Apple puts need for 5G ahead of legal fight in Qualcomm deal

Apple Inc. put its flagship product, the iPhone, ahead of distaste for the way Qualcomm Inc. does business in settling a bitter, two-year legal dispute with the chipmaker.

Apple needs chips that will connect the iPhone to the new, fifth-generation wireless networks being introduced now or risk falling behind its rivals. The company had bet on Intel Corp., but recently decided its would-be 5G supplier wasn’t up to the task.

That led Apple back to Qualcomm — and spurred a sudden end to a long-running court fight over patents, component costs and royalties for one of the most critical parts of an iPhone. Modems, or baseband processors, are what connects all iPhones and some iPads and Apple Watches to cellular networks and the internet on the go.