Apple to Pay $500 Million Settlement Over Throttled iPhones

Class-action lawsuit claimed Apple deliberately slowed down iPhones to get users to upgrade batteries or devices

Apple's Tim Cook
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Apple has agreed to pay up to $500 million to settle a lawsuit claiming the tech giant deliberately slowed down older iPhone models in an effort to get customers to upgrade to newer devices.

Apple has denied any wrongdoing and said it is settling the case to avoid exorbitant litigation fees, according to court documents. The agreement calls for Apple to spend a minimum of $310 million and for the company to pay $25 per iPhone model mentioned in the lawsuit.

The settlement, which was filed on Friday afternoon, spans the following models: iPhone 6, 6+ Plus, 6s, 6s Plus, 7, and the iPhone SE, all running on iOS 10.2.1 or newer operating systems. The consumers who filed the suit claimed their iPhones performed worse after installing software updates — misleading them to believe their devices either needed a new battery or had to be upgraded altogether.

The agreement is still awaiting approval from U.S. District Judge Edward Davila in San Jose, California.

Apple said the iPhones slowed down because of several factors, including high usage and temperature changes. The tech giant, when the news first came to light in late 2017, offered to replace batteries for $29, rather than the typical $79 fee. Later, Apple let users disable the “feature” that customers felt had been throttling their iPhones.

Pamela Chelin contributed to this story. 

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