Tech giant Apple has paid out on a lawsuit against the company over claims that some older models of iPhones in the US were deliberately slowed down.
Now, complaints in the class action lawsuit will receive a cut of the $500 million settlement – although they shouldn’t get too excited: due to the number of people involved, each claimant will get just $92.
The case dates back to 2017, when Apple confirmed rumours that older models of iPhone – iPhone 6 and 7 – were deliberately slowed down by the company. Apple claimed that the slowdown was to help prolong the life of the phone by protecting ageing batteries. But this was met with dismay from customers and in the end, Apple produced a cheap battery replacement to solve the problem, although it did lead to this lawsuit.
In 2020, Apple agreed to settle lawsuit, not because it admitted any wrongdoing – the company still denied it – but to stop the cost of the litigation rising if it was prolonged in the courts.
This doesn’t affect a similar mass action lawsuit that is running in the UK, which affects about 24 million iPhone users who had an iPhone 6, 7, 8, 8 plus or X. Apple again denies any wrongdoing and has said the company would never do anything to intentionally shorten the life of a product. Apple is fighting the case, which could end up going to trial later this year or in 2025.
