Brit launches mass claim against Apple for slowing down older iPhones

A Brit has sued Apple in the United Kingdom because the company made older iPhones slower with an update in 2017. It is an opt-out compensation claim, in which all affected Britons are automatically entitled to money if Apple loses.

Justin Gutmann says that Apple has abused its dominant market position by “exploiting and engaging in unfair practices” in UK consumers and businesses. It concerns the distribution of iOS updates that “demand more from the iPhones than the installed batteries can supply, increasing the chance of unexpected phone failures.” Those updates also introduced throttling to the phones, slowing them down to reduce power demand.

The Brit believes that Apple has also not communicated transparently enough about these updates and says that Apple has therefore violated British competition law. According to Gutmann, Britons with an iPhone 6 to iPhone X are therefore entitled to compensation and so he has started the compensation claim against Apple. The Competition Appeal Tribunal will now consider the case. If that tribunal rules that the British are indeed entitled to compensation, those affected must report and receive it. Injured parties do not have to report yet.

According to Gutmann, there are up to 25 million British victims who are entitled to compensation and the claim is therefore worth a maximum of £768 million. This amounts to about 898 million euros, or an average of just under 36 euros per person.

Apple acknowledged in 2017 that it released updates that slowed down smartphones with older batteries and said it did so to prevent the phones from unexpectedly going out. This has led to several investigations and damages, including a settlement of up to $500 million in the United States. Consumer organizations in Europe also wanted compensation and in France the company was fined 25 million euros.