Apple will pay up to half a billion dollars to settle a class action lawsuit accusing them of slowing down older iPhone models to suggest users to buy new ones.
According to CNN Business, Apple is being accused of slowing down old iPhones to try and persuade their current customers to upgrade to the newest model. The proposed settlement agreement requires Apple to pay the owners of certain iPhone models 25 dollars per affected device.
TechCrunch.com reports that any U.S. owner of the iPhone 6, 6 Plus, 6s, 6s Plus, 7 Plus, or SE that is on update iOS 10.2.1 or any of the later operating systems are covered by the settlement; additionally users of the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus iOS 11.2 before or later of Dece. 21. 2017 are also covered by the settlement.
Lawyers for Apple are debunking these claims by saying that the problems were mainly due to high usage, temperature changes, and other issues; Apple lawyers also stated that it’s engineers tried to address the problems as quickly as possible.
In 2017, Apple was engaged in so-called planned obsolescence- intentionally slowing its older phones as it released new models. The New York Times reports that in response, Apple said software on certain older iPhones sometimes reduced their processing power when the battery was low to prevent them from abruptly shutting down.
That statement angered many customers, and Apple sharply cut the cost of replacing old iPhones’ batteries, even making it free for some devices.
A group of Apple customers then sued. The two sides fought in court for two years before agreeing to the proposed settlement last week.
The proposed settlement agreement requires Apple to pay the owners of certain iPhone models $25 per affected device, totaling a minimum of $310 million and a maximum of $500 million, according to documents released on Friday in the United States District Court in San Jose, California.
The amount each user receives could increase or decrease depending on how many claims are filed as well as any additional legal fees and expenses approved by the court, the document added.
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