>The Chinese courts also blocked iphone sales in China over Qualcomm. My understanding is the newest line of phones weren't affected (they used intel modems

The Qualcomm patents in the China suit were software patents unrelated to cellular modems.

>The patents allow users to edit and resize photos and manage apps by using a touchscreen, according to the lawsuit.

https://observer.com/2018/12/qualcomm-lawsuit-iphone-ban-chi...

Apple has already issued a patch with a software workaround.

You may be thinking about the case in Germany.