Apple starts paying out over claims it deliberately slowed down iPhones

[JohnS]

Remember when Apple where in the headlines for deliberately slowing down their signature iPhone product via updates to force consumers to upgrade? It doesn't seem that long ago, but it was in fact in 2017. My how time flies! Read on below...

Apple starts paying out over claims it deliberately slowed down iPhones

Apple have started paying out to complainants from a lawsuit which alleged that the tech giant deliberately slowed down certain iPhones.

The lawsuit had been settled in 2020, with Apple denying any wrongdoing in the case as the BBC reported they were instead concerned about the cost of further litigation.

The lawsuit was first launched in 2017, the same year that Apple confirmed they did deliberately slow down some iPhone models as they got older.

The tech giant said that the diminishing battery performance over time meant they slowed down certain models of their popular smartphone to compensate and lengthen the device's lifespan.

Apple also said they wanted to 'prolong the life' of their customer's gadgets rather than nudge customers into buying a new phone from them, but the lawsuit claimed that the company had been throttling phone performance without telling customers.

Having reached a $500 million (£394 million) settlement in the US, some iPhone users are now saying that their payment has come in and are taking to social media.

Some Apple customers have confirmed they're getting their payout now. Credit: Zhang Peng/LightRocket via Getty Images

Around three million people joined the lawsuit, though if you're hoping to get in on the action now the deadline of October 2020 is long gone, and some have posted that they've received $92.17 by way of payment.

That's the settlement over in the US, while on this side of the pond a judicial tribunal rejected a request from Apple to throw out a lawsuit alleging that the tech giant was throttling iPhones through software updates.

The lawsuit, filed by Justin Gutmann, alleges Apple installed a power management tool in an update and is seeking £1.6 billion in compensation on behalf of the millions of iPhone users in the UK.

Apple said the case was 'baseless', denying they would ever intentionally shorten the life of one of their products or make the experience worse to force customers into buying upgrades.

Apple are paying out a $500 million settlement, and they face a £1.6 billion lawsuit in the UK as well. Credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

An Apple spokesperson said at the time: "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.

"Our goal has always been to create products that our customers love, and making iPhones last as long as possible is an important part of that."

Nonetheless the Competition Appeal Tribunal ruled that the lawsuit could go ahead.

The US settlement only applied to people who had iPhones in the 6 and 7 range along with the iPhone SE, while the one in the UK includes those who had iPhone 8, 8 Plus and the iPhone X.

Source: https://www.ladbible.com/news/technology/apple-pay-out-claims-slowing-down-iphone-664273-20240108

[Chibearsv]

It’s amazing how each “update” causes me to charge my iPhone X more often. A couple more updates and it’ll be time for a new phone. 🤨

[El Presidente]

......dicks  

Nothing will generate a quicker change in behaviour for the Apple's/Tesla/Meta's of this world than a couple of billion dollar EU lawsuits. 

[Fuzz]

Apple have been getting a lot of kicks from the EU regulators.

[ha_banos]

Old news. It's part of the governments income scheme. I bet they budget for it. Cuba should learn a thing or two. Couldn't find a single graph.

 

 

[SCgarman]

Apple has always been an arrogant dictatorship of a company. Which is why nobody in my household owns an Apple product of any kind. They are indeed "dicks". I use Samsung Note phones, and have since my first smartphone. And Windows based laptops. I have strong preferences towards the products I purchase, and hold firm against buying other companies products. We all have our "quirks" 😁

[jazzboypro]

On 1/10/2024 at 1:45 AM, SCgarman said:

Apple has always been an arrogant dictatorship of a company. Which is why nobody in my household owns an Apple product of any kind. They are indeed "dicks". I use Samsung Note phones, and have since my first smartphone. And Windows based laptops. I have strong preferences towards the products I purchase, and hold firm against buying other companies products. We all have our "quirks" 😁

I am in the opposite camp. All tablets, phones and smart watch are Apple products and I don't plan to buy any of these from another company. TVs are Samsung and I do use windows based laptop/PC.

[joeypots]

Apple must be doing something right. I agree that they are worse than a school yard bully but I do like their products and am loyal to them. Don’t get me going about the stock, the recent reports say Apple's market value is, or was recently, larger than that of the entirety of the French equity market. I think one reason they can throw their weight around is because they have made so very many people wealthy. 

17 hours ago, El Presidente said:

......dicks  

Nothing will generate a quicker change in behaviour for the Apple's/Tesla/Meta's of this world than a couple of billion dollar EU lawsuits. 

I’m not so sure that such law suits are more than business as usual. Not that it isn’t big money you mention but it may be viewed as part of the ordinary cost of doing business. I think they ask for forgiveness rather than permission and given their sophistication governments have a hard time keeping up with them.

[JohnS]

It's not that Samsung is immune from this sort of thing either (they aren't) and El Pres makes a pertinent point...when multi-million dollar lawsuits are evoked by the European Union (EU) than the behaviour of these companies changes. Sadly...before, not so much due to less incentive.

Anyway, my brother-in-law was telling me during New Year's Day of a feature in Samsung phones which conserves power and prolongs the life of your battery in a Samsung phone. The trade-off is that there is less power for multi-use functions, so if you are the type to exclusively use your phone for an array of tasks daily, then this tip may not be for you...

https://www.makeuseof.com/protect-battery-samsung/

https://gadgetguideonline.com/s22/protect-battery-limit-maximum-charge-85/

[ha_banos]

I mean I have a battery saver mode on my phone. It does slow things down and restrict things. There's also an extreme battery saver mode.

I can set it to enable at 30% battery or whatever I choose. But basically I guess I'm choosing to. Not Google. 🤷‍♂️

 

 

[SCgarman]

3 hours ago, JohnS said:

It's not that Samsung is immune from this sort of thing either (they aren't) and El Pres makes a pertinent point...when multi-million dollar lawsuits are evoked by the European Union (EU) than the behaviour of these companies changes. Sadly...before, not so much due to less incentive.

Anyway, my brother-in-law was telling me during New Year's Day of a feature in Samsung phones which conserves power and prolongs the life of your battery in a Samsung phone. The trade-off is that there is less power for multi-use functions, so if you are the type to exclusively use your phone for an array of tasks daily, then this tip may not be for you...

https://www.makeuseof.com/protect-battery-samsung/

https://gadgetguideonline.com/s22/protect-battery-limit-maximum-charge-85/

Believe it or not I am still using my Samsung Note 9 which was new in 2018. No longer receives the updates a newer generation phone gets, but still checks all the boxes I need for my daily routine. The old gal is still kickin' 😉

 

[GoodStix]

If I replace my iPhone with a non-iPhone product, what's a good music subscription service to replace Apple Music?

[Fuzz]

1 hour ago, SCgarman said:

Believe it or not I am still using my Samsung Note 9 which was new in 2018. No longer receives the updates a newer generation phone gets, but still checks all the boxes I need for my daily routine. The old gal is still kickin' 😉

 

I'm still rocking my S10, though the battery lasts no longer than 12 hrs now. Been looking for a replacement, but there is no way I'll go Apple.

29 minutes ago, GoodStix said:

If I replace my iPhone with a non-iPhone product, what's a good music subscription service to replace Apple Music?

I use Spotify. I pay for the family plan, so my brother and SIL also get to use it. We share the costs for all our streaming services, so it makes it cheaper.

[ha_banos]

5 hours ago, GoodStix said:

If I replace my iPhone with a non-iPhone product, what's a good music subscription service to replace Apple Music?

I went YT premium. So I get YTMusic and no more ads on YT content.

[jazzboypro]

10 hours ago, GoodStix said:

If I replace my iPhone with a non-iPhone product, what's a good music subscription service to replace Apple Music?

Spotify