14 DAY TRIAL // Apple is being used by more iPhone users for slowing down their devices, with a new class action demanding a payout of no less than $999 billion in damages.
The legal dispute was started after Apple admitted earlier this month that it voluntarily slows down older iPhones to deal with battery degradation in an attempt to prevent unexpected slowdowns and other problems.
Just like in the previous class actions that were started against Apple, the plaintiff claims the company intentionally reduced the performance of the iPhone as a solution to minimize the impact of worn-out batteries, without letting buyers know about it.
This made many existing iPhone customers to upgrade to newer models, as Apple has never disclosed “that the slowdown in older iPhone models might be remedied by replacing the battery in these devices or by avoiding the download of iOS updates.”
$999 billion in damages
Furthermore, the lawsuit states that most customers purchased new iPhone models to benefit from better performance, naming the iPhone 4 to iPhone 8 as generations affected by the slowdown.
“If Plaintiff and Class knew that the slow performance of their iPhone could be avoided by refusing to download the iOS update, they would not buy a new iPhone model,” the lawsuit states. “Defendant knew and intentionally failed to disclose that it was purposefully slowing down the performance of older iPhones models and that the slowdown could be remedied by purchasing a new battery, by avoiding to download the iOS update or otherwise.”
It goes without saying that Apple hasn’t commented on this new class action, and there’s a good chance the company will never release a statement, especially as the number of people interested in pursuing legal action is increasing every day.
While it’s hard to believe a $999 billion payout would indeed be offered, Apple is clearly in deep trouble right now, not necessarily because it’s being used by everyone, but due to the fact that its own customers are losing faith in the company and its products.
Apple’s public acknowledgment of slowing down iPhones is already backfiring, with a growing number of customers choosing to switch sides and move to Android. While not confirmed just yet, due to the nature of lithium-ion batteries similar tweaks could be applied by other manufacturers as well.