Apple is facing at least two different lawsuits after admitting Wednesday that it slows down older iPhones, according to multiple reports.
A class-action lawsuit recently filed in California alleges that Apple never requested or gained consent from customers to “slow down their iPhones.” The primary plaintiffs, Stefan Bogdanovich and Dakota Speas, argue in the official court filing that they “suffered interferences to their iPhone usage due to the intentional slowdowns.”
“The Defendant’s wrongful actions directly and proximately caused the interference and loss of value to Plaintiffs and Class Members’ iPhones,” the complaint reads, “causing them to suffer, and continue to suffer, economic damages and other harm for which they are entitled to compensation.”
Another lawsuit filed on Thursday involves five owners of various smartphones from various states. They allege that Apple engaged in “deceptive, immoral, and unethical” practices, reports Business Insider Friday.
“Our goal is to deliver the best experience for customers, which includes overall performance and prolonging the life of their devices,” an Apple representative said, according to TechCrunch. “Lithium-ion batteries become less capable of supplying peak current demands when in cold conditions, have a low battery charge or as they age over time, which can result in the device unexpectedly shutting down to protect its electronic components.”
But because of a myriad of recent technical problems from Apple, as well as some arguably hypocritical actions, some internet users, like the plaintiffs in the aforementioned cases, questioned Apple’s intentions.
If older smartphones do in fact cease to operate properly as a battery naturally deteriorates, then Apple could have notified customers that a new battery would, at least for the most part, fix the problem. Instead, many interpret the lack of such advisement and undisclosed slowing of the operating system as an indirect, perhaps devious, way to get people to purchase newer models rather than batteries — a far more expensive purchase, and one that automatically yields profits for Apple.
The powerful tech company has been accused of downgrading technology on a number of occasions, including the very recently released iPhone X. But Apple has always denied those allegations. Now its admitting to the automated reduction of computing power because Apple feels that reducing the chances of quasi-antiquated smartphones shutting down suddenly and quietly is benevolent, if not paternalistic.
Apple did not respond to The Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for further details.
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