Qualcomm has accused Apple of divulging trade secrets to Intel engineers, costing its business billions of dollars. This is one in a long series of disputes which resulted in Apple ceasing partnership with Qualcomm. In fact, the latest iPhone XS uses Intel’s modems rather than Qualcomm’s.

As reported by Reuters, Qualcomm claims that Apple shared information with Intel as part of a “multi-year campaign of sloppy, inappropriate and deceitful conduct” designed to improve Intel’s chipset business. It explains that it had given Apple access to its source code and software development tools so Apple could modify Qualcomm’s software for its iPhone. The condition was that Apple would not use the technology to help Qualcomm’s rivals. However, it asserts that Apple broke this promise and helped Intel improve its chips to help divert its business over to Intel.

The notion of Apple attempting to bolster Intel as a competitor isn’t illogical. Qualcomm has had a large dominance in its market, casting a wide net over various phone makers. Such market dominance comes with high licensing fees. However, if the allegations are true, it would mean that Apple helped Intel catch up through illegal methods. As the case is still ongoing, Qualcomm has yet to provide evidence of these allegations.

Apple has been a long-time user of Qualcomm’s modem chips in its iPhone. Modem chips help devices connect to wireless data networks. With the iPhone 7 that launched in 2016, Apple began shifting away from Qualcomm’s products. Several of its models used Intel modem chips instead, including the later ones such as the iPhone XS.