Apple to Push iOS Update in China in Bid to Resolve Qualcomm iPhone Case

Apple, facing a court ban in China on some of its iPhone models over alleged infringement of Qualcomm patents, said on Friday it will push software updates to users in a bid to resolve potential issues.

Apple will carry out the software updates at the start of next week "to address any possible concern about our compliance with the order", the firm said in a statement sent to Reuters.

Earlier this week, Qualcomm said a Chinese court had ordered a ban on sales of some older Apple iPhone models for violating two of its patents, though intellectual property lawyers said the ban would still likely take time to enforce.

"Based on the iPhone models we offer today in China, we believe we are in compliance," Apple said.

"Early next week we will deliver a software update for iPhone users in China addressing the minor functionality of the two patents at issue in the case."

The case, brought by Qualcomm, is part of a global patent dispute between the two US companies that includes dozens of lawsuits. It creates uncertainty over Apple's business in one of its biggest markets at a time when concerns over waning demand for new iPhones are battering its shares.

Qualcomm has said that the Fuzhou Intermediate People's Court in China found Apple infringed two patents held by the chipmaker and ordered an immediate ban on sales of older iPhone models, from the 6S through the X.

Apple has said that all of its phone models remained on sale in mainland China and that it had filed a request for reconsideration with the court. All the models appeared to be available to buy on Apple's China website on Friday.

Qualcomm, the biggest supplier of chips for mobile phones, filed its case in China in late 2017, arguing that Apple infringed patents on features related to resizing photographs and managing apps on a touch screen.

© Thomson Reuters 2018