Qualcomm renews Apple patent licence, effective April 2027
Qualcomm said on 24 September 2026 that its global patent licence with Apple has been renewed effective 1 April 2027, the day after the 2019 six-year agreement and its two-year extension expire; financial terms and the new term were not disclosed.
The details
- Qualcomm announced the renewal of its global patent license agreement with Apple in a release datelined San Diego, 24 September 2026.
- Qualcomm states that the renewed agreement is effective 1 April 2027.
- Qualcomm did not disclose the financial terms of the renewed agreement.
- Qualcomm did not state how long the renewed agreement runs.
- The release quotes John Han, executive vice president and general manager of Qualcomm Technology Licensing (QTL), saying "We are pleased to extend the Apple license agreement".
- Apple's April 2019 settlement statement described a six-year licence agreement effective as of 1 April 2019, including a two-year option to extend.
- Apple's 2019 statement said that settlement also included a multiyear chipset supply agreement and a payment from Apple to Qualcomm, the amount of which was not specified.
- 9to5Mac reports that the two-year extension option on the 2019 licence was exercised, carrying the existing agreement through March 2027.
- AppleInsider reports that Apple pays Qualcomm licensing fees separately from, and in addition to, the cost of Qualcomm modem chips.
- MacRumors reports that the iPhone 18 Pro uses Apple's own C2 modem worldwide, while the US version of the iPhone 18 Pro Max uses Qualcomm's Snapdragon X80 modem.
Why it matters
Qualcomm's licensing business collects royalties on cellular patents regardless of whose modem is inside a handset, so the renewal secures that revenue past the point at which Apple's in-house C-series modems have largely displaced Qualcomm silicon in the iPhone. Because Qualcomm disclosed neither the term nor the rate, the size and duration of that protection remain unknown.