Apple is expected to pay out $500 million to iPhone users to resolve a long-running lawsuit accusing the company of purposefully slowing down customers’ batteries.
The ‘battery-gate’ scam was dubbed ‘one of the greatest consumer frauds in history’ since it compelled people to purchase new iPhone models.
Despite continuing to deny any wrongdoing, Apple consented to the settlement in 2020, which will amount to about $65 per share, according to Mercury News.
Payments were halted, however, when two iPhone users objected to the conditions of the settlement. Customers will finally receive their money after they lost their appeal in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals this week.
The case concentrated on covert mobile software that slowed phones to avoid ‘unintended power-offs.’
In December 2017, Apple confirmed that iOS software was modified to decrease the performance of older iPhones whose battery life was declining in order to avoid handsets from shutting down unexpectedly.
Apple was accused by critics of secretly pressuring consumers to buy phones sooner than necessary, prompting Apple to alter its software and provide hefty discounts on battery replacements.
As part of the agreement, Apple was required to supply the claims administrator with the contact information for everyone who owned or rented one of the devices.
These included iPhone 6, 6 Plus, 6s, 6s Plus, and SE handsets running iOS 10.2.1 or later before December 21, 2017, as well as iPhone 7 and 7 Plus phones running iOS 11.2 or later prior to that date.
Users were then need to file a claim by October 6, 2020.
According to Tyson Redenbarger, a lawyer who represented clients in the case, approximately 3 million claims were received. This indicates that the average payout will be $65.
The class-action lawsuit – filed in 2018 in California – said that reports of unexplained iPhone shutdowns first surfaced in 2015 before spiking in the fall of the next year.
Users’ concerns centered around the fact their phones shut off even though their batteries had a charge of more than 30 percent.
At the time, Apple said in a statement: ‘We have never – and would never – do anything to intentionally shorten the life of any Apple product, or degrade the user experience to drive customer upgrades.’
