Enterprise

Qualcomm paid over a billion dollars just to spite Apple

All to get the company banned in Germany

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How far would you go for a feud? For some people, there’s no such thing as pettiness. People go to great heights just to get ahead of a despised enemy. For big companies, prolonged feuds can reach staggeringly new levels. Embroiled in a scathing feud against Apple, Qualcomm recently showed how much it despises the American iPhone maker.

Weeks ago, Qualcomm emerged victorious in a couple of legal battles against Apple. Citing copyright infringements, German and Chinese courts hammered down a guilty verdict against Apple. Both legal systems ordered the company to stop selling its products in Germany and China. As a result, Apple will face arduous appeal processes to protest Qualcomm’s claims. Qualcomm won.

Unfortunately, Qualcomm’s victory comes at a very steep price. In Germany, the company must post bonds to ensure the guilty verdict’s enforcement. The ruling is a legal requirement in German courts. To Qualcomm’s dismay, the required bonds sum up to a whopping EUR 1.34 billion (or approximately US$ 1.52 billion). Despite Qualcomm’s size, the sum is nothing to shrug about.

Surprisingly (or not), Qualcomm paid the amount in full. The company shelled out over a million dollars to enforce a ban on Apple’s old merchandise. Hence, Apple is now legally required to pull out its iPhone 7 and 8 models from German circulation. Currently, the company operates 15 retail stores in the country. Apple will cooperate with the country’s enforced ban.

In contrast, Apple is still appealing the decision in Chinese courts. Rather than accepting defeat, the company will wait for heavy enforcement before declaring compliance with China’s decision. Right now, the jury is still out on China’s response to Apple’s cries for mercy. However, the writing on the wall is crystal clear: Qualcomm is out for Apple’s blood, regardless of the price and the quantity of blood spilled.

SEE ALSO: Qualcomm allegedly ordered a smear campaign against Apple

Apps

foodpanda relaunches cult-favorite roast chicken brand after 8 years of persistent search queries

Heritage chain Andok’s returns to the platform, driven entirely by long-term user analytics.

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In the world of e-commerce and food delivery, platform algorithms usually dictate what consumers see. But occasionally, consumer behavior is so relentless that it shapes the platform’s strategy.

In a move driven entirely by long-term user analytics, foodpanda has officially relaunched Andok’s, one of the Philippines’ most iconic heritage rotisserie chains, back onto its platform after an eight-year absence.

The search bar as a digital wishlist

The decision to ink the partnership wasn’t just a marketing play. It was a response to an ongoing data anomaly. Despite being offline from the foodpanda platform for eight years, Andok’s consistently ranked as one of the most-searched merchants on the app.

Year after year, users treated the empty search results page as an unofficial wishlist. This persistent search intent gave foodpanda a clear, data-backed signal of pent-up demand.

Prior to the official digital rollout, teaser campaigns on social media validated this demand, generating thousands of organic interactions from users anticipating the return.

Bridging heritage flavor with digital infrastructure

For foodpanda, onboarding a merchant with this level of built-in demand fits its broader strategy of marketplace optimization and hyper-local network expansion, turning a heritage brand into another data point for how legacy retail plugs into delivery infrastructure.

For Andok’s, the integration works as a fast track to digital scale. A legacy quick-service chain skips years of independent app development and reaches customers already using foodpanda’s existing logistics network, on a platform they already check daily.

Andok’s built its following on charcoal spit-roasted chicken, a slow-cooked technique that’s stayed largely unchanged since the brand’s early days, alongside seasoned grilled pork belly.

More recently, the Dokito line extended that following into crispy fried chicken and chicken burgers, broadening the brand’s appeal beyond its original rotisserie format and giving foodpanda a menu with both heritage pull and everyday fast-food convenience.

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Enterprise

Global Connect Show Shenzhen empowers Chinese enterprises

Opportune time for new Chinese enterprises to go global

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The Global Connect Show Shenzhen 2026 (GCS SZ 2026) was successfully held on June 1 at China’s innovation hub.

More than 100 Chinese enterprises joined the event, encouraged to expand into international markets.

The program focused on three core pillars:

  • Chinese brand going global
  • Global channel connection
  • Dedicated “Into the Enterprise” series

China has developed a new generation of internationally competitive companies across various sectors, including:

  • consumer electronics
  • smart hardware
  • artificial intelligence
  • robotics

As these companies enter a new phase of going global, demand is growing for global communications, brand building, market trust, and localized business networks.

As such, the Global Connect Show is one of the platforms to be able to strengthen the relationship across enterprises, partners, business associations, and even media and influencers.

It is a significant window for innovative brands to enter global retail channels by building compelling brand narratives and developing strong localized operations.

This year’s GCS is the third staging of the show, which consistently aims to match Chinese brands with partners through a results-first approach. Such an approach includes hands-on product experiences, presentations, and one-on-one meetings.

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Enterprise

New US-China ban might affect 75% of phones, laptops

Companies can no longer use Chinese labs to test their products.

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The United States is continuing its crusade against Chinese technology today. However, the target now isn’t a company from China but a method important to a lot of non-Chinese brands.

Today, via Reuters, the Federal Communications Commission (or FCC) has unanimously voted to prohibit companies from using Chinese labs to test their electronic devices if they are to be sold for use in the United States. Naturally, this includes smartphones and computers.

Notably, the prohibition doesn’t directly target Chinese brands. However, it will still affect a huge swath of the industry. The FCC estimates that around 75 percent of the entire market are devices tested in labs based in China.

This means that companies who wish to sell future products in the country must move their testing to labs in the United States or other countries that it deems secure. At its current iteration, the prohibition will not affect devices that already earned their certification prior. However, it might prevent them from getting recertified once their current one expires.

Now, the prohibition isn’t an absolute lock just yet. The FCC will allow the industry to submit comments about the proposal. But, with a unanimous vote from the FCC, companies might have to start looking for alternative testing sites if they want to stay operation in the United States.

SEE ALSO: TikTok finally gets a buyer in the United States

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