(Sept 24): Qualcomm Inc said it has renewed its global licensing pact with Apple Inc, effective in April 2027, ensuring the iPhone maker will remain a key customer in the near term.

“We are pleased to extend the Apple license agreement,” said John Han, the Qualcomm executive vice-president in charge of licensing. The length of the new agreement was not included in the statement on Thursday announcing the renewal.

Shares of Qualcomm pared earlier declines before markets opened in New York on Thursday. Apple’s stock was little changed.

The chipmaker, which is the largest maker of smartphone processors, gets licensing revenue from handset makers based on the number of units shipped. Apple is Qualcomm’s largest customer — accounting for more than a fifth of revenue, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. 

The two companies entered a licensing agreement in 2019, capping off a protracted legal battle over billions of dollars in licensing fees.

Since then, Apple has gradually been building its own cellular modems into recent iPhones to lessen its dependence on outside suppliers, an effort that began with the iPhone 16e in 2025. The company has said its latest in-house modem, the C2, delivers “groundbreaking efficiency” that prolongs battery life. It also supports faster millimetre-wave 5G connectivity in the US. This year’s iPhone 18 Pro line-up mostly uses the C2, with one exception: The 18 Pro Max in the US has a Qualcomm modem.

Qualcomm has been getting squeezed more than expected by a smartphone slump. The company, which outsources production of its chips, said it’s passing along some of its cost increases to customers. That will help profit margins recover over time, it has said. Memory-chip shortages — fuelled by runaway demand for artificial intelligence (AI) computers — have forced Qualcomm customers including Apple to produce fewer phones.

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