Apple Agrees to Pay $500 Million to Settle Lawsuit Over Slowing Older iPhones

Forum Moderators: travelin cat

Message Too Old, No Replies

Apple Agrees to Pay $500 Million to Settle Lawsuit Over Slowing Older iPhones

engine

5:57 pm on Mar 2, 2020 (gmt 0)

You may remember that Apple was accused of deliberately slowing older iPhones, which would have resulted in users wanting to upgrade sooner rather than later.

The preliminary proposed class-action settlement was disclosed on Friday night and requires approval by U.S. District Judge Edward Davila in San Jose, California.

It calls for Apple to pay consumers $25 per iPhone, which may be adjusted up or down depending on how many iPhones are eligible, with a minimum total payout of $310 million.

[reuters.com...]

Earlier story Oh Dear, Apple Admits to Slowing Down Older Phones [webmasterworld.com]

lammert

9:28 am on Mar 3, 2020 (gmt 0)

Apple denied wrongdoing and settled the nationwide case to avoid the burdens and costs of litigation, court papers show.

Half a billion dollars is quite a price to pay for something you say you haven't done. I am not sure if this is a win for the claimers, the lawyers or the system.

Dimitri

10:04 am on Mar 3, 2020 (gmt 0)

denied wrongdoing

you say you haven't done

To my understanding, "wrongdoing" is not denying having done something. It means, that they recognize they did it, but, for a "legitimate" reason (preserving the batteries lifetime, in that case).

lammert

11:00 am on Mar 3, 2020 (gmt 0)

The very first paragraph of their several hundred(!) pages Terms of Service for the iPhone states that the software may be updated or replaced by feature enhancements and software updates. That by itself is not a crime and no reason to sue. I agree they didn't deny sending updates with "enhancements", but what they say they didn't do it for the purpose of commercial gain to promote the selling of new faster iPhones. In a legal system, you can't be sued for something you mention explicitly in your Terms of Service unless it is unlawful on other grounds.