14 DAY TRIAL // Apple’s legal trouble after the company reckoned it deliberately slowed down iPhones with worn-out batteries continue, and at this point, there are nearly 60 lawsuits filed against the firm worldwide.
A report from MacRumors indicates that 30 such class actions will be centralized by Judge Edward J. Davila in the Northern District of California because of the “overlapping claims,” but Apple is also facing several lawsuits in other parts of the world, including Canada and South Korea.
While the number of lawsuits filed for deliberately slowing down iPhones without users’ consent is increasing, Apple doesn’t seem to be in a rush to publish iOS updates that would address the problem.
Apple admitted in late December that it throttled the performance of older iPhone models with aged batteries in order to prevent unexpected shutdowns, and after public backlash, the company announced iOS updates to provide users with the option of disabling the slowdown.
This setting is expected to be part of iOS 11.3, which is currently in beta stage and should land sometime this week, though again, Apple really takes its time on this.
Battery replacements for just $29
In the meantime, the company is offering battery replacements for just $29, down from $79, throughout 2018, but it’s facing additional challenges in this program as well.
The majority of stores no longer have batteries in stock, and some appointments have been pushed back to March and April until more units are produced. This means that iPhones whose performance have been reduced due to worn-out batteries can’t be serviced for the time being, though the upcoming iOS 11.3 will allow users to disable the throttling.
It remains to be seen how Apple deals with this avalanche of class action lawsuits, but what’s worse is that the company’s image is seriously hurt after this blunder. Apple intends to focus more on quality and performance with iOS 12, but the lack of new features could again backfire and lead to more frustration in the user community.