INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
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If you owned a US iPhone 6 or 7, you may be entitled to a payout
Apple has agreed to settle a long-running class-action case in the US over allegations it deliberately slowed down older iPhones.The
each affected user, depending on how many claims are made.Apple has denied any wrongdoing in the case but settled in part because of the
cost of continuing litigation
The case dates back to December 2017, when Apple confirmed a long-held suspicion among phone owners by admitting it had deliberately slowed
down some iPhones as they got older
As batteries aged, their performance decreased and the "slowdown" lengthened the phones' lifespan, it said.But critics took it as proof of
"planned obsolescence" - when manufacturers deliberately impair older products to prompt users to buy a new model
The uproar prompted Apple to offer a cut-price battery replacement, which fixed the problem
But it resulted in this US legal action and investigations by several European countries.After nearly two years of litigation, papers filed
in recent days ask the US district court in Northern California to rubber-stamp the settlement.Under the deal, Apple will end up paying out
between $310m and $500m.US owners of iPhone 6, 6 Plus, 6s, 6s Plus, 7, 7 Plus, and SE devices are all entitled to a payment of $25 each
But that $25 could go up or down, depending on whether there is cash left over in the minimum payout - or not quite enough in the maximum -
once all the claims are made
Meanwhile, the "named plaintiffs" - those people who put their names down on the class action on behalf of all iPhone owners - will receive
And those who gave evidence in the case will receive $3,500.In addition, the lawyers will ask the court to grant them $93m in "reasonable
attorneys' fees" and another $1.5m in expenses
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A maximum payout of $500m is expected to be worth about $25 per phone
The French regulator said customers did not know new updates to the phones' software would slow them down - something French officials
decided was a "deceptive commercial practice".
