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Apple Inc. has agreed to pay as much as $500 million in order to settle a class action lawsuit over claims that it was secretly slowing down older iPhone models over time, in order to encourage users to upgrade their device.
The company will pay a minimum of $310 million under the settlement, which has yet to be approved, Reuters reported. It was disclosed Friday night.
Under the terms of the settlement, Apple will pay $25 for each affected iPhone, though that figure could be revised up or down depending on how many devices are deemed to be eligible. As part of the deal, Apple gets to avoid admitting any wrongdoing. Instead, it said it was settling the issue out of court in order to “avoid the burdens and cost of litigation,” Reuters said.
U.S. owners of the iPhone 6, 6 Plus, 6s, 6s Plus, 7, 7 Plus and SE who bought their devices before the end of 2017 are all eligible for a payout. Lawyers representing the claimants, who originally asked for a payment of $25 to $46 for each iPhone, said the settlement was “fair, reasonable and adequate.”
Reports that Apple was throttling older iPhones first emerged in December 2017. Apple didn’t deny that was the case, but said it had done so in order to help preserve the battery life of its older devices, rather than to try to persuade users to upgrade. Apple apologized and offered to replace the batteries in older iPhones instead. Then, in January 2018, it decided it would give iPhone owners the option to throttle their devices as they aged, rather than forcing it upon them.
The settlement is awaiting approval from U.S. District Court Judge Edward Davila in San Jose, California.
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