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Batterygate 2, another lawsuit against Apple, seeks compensation for 25 million iPhone users in Britain

Batterygate 2, another lawsuit against Apple, seeks compensation for 25 million

Apple is facing another lawsuit after a consumer rights activist in Britain, Justin Gutmann, filed a lawsuit on Thursday accusing the US tech giant of covertly slowing down the performance of older iPhone models.

Gutmann claims that the company deceived iPhone users when it said it would improve performance, as in fact, it only slowed down the phones. He is seeking compensation of around 878 million euros for up to 25 million iPhone users in the UK.

The lawsuit, filed in the Competition Court of Appeals, alleges that Apple slowed down the performance of older iPhones in a process known as "choking" in order to avoid expensive withdrawals or repairs.

It relates to the introduction of a power management tool, released in a software update for iPhone users in January 2017, to combat performance issues and stop the sudden shutdown of old devices.

Mr Gutmann, a well-known consumer advocate in London, said information about the tool was not included in the description of the software update download at the time and that the company had failed to explain that it would slow down the devices.

He claims that Apple introduced this tool to hide the fact that iPhone batteries may have had difficulty running the latest iOS software and that instead of restoring products or offering replacement batteries, the firm pushed users to download updates of software.

Gutmann said: "Instead of doing the honest and legal thing to their customers and offering a replacement, repair service or free compensation, Apple tricked people into hiding a tool in software updates that slowed their devices down by 58%. .

These are the iPhone 6, 6 Plus, 6S, 6S Plus, SE, 7, 7 Plus, 8, 8 Plus and iPhone X models.

Në një deklaratë, Apple tha: "Ne kurrë nuk kemi bërë dhe nuk do të bënim kurrë asgjë për të shkurtuar qëllimisht jetën e ndonjë produkti të Apple, ose për të ngadalësuar përvojën e përdoruesit për të nxitur përmirësimet e klientëve. Qëllimi ynë ka qenë gjithmonë të krijojmë produkte që klientët tanë i duan dhe bërja e iPhone-ve të zgjasin sa më gjatë të jetë e mundur është një pjesë e rëndësishme e kësaj”.

The claim of Mr. Gutmann comes two years after a similar case was settled in the United States. In 2020, Apple agreed to pay $ 113 million to settle allegations that it was slowing down older iPhones. Thirty-three US states claimed that Apple had done this to push users to buy new devices. Millions of people were affected when the iPhone 6 and 7 and SE models slowed down in 2016 in a scandal called Batterygate. At the time, Apple declined to comment, however, having previously said the phones had slowed down to preserve old battery life.