Earlier this week, Qualcomm won a preliminary injunction in China that bans the import and sale of the iPhone 6S, iPhone 6S Plus, iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone X in the region.
Although Apple has already warned that banning iPhones in China could have serious consequences for both the company and the local economy which would ultimately force it to settle with Qualcomm, a new report by Nikkei Asian Review is claiming that the iPhone maker is now planning to shift production of older models to Taiwanese supplier Pegatron.
Unlike Foxconn and Wistron, iPhones assembled by Pegatron are exempt from the ban due to the fact that the Taiwanese company had paid a fee to license the contested software on behalf of Apple.
One of the sources with direct knowledge of the situation said Apple had held initial discussions with Pegatron about whether the Taiwan-based company could take on more iPhone production to make up for the impact of the ban. No decision has yet been taken, however.
Apple has also said it could implement software updates “to address any possible concern about our compliance with the order”. It is, however, not yet known whether the Chinese courts will accept this.
Meanwhile, Qualcomm is now seeking a ban on the latest iPhone XS and iPhone XR models as well and is planning to use the same patents to file new suits in Chinese courts.
