We never had exclusivity with Samsung – Qualcomm

The first half of 2017 saw precious few phones released with the Snapdragon 835 processor.

At the time, numerous outlets reported that Samsung had exclusively acquired the initial product run of the 2017 mobile chip. For the uninitiated, the US version of the smartphone uses a Snapdragon chipset.

Now, Keith Kressin, senior vice president of product management at Qualcomm, has told Gearburn that no exclusivity contract was in place.

Gearburn enquired about possible exclusivity of the Snapdragon 845 chip.

“Even in the 835, we didn’t have exclusivity. We didn’t have an exclusivity deal…” Kressin answered.

So LG and HTC could’ve used the Snapdragon 835 in the G6 and U Ultra respectively?

“So… there is no exclusivity so yes, they could put in orders… There’s nothing that’s been documented to say this guy is the only guy to get chips for any period of time. It’s more just kind of a readiness…” Kressin answered.

In other words, it suggests that Samsung was indeed quickest on the draw to buy the initial run.

It certainly didn’t help HTC and LG that Samsung ships exponentially more devices than the two rivals combined, thus requiring more chips as well.

Hadlee Simons is a guest of Qualcomm in Hawaii.