This week a Chinese court ruled that older iPhone models would be banned from sale in the country because they contained technology that infringed on two Qualcomm patents. The iPhones included in the ban comprise every model from the iPhone 6s to the iPhone X. The ban, if enforced, would mean Apple would need to cease selling all but the most recent models of iPhone in the country–costing it millions of dollars a day.
But now it appears Apple thinks it’s found a way around that ban. Next week the Cupertino company will reportedly push out a software update to its iPhones in China “to address any possible concern about our compliance with the order,” the company told Reuters. It’s not quite clear how Apple’s upcoming software update to Chinese iPhones will fix iPhones there so they are no longer infringing on Qualcomm patents, however. Those patents cover features related to the resizing of photographs and app management on a touchscreen.
“Based on the iPhone models we offer today in China, we believe we are in compliance,” Apple told Reuters. “Early next week we will deliver a software update for iPhone users in China addressing the minor functionality of the two patents at issue in the case.”
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