Qualcomm Got $4.5 Billion From Apple Settlement According to Earnings Release
Qualcomm today announced its quarterly earnings results and shared details on the amount of revenue that it will be receiving in the coming quarter as part of its recent settlement with Apple.
As pointed out by Axios, Qualcomm will record $4.5 to $4.7 billion in revenue from the Apple settlement, which includes a "cash payment from Apple and the release of related liabilities."
Apple and Qualcomm announced a settlement in mid-April, dropping all lawsuits and litigation against one another. Apple at the time said the settlement included a payment from Apple to Qualcomm, but both companies declined to provide specific details on just how much Apple paid out in backdated royalties.
An analyst estimate put the number at around $5 billion to $6 billion, but it appears Apple didn't shell out quite that much.
Apple's deal with Qualcomm also includes a direct six year licensing agreement and a multiyear chipset supply agreement, which will see Qualcomm supplying modem chips to Apple for future devices.
Apple appears to have had no alternative but to settle with Qualcomm as it needed 5G modem chips for its 2020 iPhone lineup. Apple originally planned to use Intel chips, but rumors suggested Intel wasn't meeting development goals, leading to tension between Apple and Intel.
Just hours after Apple and Qualcomm announced a settlement deal, Intel said that it was exiting the 5G smartphone modem business and would not be making 5G smartphone chips at all, a decision the company later said was based on Apple and Qualcomm's settlement.
Yesterday, Apple CEO Tim Cook said that Apple "feels good" about the resolution with Qualcomm. "We're glad to put the litigation behind us and all the litigation around the world has been dismissed and settled," said Cook. "We're very happy to have a multi-year supply agreement and we're happy that we have a direct license arrangement with Qualcomm that was important for both companies."
Popular Stories
Last year, Apple launched CarPlay Ultra, the long-awaited next-generation version of its CarPlay software system for vehicles. Nearly nine months later, CarPlay Ultra is still limited to Aston Martin's latest luxury vehicles, but that should change fairly soon.
In May 2025, Apple said many other vehicle brands planned to offer CarPlay Ultra, including Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis.
In his Powe...
Apple today confirmed to Reuters that it has acquired Q.ai, an Israeli startup that is working on artificial intelligence technology for audio.
Apple paid close to $2 billion for Q.ai, according to sources cited by the Financial Times. That would make this Apple's second-biggest acquisition ever, after it paid $3 billion for the popular headphone and audio brand Beats in 2014.
Q.ai has...
The calendar has turned to February, and a new report indicates that Apple's next product launch is "imminent," in the form of new MacBook Pro models.
"All signs point to an imminent launch of next-generation MacBook Pros that retain the current form factor but deliver faster chips," Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said on Sunday. "I'm told the new models — code-named J714 and J716 — are slated...
Apple recently updated its online store with a new ordering process for Macs, including the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, iMac, Mac mini, Mac Studio, and Mac Pro.
There used to be a handful of standard configurations available for each Mac, but now you must configure a Mac entirely from scratch on a feature-by-feature basis. In other words, ordering a new Mac now works much like ordering an...
Apple is planning to launch new MacBook Pro models with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips alongside macOS 26.3, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
"Apple's faster MacBook Pros are planned for the macOS 26.3 release cycle," wrote Gurman, in his Power On newsletter today.
"I'm told the new models — code-named J714 and J716 — are slated for the macOS 26.3 software cycle, which runs from...
