Apple’s $113M Settlement Against Slowed-Down Phones
In February 2017, California based technology manufacturing and design company Apple Inc. issued an apology for slowing down older versions of the iPhone in the “batterygate” controversy of late 2016 to early 2017. They uploaded a message on their official website, fully explaining what was happening, and in order to make up for the blunder they had pulled on millions of consumers, they dropped the replacement battery price for iPhone 6 from $79 to $29 as of January 2017. The price would later go back up in 2019. However, the consumers were not satiated and this would not be the end of the controversy.
This year, a full-fledged lawsuit was brought by the state of California alongside 33 other states against the ongoing activity by Apple to slow down the batteries of their older phones whenever an update would be rolled out. The case claimed that Apple was “deliberately deceiving consumers” so that they would purchase the latest device and continue to spend hundreds of dollars to keep their original devices (new batteries for older phones).
Earlier this year, Apple had agreed to pay up to $500 Million in a California lawsuit settlement. Now, they have to pay $113 Million in a case that alleges that the tech giant was deliberately continuing this activity. Over 30 states including Arizona are involved in the lawsuit case. The Attorney General of Arizona, Mr. Mark Brnovich says about the case:
“Big Tech companies must stop manipulating consumers and tell them the whole truth about their practices and products. I’m committed to holding these goliath technology companies accountable when they conceal important information from users.”
Additionally, Apple has also agreed in the settlement that not only will it have to pay up for their deception, they will now also provide consumers with regular battery health updates, performance updates, and power management services via their website or within the installation notes for the iPhone updates.
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Credit: ESRGear