Apple Has Already Copped 8 Lawsuits After Admitting It Slows Older iPhones

Last week, Apple admitted to slowing down ageing iPhones with iOS updates due to deal with their weak battery power. While the company says its actions are in the best interests of the user, those calling bullshit are doing so with lawsuits.

A total of eight lawsuits have been filed in the US District Courts in New York, Illinois, and California, all seeking class-action which could represent millions of iPhone users in the country.

After analysts at Primate Labs presented evidence of throttled power supplies to the CPU of the iPhone 6, 6s, SE and 7, the company confirmed this was indeed the case, but argues the feature is required for older batteries to prevent them from shutting down abruptly, which they claim happens due to an built-in precaution to stop components from getting fried.

One of the lawsuits says “the batteries’ inability to handle the demand created by processor speeds” without a software fix is a defect rather than a feature. “Rather than curing the battery defect by providing a free battery replacement for all affected iPhones, Apple sought to mask the battery defect,” the complaint reads.

Of course, the biggest gripe with Apple’s actions is that they kept users in the dark, which lead many to believe their phone was simply dying and should be replaced, rather than seeking the cheaper option of a replacement battery.

“If it turns out that consumers would have replaced their battery instead of buying new iPhones had they known the true nature of Apple’s upgrades, you might start to have a better case for some sort of misrepresentation or fraud,” said Boston University professor and consumer technology law specialist, Rory Van Loo.

Some of the lawsuits are seeking an unspecified amount in damages, while others want to prevent Apple from throttling CPU speeds to its devices moving forward, or at the very least, provide notification to users or the ability to opt out of changes.

Whatever the outcome, these cases could set a huge precedent for consumer law.


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