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Apple to Pay $3.4 Million USD to Settle Planned Obsolescence Lawsuit
Apple has agreed to settle and pay $3.4 million to Chilean users due to a class-action lawsuit filed by iPhone users who noticed that their older devices, which include the iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, and iPhone SE were performing significantly worse after an iOS update in 2017. Every registered Chilean user stands to gain $50, which has to be shared if there is more than one claim per device serial number. For instance, a second-hand phone may have two people filing a lawsuit for the same phone.
Around 150,000 Chilean iPhone users sued Apple for implementing a performance throttling feature in their 2017 iOS update. In the same year, Apple released the iOS 10.2.1 update and programmed in a feature that would forcefully slow down system performance in old iPhones by reducing the CPU's clock speed. This was done to prevent the phone from spontaneously shutting off due to poor battery health in degrading iPhones, but they failed to inform the user that this change would have a detrimental effect on their iPhone's performance.
Previously: Apple iPhones Appear to Slow Down as Battery Condition Degrades: Planned Obsolescence?
Two Class Action Lawsuits Filed After Apple Admits Slowing Down iPhones
Eight Lawsuits Filed Against Apple Over iPhone Slowdowns
Apple Offers $29 Battery Replacements in Response to iPhone Slowdown Scandal
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Tork on Friday April 09 2021, @05:08PM (14 children)
It's about transparency. When people don't know why their phone is suddenly slow around upgrade time... oh forget it, you didn't read about it then you're not gonna now.
Slashdolt Logic: "25 year old jokes about sharks and lasers are +5, Funny." 💩
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Friday April 09 2021, @05:22PM (13 children)
No. This is why I said people are stupid. They'd rather have their phone shut off an inopportune times (like when they are using it) than have the phone work reliably, albeit a bit slower.
Apple specifically identified older batteries and targeted those for slowing down so that the phone wouldn't shut off, as highlighted in this article:
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/dec/21/apple-admits-slowing-older-iphones-because-of-flagging-batteries [theguardian.com]
Replacing the battery immediately alleviates the slowdown, because Apple isn't targeting older devices, just older batteries that are naturally degrading.
...and if folks are yelling and screaming about the transparency of this (And not even about how they got a longer-working, more reliable phone for free), pick and choose which best fits:
1) They want something for free. I'm not even sure *they* know what free thing they want.
2) They don't understand current battery technology. ("I'm SHOCKED I have to replace the battery in my car!")
3) They are stupid
4) They are sheep, repeating the same incorrect drivel and causing a ruckus because it makes them feel like they are driving change and are worthwhile.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by sjames on Friday April 09 2021, @05:54PM (4 children)
Probably, what they'd rather do is pop the battery out and put in a new one for $15 off of Amazon.....HAY WAIT!
(Score: 0, Disagree) by Anonymous Coward on Friday April 09 2021, @06:11PM (3 children)
(Score: 3, Insightful) by sjames on Friday April 09 2021, @09:33PM (2 children)
In the days of replacable batteries, I literally never had that happen.
Besides, these days, dropping your phone hard enough to pop the battery out is nearly always fatal to the phone anyway.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday April 10 2021, @11:03PM (1 child)
I can't believe I'm the only one who's seen this happen multiple times out while at places like malls, theme parks, theaters etc. Places even sell replacement battery doors. I had two different phones, both major brands mind you, get loosened up enough that the battery would sometimes lose contact with the phone just traveling in my pocket.. I've missed calls that way and talked to others in a similar boat. Not fatal or anything close to it, but I do wish those phones had an auto-restart feature instead of leaving me with an intermittent device.
Phones were little pieces of shit back then, no rose-colored glasses for me.
(Score: 2) by sjames on Sunday April 11 2021, @12:26AM
The last time I had a phone with an easily replaced battery, after taking the door off you had to smack it firmly against the palm of your hand to get the battery out far enough to pull it the rest of the way out.
Other solutions include a screw to hold the battery compartment shut. It's a long-solved problem, it's just that some companies care little enough or are extremely chintzy enough to not bother.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday April 09 2021, @06:03PM (6 children)
Settle down, Beavis, noone's saying the masses aren't stupid. Just you, but at least that's easily correctable if you're not a complete idgit.
(Score: 2) by helel on Friday April 09 2021, @07:05PM (5 children)
Can you point to other examples of Apple slowing down devices with updates? Or do you just mean "you can technically install this new version of the OS on your hardware but it's not recommended" type situations?
Republican Patriotism [youtube.com]
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Tork on Friday April 09 2021, @07:56PM (4 children)
Whether or not it's actually intentional is up for debate, but the way I see it Apple's hungry for money and it's just plain safer if I operate under that assumption.
Slashdolt Logic: "25 year old jokes about sharks and lasers are +5, Funny." 💩
(Score: 2) by helel on Friday April 09 2021, @09:18PM (3 children)
In theory releasing the newest OS on all hardware that can support it is a win because customers can choose whether they want to take the speed hit to access the new features or just stick with the system written for their processor. In practice there are allot of users who feel the need to always upgrade to the newest, shiniest OS available and then complain if it doesn't run just as well on their old processor as it dose on a significantly faster one...
Republican Patriotism [youtube.com]
(Score: 2) by Tork on Friday April 09 2021, @09:19PM (2 children)
Slashdolt Logic: "25 year old jokes about sharks and lasers are +5, Funny." 💩
(Score: 2) by helel on Friday April 09 2021, @09:29PM (1 child)
That's why the same security fixes were shipped in both Watch OS 6 [apple.com] and Watch OS 5.3 [apple.com]...
Republican Patriotism [youtube.com]
(Score: 2) by Tork on Friday April 09 2021, @09:30PM
Slashdolt Logic: "25 year old jokes about sharks and lasers are +5, Funny." 💩
(Score: 5, Insightful) by Runaway1956 on Friday April 09 2021, @07:04PM
You still seem to be missing the fact that owners had zero options. The update was forced onto apparently good, working phones, thereby breaking working phones.
Of course, that sorta leads us back to the whole right-to-repair issue. Changing out a battery should be end-user simple, maybe a tool required like a little precision screw driver. Hell, Apple can even put a three cornered screw head, and call it a trex-screw, and sell everyone a trex screwdriver while selling new batteries.
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