Attorney General Herbert H. Slatery III, along with a coalition of over 30 attorneys general, announced a $113 million settlement with Apple, Inc. regarding Apple’s 2016 decision to throttle consumers’ iPhone speeds in order to address unexpected shutdowns in some devices.
Based on the multistate investigation, the attorneys general allege that Apple discovered that battery issues were leading to unexpected shutdowns in iPhones. Rather than disclosing these issues or replacing batteries, however, Apple concealed the issues from consumers. Apple’s concealment ultimately led to a software update in December 2016 that reduced iPhone performance to keep the phones from unexpectedly shutting down.
The attorneys general allege that Apple’s concealment of the battery issues and decision to throttle the performance of consumers’ iPhones led to Apple profiting from selling additional iPhones to consumers whose phone performance Apple had slowed.
“Apple customers were left with only one option-the most expensive one,” said General Slatery. “Through this agreement, Apple must be upfront with consumers about how their iPhones work.”
Under the settlement, Apple will pay Tennessee $2,113,063.81. In addition to the monetary payment, Apple also must provide truthful information to consumers about iPhone battery health, performance, and power management. Apple must provide this important information in various forms on its website, in update installation notes, and in the iPhone user interface itself. Apple recently also entered into a proposed settlement of class action litigation related to the same conduct, and under that proposed settlement Apple will pay out up to $500 million in consumer restitution.
Consumers can find more information here: https://www.smartphoneperformancesettlement.com/
Apple support on battery replacements: https://support.apple.com/iphone/repair/service/battery-power
Click here to read the Complaint and the Consent Judgment: https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/attorneygeneral/documents/pr/2020/pr20-53-complaint-judgment.pdf