For the first time in eight years, Apple is free from all patent litigation plights with a major technology firm – breaking bread with Qualcomm this week after settling with Samsung last year. As unprecedented and unexpected as the laying down of weapons might seem, it signals something Faultline predicted long ago – that Apple could never gain a significant foothold in 5G without Qualcomm. News of the dismissal of all litigation between the two companies, which includes an undisclosed payment to Qualcomm and the signing of a six-year chipset license agreement, was shortly followed by Intel controversially canning its 5G mobile modem exploits to focus on developing 5G modems for PCs and smart home devices, as well as continuing…