Apple settles up to $500 million to slow down iPhones

A preliminary settlement agreement shows that Apple wants to pay up to $500 million in compensation for iPhone users who were confronted with deliberately slower devices. This is the outcome of a class action lawsuit filed in late 2017.

According to Reuters, the settlement proposal has since been revealed and has yet to be ratified by a US judge. The proposal states that Apple is willing to pay consumers $25 per iPhone. That compensation amount per iPhone can go up or down, depending on the number of eligible devices. A minimum of 310 million will be paid out. Lawyers for consumers speak of fair, reasonable and adequate’ proposal.

It only concerns American owners of the following devices with iOS 10.2.1 or a newer version of the OS: iPhone 6, 6 Plus, 6s, 6s Plus, 7, 7 Plus and the SE. The document would show that Apple denies doing anything wrong. With the settlement, the company wants to avoid the costs and hassle of further lawsuits.

Apple confirmed in December 2017 that it intentionally slowed down older iPhones in terms of software as the battery got older. The manufacturer indicated that that process is intended to prevent issues that could cause the phones to suddenly fail. The slowing down occurs if the smartphone is too cold or if the battery can supply little voltage due to degradation or too little charge. Not long after that confirmation, five Americans filed a lawsuit against Apple; this now seems to be coming to an end as a result of the settlement.

Incidentally, the Cupertino company already decided a week after the start of the collective case to make replacing the battery of iPhones from the iPhone 6 cheaper. Apple also apologized for slowing down the iPhones and for not communicating about it earlier.