Apple agreed to pay $113 million Wednesday in a settlement for a consumer fraud lawsuit for the alleged intentional slowing down of specific iPhone users.
The case was brought by more than 30 states and claimed that the tech company intentionally slowed down iPhone functionality in order to provoke consumers to purchase newer model phones USA today reported.
Apple initially denied that it purposely bogged down the software but in a pivot acknowledged that they did use software updates that slowed function in order to preserve battery life. Apple claims that their intention was to help consumers so they would not experience a sudden shutdown according to NPR. (RELATED: AG Barr Pressures Apple, Says Company Needs To Provide Access To Pensacola Gunman’s Phones)
If the settlement is eventually approved, individuals would be eligible to receive $25 for each phone that they owned. Qualifying iPhone owners would have had to have owned specific phones and software that were affected according to USA today. They include the iPhone 6, 6 Plus, 6s, 6s Plus, SE devices running iOS 10.2.1. or later, iPhone 7, 7 Plus devices running 11.2 or later, and that ran these specific versions prior to Dec. 21, 2017.
Mark Brnovich, attorney for the plaintiffs, tweeted on Nov. 18 that this manipulation of system functions “led to Apple profiting from selling additional iPhones to consumers whose phone performance had slowed.”
$113M SETTLEMENT filed with Apple today over iPhone throttling. Arizona co-led a 30+ state settlement. Our investigation alleges that Apple discovered battery issues were leading to unexpected shutdowns in certain iPhones. (1/)
— Mark Brnovich (@GeneralBrnovich) November 18, 2020
Rather than divulging the info or replacing batteries, Apple concealed the problem from consumers & throttled performance of iPhones (via Dec. 2016 software update). This led to Apple profiting from selling additional iPhones to consumers whose phone performance had slowed. (2/)
— Mark Brnovich (@GeneralBrnovich) November 18, 2020
The case became known as the Apple ‘Batterygate’ and the court settlement was filed under that title.
In 2017 Apple sent out a letter apologizing for the slowing down of their devices as reported by USA Today. They also offered to reduce the pricing of battery replacements. Apple has not admitted to any wrongdoing according to USA Today.