China to ban nearly all iPhones for violating patents

Qualcomm said today that they won the preliminary order from a Chinese court to ban the import and sale of several Apple iPhone models in China due to patent violations.

The iPhone X

Apple violated Qualcomm's patents

The ruling occurred last November 30. Qualcomm just announce it today. It is said that several iPhone models infringe multiple Qualcomm software patents.

The order of the nationwide ban includes all Apple iPhone models from iPhone 6S to iPhone 8, 8 Plus, and X in China sold with older versions of the iOS.

But, Apple said that they already appealed the ruling. Apple also stated that their iPhones would remain on sale in China with newer software.

Qualcomm filed the lawsuit in late 2017. So, the new iPhone XR, XS, and XS Max models running on iOS 12 are not included in the lawsuit and ban.

To those who missed it, Apple is the 5th biggest smartphone vendor in China according to the latest data of Counterpoint Research. China is the biggest smartphone market in the world today. It is an important market to Apple and every other global smartphone vendor.

What do you guys think?

Source: Daily Mail, Ars Technica