Apple agrees to pay £85m to settle ‘batterygate’ case
Apple has agreed to pay another $113m (£85m) to settle a case alleging that it ‘throttled’ the power of older iPhones via software updates to extend their battery life.
The case, which was brought forward by 34 states in the US, including Arizona and California, alleged that Apple did not divulge information about battery-related issues that caused some handsets to malfunction and shut down.
Instead of informing customers about the problems, Apple rolled out a preventative update in late 2016 that actually reduced the performance of older models.
At the time, it was accused of slowing down iPhones with the view to forcing users to shell out for newer devices.
Apple apologised in 2017, saying that it had never intentionally shortened the life of its products or done anything that would negatively impact the user experience.
To appease disgruntled customers, Apple reduced the price of battery replacements for a short period and added a ‘battery health’ feature in iOS.
The tech giant has still had to face up to the legal ramifications of ‘batterygate’ though and agreed to pay $500m (£378m) to settle a similar case in California earlier this year.
It will now pay millions of dollars more to states across the US.
“Big Tech companies must stop manipulating consumers and tell them the whole truth about their practices and products,” Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich said last Thursday.
Apple has also agreed to provide more information about battery-related health and performance and helpful advice for customers on its website.