Apple has been stealing confidential information and trade secrets from Qualcomm and handing them over to Intel, which helped improve the quality of the rival company’s iPhones, The New York Times wrote.
The improved Intel chips enabled Apple to switch suppliers, which may have resulted in billions of dollars of lost sales for Qualcomm.
Qualcomm claimed to have discovered evidence that engineers from Apple repeatedly forwarded confidential information to engineers from Intel.
The new charges are part of a lawsuit Qualcomm filed in California Superior Court in San Diego in November.
In response, Apple representatives referred to a statement from 2017, when Qualcomm first sued the company with respect to patent deductions.
The company then said that Qualcomm’s business practice had harmed Apple and the entire industry. They also complained about Qualcomm’s failure to provide evidence of information theft.
Apple had been installing mobile communication chips from Qualcomm since 2011. However, with the new iPhone Xs, Xs Max and Xr, the company completely switched to modems from Intel.
Earlier, it was reported that the owners of smartphones iPhone Xs and Xs Max were complaining about the weak level of cellular signal and Wi-Fi.
According to some device owners, the problem is related to the change of the supplier of cellular modules.
READ MORE: Qualcomm Slapped With $1.2 Billion Fine by EU Anti-Trust Probe
In 2011, Qualcomm became Apple’s main source for modem chips that allow smartphones to communicate over cellular networks.
However, Apple has since dropped Qualcomm as a supplier, with the new iPhones announced this month using only modem chips from Intel.
