After issuing an iOS update that slowed down older iPhones, Apple faces getting sued to the tune of £750 million.
Apple’s software update that throttled the speed of older iPhones in 2017 is landing the company in yet another lawsuit. Justin Gutmann, a consumer champion, has filed a UK lawsuit against Apple that, if successful, will force Apple to cough up over £750 million for affected customers.
The lawsuit covers several iPhone models, so you might stand a chance to get some of that cash if you ever owned one of them.
Apple Could Get Sued for Slowing Down Old iPhone Models
Apple is being sued in the UK for slowing down old iPhone models through a software update released in 2017. Justin Gutmann filed the legal claim with UK’s competition watchdog, the Competition Appeal Tribunal. The lawsuit will cost Apple £768 million if successful, and will be distributed among up to 25 million iPhone users in the UK.
Via Sky News, Mr Gutmann said:
Instead of doing the honorable and legal thing by their customers and offering a free replacement, repair service, or compensation, Apple instead misled people by concealing a tool in software updates that slowed their devices by up to 58%.
A Reddit user made the discovery in 2017, but iPhone users have often speculated their iPhone got slower as time passed. Apple admitted to slowing down CPU performance, which the company touted as a move to prevent old devices with worn-out batteries from unexpectedly shutting down.
Critics had a different opinion, arguing that it was a way to nudge users to upgrade to the latest models, a tactic referred to as planned obsolescence. This lawsuit for throttling performance is not a first for Apple. Apple has been sued for throttling iPhones in Italy and the US. For those two cases, the company agreed to pay $113 million and $500 million, respectively, to settle.
What iPhone Models Are Included in This Lawsuit?
Whether you stand to receive any compensation depends on whether you owned specific iPhone models at any point after September 12, 2016. The lawsuit covers several iPhone models, including:
- iPhone 6 and 6 Plus
- iPhone 6s and 6s Plus
- iPhone SE (first-generation)
- iPhone 7 and 7 Plus
- iPhone 8 and 8 Plus
- iPhone X
The other requirement is that you need to be a UK resident.
Since this is an opt-out claim, you don’t need to do anything to join the case to be eligible for potential compensation. The lawsuit is still in the nascent stages as of writing, so stay alert for further updates.
Apple’s Throttling Saga Continues
Apple has already paid over $600 million in damages due to its CPU throttling update, but the UK lawsuit is seeking much more than the two previous lawsuits combined (it equates to about $945 million). Lawsuits against big tech companies are becoming more common, which signals that consumers want these firms to take more responsibility for their actions. So it’ll be interesting to see how this plays out.
