Millions of iPhone users may be eligible for payment following the launch of a legal claim accusing Apple of secretly slowing down the performance of older phones.
Justin Gutmann alleged that the company misled users on the upgrade and that it would increase performance but slow down the phone. He is seeking damages of around £768m for the 25 million UK iPhone users. Apple says it has “never” intentionally shortened its product life.
The claim, filed with the Competition Appeals Tribunal, alleges that Apple slowed down the performance of older iPhones, known as “throttling,” to avoid costly recalls or repairs.
This relates to introducing a power management tool released in a software update for iPhone users in January 2017 to deal with performance issues and prevent older devices from suddenly shutting down.
Consumer champion Mr Gutmann says the software update download description at the time did not include information about the tool, and the company failed to clarify whether it would slow down the device.
They claim that Apple introduced this device to hide that the iPhone battery struggled to run the latest iOS software. Instead of recalling products or offering replacement batteries, the firm prompted users to download the update.
Mr Gutmann said: “Instead of doing a respectful and legal action by its customers and offering a free replacement, repair service or compensation, Apple misled people by hiding a device in a software update that slowed down their devices by 58%. Gave.”
The models covered in the claim are iPhone 6, 6 Plus, 6S, 6S Plus, SE, 7, 7 Plus, 8, 8 Plus and iPhone X models. This is an opt-out claim, which means customers will not need to be actively involved in the case to claim damages.
In a statement, Apple said: “We have not and will never do anything to shorten the life of any Apple product intentionally, or to reduce the user experience to drive customer upgrades.
