Apple will keep buying iPhone modems from Qualcomm for years yet. The two companies extended the licensing arrangement that ended their long legal war.
Qualcomm announced the renewal in a statement carrying no financial detail. The extension begins in April 2027 and keeps alive an agreement whose original version dates to 2019.
The reason is timing, not affection. Apple has spent years developing its own radio silicon, and that program has slipped more than once, leaving the flagship handset line dependent on bought-in parts. Each extension pushes the expected break further out.
Press coverage put the chip supply side of the deal running to 2029, with the patent licence surviving beyond next March. Work on Apple’s own modem now sits inside the same in-house silicon group responsible for its M-series and A-series processors.
Qualcomm gains stability. The arrangement protects a sizeable revenue stream while the company invests in automotive and data-centre products, funded in part by licensing income.
Apple gains continuity, and avoids the risk of shipping a flagship phone with an unproven radio. That trade-off has settled the question every time so far.
