According to European Commissioner for Competition Margrethe Vestager, Qualcomm paid billions of dollars to Apple so it would stick with Qualcomm chips,which was made along with reduction in price. Qualcomm made an agreement with Apple that it will solely use its chip in iphones and ipads."
The EU determined that Qualcomm's market dominance in LTE baseband chipsets came about in part because of payments to Apple that violated EU antitrust rules.
Apple eventually started using Intel-supplied modems in the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus in late 2016. Since then, it has been suggested that Apple could eliminate use of Qualcomm modems entirely from its product lineup.
Qualcomm's troubles extend well beyond its hefty EU fine. The company is also engaged in a $1 billion lawsuit from Apple, claiming payments were withheld as retaliation for Apple's participation in an FTC investigation.
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