it easier...
Apple recently acquired Israeli startup Q.ai for close to $2 billion, according to Financial Times sources. That would make this Apple's second-biggest acquisition ever, after it paid $3 billion for the popular headphone maker Beats in 2014.
This is also the largest known Apple acquisition since the company purchased Intel's smartphone modem business and patents for $1 billion in 2019....
Apple plans to announce the iPhone 17e on Thursday, February 19, according to Macwelt, the German equivalent of Macworld.
The report, citing industry sources, is available in English on Macworld.
Apple announced the iPhone 16e on Wednesday, February 19 last year, so the iPhone 17e would be unveiled exactly one year later if this rumor is accurate. It is quite uncommon for Apple to unveil...
In the iOS 26.4 update that's coming this spring, Apple will introduce a new version of Siri that's going to overhaul how we interact with the personal assistant and what it's able to do.
The iOS 26.4 version of Siri won't work like ChatGPT or Claude, but it will rely on large language models (LLMs) and has been updated from the ground up.
Upgraded Architecture
The next-generation...
