Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) is to face a multimillion-pound lawsuit that could result in millions of iPhone users being reimbursed in relation to a secret decision taken in 2017.
A software update released in January 2017 slowed down older iPhones.
Apple, which has acknowledged the "throttling", maintains that this was to prevent them from shutting down unexpectedly.
However the company did not offer users the option to disengage the setting and did not inform users their phones were being slowed intentionally.
Consumer rights activist Justin Gutmann, working with law firm Charles Lyndon, has filed a complaint against Apple over the decision with the UK Competition Appeals Tribunal.
Exciting news! Today I launched a claim against Apple for misleading up to 25 million UK iPhone users by concealing a power management tool in iOS updates that slowed devices by up to 58%.
Read more here: https://t.co/r0iiZNXYcs#Apple #AppleClaim #TheiPhoneClaim
— Justin Gutmann (@JustinGutmann) June 16, 2022
If he wins, the company may be ordered to pay more than £750mln in damages to the approximately 25mln people who bought an affected phone. The claim pertains to iPhone 6, 6 Plus, 6S, 6S Plus, SE, 7, 7 Plus, 8, 8 Plus and iPhone X models.
Apple admitted the throttling update almost a year after it introduced it, with the company saying it affected older batteries and phones that ran out of power.
The company noted a battery in poor condition might not be able to supply the maximum current required by the processor at full speed and prior to the update, it would have resulted in the phone shutting down, and the update was intended to keep it running, albeit at a slower pace.
"We have never – and would never – do anything to intentionally shorten the life of any Apple product, or degrade the user experience to drive customer upgrades," Apple said in a statement.
"Our goal has always been to create products that our customers love, and making iPhones last as long as possible is an important part of that."
A new feature in iPhone's settings menu, under 'battery health', now reveals whether the throttling is active.
Our client @JustinGutmann has today issued a new claim against Apple for failing to make iPhone users aware of a power management tool in iOS updates which caused iPhones to shut down or perform slower. The claim of £768m will allow up to 25 million people to claim compensation. pic.twitter.com/gJNcVFgIdn
— Charles Lyndon (@CLyndonLaw) June 16, 2022
The UK lawsuit is the latest in a string of lawsuits against Apple for throttling, with the tech major fined €10mln in Italy, along with Samsung, which was fined €5mln for a similar programme.
A class-action lawsuit in the US led to Apple agreeing to pay US$25 per iPhone, up to US$310mln, as part of a settlement in March 2020.
Activist Gutmann argued that Apple's decision to throttle the phone wasn't disclosed to users at the time, and was meant to hide the fact that older iPhone batteries couldn't handle the new demands.
As an alternative to a battery recall or replacement programme, or admitting that the latest software update was ill-suited for older devices, Apple urged users to install the update knowing it would negatively impact their devices, he charged.