Apple was forced to do this in Germany following a decision last December that it violated Qualcomm’s intellectual property.
Most likely Tim Cook’s company will appeal to the end. Currently, Apple still sells other iPhone devices, except iPhones 7 and 8, in the German market.
Last week, Qualcomm announced a $ 1.5 billion guaranteed bond as a move to force a German court ban to be enforced.
This bond is used to compensate for the bans that Apple may have. Currently the official website of Apple in Germany only sells iPhone XS and iPhone XR. Apple hopes iPhone 7 and iPhone 8 may still be sold by a third retailer.
In fact, Germany’s largest iPhone resellers have not yet removed their iPhone 7 and iPhone 8 from their shelves. Apple hopes this will help limit the losses it incurs from the ban.
The initial victory did not satisfy Qualcomm. The US chip maker wants the ban to be extended to all iPhone models, including iPhone X and iPhone XS.
In a similar move in China, Qualcomm won Apple. The Chinese court issued a ban on the sale of iPhones in the country. However, Apple circumvented the law by issuing special upgrade software to remove allegedly infringing features of Qualcomm.
Despite trying hard, Apple’s continued assault on all markets is troubling investors. Apple shares fell more than 30% in the past three months as iPhone sales plunged in key markets. Tim Cook has just announced a reduction in the first-quarter revenue forecast this year.
