State of Alaska Announces $113 Million Settlement with Apple Over iPhone Throttling; A Whopping $25 for Settlement Class Action Members Releasing ClaimsPosted and Edited By MARY KAUFFMAN
November 30, 2020
Based on the multistate investigation, the attorneys general allege that Apple discovered that battery issues were leading to unexpected shutdowns in iPhones. Rather than disclosing these issues or replacing batteries, however, Apple concealed the issues from consumers. Apple’s concealment ultimately led to a software update in December 2016 that reduced iPhone performance in an effort to keep the phones from unexpectedly shutting down. The attorneys general allege that Apple’s concealment of the battery issues and decision to throttle the performance of consumers’ iPhones led to Apple profiting from selling additional iPhones to consumers whose phone performance Apple had slowed. “Consumers expect technology companies to provide honest, accurate information about their devices,” said Acting Attorney General Ed Sniffen, “This settlement sends a strong message that deceptive conduct will not be tolerated.” Under the settlement, Apple will pay $1.27 million to the State of Alaska. In addition to the monetary payment, Apple also must provide truthful information to consumers about iPhone battery health, performance, and power management. Apple must provide this important information in various forms on its website, in update installation notes, and in the iPhone user interface itself. As of today, information is not easily visable on Apple's website. Apple recently also entered into a proposed settlement of class action litigation related to the same conduct, and under that proposed settlement Apple will pay out up to $500 million in consumer restitution. This will amount to a whopping $25 for Settlement Class Members who agree to release further claims for Apple slowing iPhones with bad batteries. Recently Apple mailed claim releases for involved consumers to sign to release Apple from any further claims. By signing the form, Apple pays $25. People eligible for the payments are US residents who used affected versions of iOS before December 21, 2017, on the iPhone 6, 6 Plus, 6S, 6S Plus, 7, 7 Plus, or SE. The settlement, which was submitted to a judge for approval, stems from numerous class-action complaints that were consolidated into a case against Apple filed July 02, 2018, in US District Court for the Northern District of California. Ars Technica reported in March 2020, the consolidated complaint by Settlement Class Action Members said that, in fall 2016, iPhone users experienced a shutdown problem that "resulted from a significant design defect: the battery was not designed with enough power to meet the peak demands of the phone's processor as the battery aged. The result was that iPhones worked as expected when new, but even after a few months or years, began to cease functioning, i.e., switching off at random intervals, when the iPhone processor required too much power of its flagging iPhone battery." Apple was accused of concealing the defect by intentionally slowing down phone performance with a software update. "Throughout 2017... Apple failed to inform customers that the 'fix' to the shutdown problem in iOS 10.2.1 came with a significant—and undisclosed—tradeoff: the update artificially slowed down the processors in Apple's Devices," the complaint said.
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