Qualcomm won’t stop shipping chips for the iPhone even though Apple is suing it for $1 billion

Qualcomm doesn’t intend to take Apple’s legal action lying down, but neither does it plan to stop doing business with the iPhone maker.

Apple hit Qualcomm with a $1 billion lawsuit on Friday, saying the chipmaker had improperly withheld rebates in retaliation for Apple’s complaints to regulatory authorities in the U.S. and elsewhere. Apple’s suit followed a separate antitrust complaint earlier in the week from the Federal Trade Commission.

For its part, Qualcomm says Apple is trying to turn a simple contract dispute into a regulatory issue.

Sources close to Qualcomm say the company is considering filing its own lawsuits in response, whether in the U.S. or elsewhere, as well as trying to get Apple’s case dismissed.

One thing Qualcomm doesn’t plan to do, though, is to stop supplying modem chips to the iPhone maker.

While Apple uses its homegrown processors to power the iPhone, it relies on modem chips from Qualcomm, especially in the U.S., where rivals don’t support technologies used by Sprint and Verizon. With the iPhone 7, Apple began using modem chips from Intel as well, though those chips only work with the types of networks used by AT&T and T-Mobile.

Qualcomm requires those that want its chips to also have a license to its underlying cellular patents. However the sources note that the company hasn’t cut off chip supplies in the past, even when there were disputes over patent licensing.

This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

Will you support Vox’s explanatory journalism?

Most news outlets make their money through advertising or subscriptions. But when it comes to what we’re trying to do at Vox, there are a couple reasons that we can't rely only on ads and subscriptions to keep the lights on.

First, advertising dollars go up and down with the economy. We often only know a few months out what our advertising revenue will be, which makes it hard to plan ahead.

Second, we’re not in the subscriptions business. Vox is here to help everyone understand the complex issues shaping the world — not just the people who can afford to pay for a subscription. We believe that’s an important part of building a more equal society. We can’t do that if we have a paywall.

That’s why we also turn to you, our readers, to help us keep Vox free. If you also believe that everyone deserves access to trusted high-quality information, will you make a gift to Vox today?

One-Time Monthly Annual

$5/month

$10/month

$25/month

$50/month

Other

$

Yes, I'll give $5/month

Yes, I'll give $5/month

We accept credit card, Apple Pay, and Google Pay. You can also contribute via