After the last appeal to a class-action judgement failed, Apple is finally ready to offer compensation to owners of particular iPhone models. The tech giant was sued for secretly lowering performance to convince customers to purchase a new iPhone.
SiliconValley.com reports that Apple is poised to compensate owners of specific iPhone models after being embroiled in a class-action lawsuit. The lawsuit accused the tech behemoth of covertly diminishing phone performance in a scandal that was named “Batterygate.”
(The Associated Press)
“Owners of some older iPhone models are expected to receive about $65 each after a judge cleared the way for payments in a class-action lawsuit accusing Apple of secretly throttling phone performance,” a source familiar with the matter stated. The lawsuit included roughly 3 million claims, although some still need approval. The final individual payout number will be determined by the total number of approved claims.
The roots of this lawsuit trace back to 2018, when Apple slowed down certain iPhone models. The company claimed this was done to address underlying issues with batteries and processors. The gravity of the accusations was underscored by claims that Apple had committed “one of the largest consumer frauds in history.”
Apple agreed in 2020 to pay up to $500 million to settle claims, but August 2023 marks a pivotal moment in the case. Two iPhone owners, who had previously raised objections to the settlement, had their appeal quashed in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. This decision effectively removed the last barrier to the agreed-upon compensation deal.
The iPhones that were central to this lawsuit included models such as the iPhone 6, 6 Plus, 6s, 6s Plus, SE, 7, and 7 Plus. These devices, when running specific iOS versions, were reported by users to shut down unexpectedly. The phones typically indicated a battery charge of over 30 percent when the shutdowns would occur.
The lawsuit shed light on the root cause of these shutdowns, attributing them to “a mismatch between phones’ hardware, including batteries and processing chips, and the ever-increasing demands of constantly updating operating systems.” Apple’s solution, a software update, was alleged to have merely “throttled device performance to cut the number of shutdowns.”
While Apple has remained tight-lipped about the resolution of the case, it has previously commented on the challenges of software updates. In a statement, the company noted that “lithium-ion batteries become less effective with time, repeated charging, extreme temperatures and general use.” They further elaborated on the intricacies of software updates, mentioning that they entail trade-offs. “Providing more features also introduces complexity and can reduce speed, and increasing features or speed may adversely impact hardware lifespan,” the company explained.
Read more at SiliconValley.com here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship. Follow him on Twitter @LucasNolan