14 DAY TRIAL // Apple’s problems caused by the secret iPhone throttling that was implemented in 2017 are far from over, as the company just lost an appeal in Italy and is now forced to pay a €10 million fine ($11.1 million).
The Cupertino-based tech giant was originally sued in in 2018 and the company actually lost the legal dispute later the same year, with an Italian court setting a fine of €10 million.
Unsurprisingly, Apple quickly appealed the decision but as discovered recently, a new court ruling in late May upholds the decision and requires the company to pay the fine.
The iPhone throttling
Independent tests performed in late 2017 discovered that a series of iPhones were deliberately slowed down by Apple with changes implemented in iOS software updates.
Apple explained that the performance throttling was used to handle battery degradation, as cutting down the performance of the device allowed for increased autonomy even in the case of aging batteries.
However, due to the performance slowdown, some purchased new iPhones.
Apple admitted the change shortly after the discovery went public and then launched a battery replacement program for iPhones with a discounted price of $29, down from $79. Furthermore, Apple also implemented more battery health information in iOS, allowing users to disable performance throttling should the degradation level reach a point where it would be required.
Furthermore, more information when unexpected shutdowns occur is also displayed now on every iPhone affected by the degraded battery issue.
“This iPhone has experienced an unexpected shutdown because the battery was unable to deliver the necessary peak power. Performance management has been applied to help prevent this from happening again,” the message displayed on every iPhone under the “Battery Health” section reads.
Battery servicing is recommended once the health level drops below 80 percent.