Mobile support comes from the chips (SOC) that the phones are using. Hardware codec support is a major differentiating factor for mobile chips. It has a huge impact on power usage, e.g. decoding video or audio in hardware could be 10x more efficient.
It's common that the manufacturer doesn't actually get a patent license, they get "indemnity". If someone were to sue you, the chip manufacturer would handle it, because they have their own patents and have cross-licensed with the others in the pool. You may have to pay the chip manufacturer for the indemnity in addition to the chip costs, i.e. "paying protection money". "That's a nice restaurant you have there, it would be a shame if someone set it on fire. We can protect you from bad people like that."
It's common that the manufacturer doesn't actually get a patent license, they get "indemnity". If someone were to sue you, the chip manufacturer would handle it, because they have their own patents and have cross-licensed with the others in the pool. You may have to pay the chip manufacturer for the indemnity in addition to the chip costs, i.e. "paying protection money". "That's a nice restaurant you have there, it would be a shame if someone set it on fire. We can protect you from bad people like that."