Apple Will Pay Up to $500 Million to Settle Lawsuit Over iPhone Slowdowns

Todd Spangler
·3 min read

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Owners of certain older models of Apple’s iPhones would receive $25-$500 per device under an agreement the tech giant entered into to settle a class-action lawsuit alleging the company defrauded customers after slowing down the performance of the devices without telling them.

Apple will pay a minimum of $310 million and a maximum of $500 million to settle the litigation, according to a filing last Friday in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. That will go toward payments to former and current U.S. owners of Apple iPhone 6, 6 Plus, 6s, 6s Plus, 7, 7 Plus, and SE devices running iOS 10.2.1 (or later) and iOS 11.2 (or later).

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The lawsuit stemmed from Apple’s 2017 iOS software updates designed to prevent iPhones from unexpectedly powering off. The updates slowed down the peak performance of some iPhones to prevent the sudden shutdowns, which occurred when aging batteries weren’t able to fulfill peak performance power demands, according to Apple. The plaintiffs alleged Apple knew about the defect and failed to disclose it properly — and that the performance throttling caused customers to purchase new iPhones.

Apple did not respond to a request for comment on the proposed settlement. Per the court filing, Apple denied any wrongdoing and agreed to settle the case to avoid further litigation costs.

“For a release of their claims, Settlement Class Members will receive $25.00 for each iPhone owned, the amount of which may increase or decrease depending on the amount of any Attorneys’ Fees and Expenses, Named Plaintiff Service Awards, notice expenses, and the aggregate value of Approved Claims,” the settlement reads. The amount per device covered under the settlement could be increased to a maximum of $500 apiece depending on the number of iPhones identified as eligible under the agreement.

Per the agreement, non-U.S. iPhone owners’ claims “will not be released” and they may pursue their own claims.

In connection with approval of the settlement, Apple and the plaintiffs asked the court to authorize Angeion Group as the settlement administrator. There’s no information currently about how iPhone owners would be able to claim a piece of the settlement money.

The attorneys representing plaintiffs in the class-action suit intend to seek up to $93 million as “reasonable attorneys’ fees” plus a maximum of $1.5 million for out-of-pocket expenses. The proposed settlement still requires the court’s approval.

In December 2017, Apple apologized to customers for slowing down older iPhones and not being fully transparent about it. The company at the time said it would temporarily reduce the cost of battery replacements for affected phones to $29, compared with the regular $79 charge.

Between December 2017 and June 2018, 66 separate class-action lawsuits were filed against Apple and subsequently consolidated into one case.

{Pictured above: Apple’s iPhone 7, released in 2016)

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