China ‘bans’ sale of older iPhones

A Chinese court has issued an injunction against the importation and sale of most Apple iPhones, as the trade war between the US and China continues to worsen.

The court’s decision comes after chipmaker Qualcomm claimed that Apple violated two of its patents in the construction of every iPhone from the 6S model through to the iPhone X.

The chipmaker is alleging patent violations on features that let users reformat the size and appearance of photos and manage applications on a touchscreen when navigating through phone apps.

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The ban does not cover the new iPhone XS, iPhone XS Plus or iPhone XR, as they were “not yet available when Qualcomm filed its lawsuit”, CNN says.

However, the ban covers between 10% and 15% of all iPhone models currently available for sale in China.

The BBC says that “most legal observers had expected China to reject Qualcomm’s request for an injunction”, adding that while the court proceedings had nothing to do with the arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou, the court’s ruling was something of a “muscle-flexing exercise” for China.

Despite the court ruling, Apple will continue to sell “all iPhone models” in China, according to the New York Times.

“Qualcomm’s effort to ban our products is another desperate move by a company whose illegal practices are under investigation by regulators around the world,” Apple spokesman Josh Rosenstock said.