Apple Will Pay Compensation For Slowing Down iPhones

Apple has begun paying compensation for a long-running class action lawsuit over the claims that it deliberately slowed down certain iPhones.  Apple was intentionally slowing down iPhone performance as the batteries aged to prevent unexpected shutdowns and performance issues with the gadgets.

The complainants will now each receive about $92 from the total $500m (£394m) settlement.

To be eligible in the US, you had to have been a US-based owner of an iPhone 6, 6 Plus, 6s, 6s Plus, and/or SE device running iOS 10.2.1, and/or a US-based owner of an iPhone 7 or 7 Plus device running iOS 11.2 or later all before December 21, 2017.

A similar action is happening in the UK, which is legally pushing for £1.6bn in compensation. Apple has also agreed to settle a lawsuit in Canada for slowing down older iPhones, potentially paying up to $14.4 million Canadian dollars.

The US law suit dates from December 2017, when Apple had confirmed that it had deliberately slowed down aging iPhones. Apple said that as iPhone batteries got older, their performance decreased, and so the "slowdown" lengthened the phones' lifespan.

Apple reduced the performance of certain iPhones without telling its customers, and this resulted in Apple offering a cut-price battery replacement to fix the problem.

This led to a US legal action. At the time of the settlement, it was estimated that each person might receive as little as $25 each but the actual pay-out appears to be almost four times that sum. In the UK, Apple lost a bid to block a similar mass action lawsuit in November.

Apple had previously called the lawsuit "baseless" and said "we have never, and would never, do anything to intentionally shorten the life of any Apple product, or degrade the user experience to drive customer upgrades". 

Unlike the US settlement, which only applied to devices in the iPhone 6 and 7 ranges, the UK lawsuit also seeks damages for those who had iPhone 8, 8 Plus and X devices.

BBC:     Techradar:    India Today:      MailOnline:     Wired:    gagadget:     Image: Yiran Ding

You Might Also Read: 

Smartphones Are More Vulnerable Than You Think:
___________________________________________________________________________________________

If you like this website and use the comprehensive 6,500-plus service supplier Directory, you can get unrestricted access, including the exclusive in-depth Directors Report series, by signing up for a Premium Subscription.

• Individual £5 per month or £50 per year. Sign Up

• Multi-User, Corporate & Library Accounts Available on Request

• Inquiries: Contact Cyber Security Intelligence     

Cyber Security Intelligence: Captured Organised & Accessible