Qualcomm is suing Transsion, the largest smartphone maker that doesn’t use Snapdragon

Qualcomm has launched a lawsuit against Transsion, one of the world’s largest smartphone makers, over patents.

As reported by IP Fray on LinkedIn, Qualcomm is suing Transsion over four non-standard essential patents. The specific patents aren’t mentioned, but this is noteworthy as Qualcomm is rarely involved in lawsuits of this nature. Generally, as the post brings out, Qualcomm leverages its chipsets and the dependency many other companies have on those chips to craft licensing deals when a patent is violated.

But, with Transsion, Qualcomm doesn’t really have that option.

As WinFuture points out, Transsion doesn’t sell any smartphones with Qualcomm chips.

Despite being the fourth-largest smartphone manufacturer in the world in 2024 according to Statista (behind Samsung, Apple, and Xiaomi), Transsion currently largely uses chips primarily from MediaTek as well as some chips from Unisoc to power its smartphones. Snapdragon chips have been used in some devices in the past, but nothing is being sold actively right now.

Transsion brands include Itel, Infinix, and perhaps most recognizably, Tecno, among others.

These brands have been growing rapidly over the past few years in the budget and mid-range markets, all without relying on Qualcomm.

The lawsuit could result in Transsion being required to pay licensing fees to Qualcomm, but it’s unclear how this would impact Transsion. But with the brand largely focused on low-priced devices, any cut to its margins could be a tough hit.

Financial Times also brings out that Transsion is also being sued by Phillips and Nokia is reportedly pressuring Transsion to make payments for its use of patented tech used in its smartphones. In that report, a quote from a Transsion spokesperson says that the company has “signed a 5G standard patent license agreement with Qualcomm” and is in the “process of fulfilling that agreement.”