If you owned an older iPhone model, you might be eligible for compensation as Apple faces £853 million lawsuit.
The tech giant is reportedly being accused of selling devices with defective batteries and deliberately slowing them down with software updates.
According to the lawsuit, Apple allegedly sold iPhones with faulty batteries that couldn’t handle the extreme power demands which lead to unexpected shutdowns.
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Instead of recalling the devices, Apple was pushing out automatic iOS software updates that secretly had a 'throttling' performance, slowing down older iPhones without warning.
Customers were left completely in the dark about the deliberate shutdowns from Apple.
If you owned one of the seven defective models, bought after 12 December 2016, then you could be one of the many 23.8 million affected Apple customers.
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The list of affected models include:
- iPhone 6
- iPhone 6 Plus
- iPhone 6S
- iPhone 6S Plus
- iPhone SE
- iPhone 7
- iPhone 7 Plus
As of now, this case only affects UK customers.
Consumer rights advocate Justin Gutmann filed the £853 million claim, arguing that Apple abused its market dominance and misled customers.
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He has hired law firm Charles Lyndon, with the case funded by Balance Legal Capital LLP.
Elsewhere, the iPhone and iPad developer is facing a £1.5 billion class action lawsuit which caused 20 million consumers to overpay in the App Store.
Dr. Rachael Kent, a consumer rights champion and academic at Kings College London, accused Apple of unlawfully and unfairly charging commission of up to 30% on all App Store purchases.
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Basically, when you pay for apps in the store, as much as 30% of what you spend goes straight to Apple. This caused 20 million UK consumers to overpay for apps and in-app purchases.
The claim argues that Apple’s strict payment system rules prevent app developers from offering cheaper alternatives. As a result, consumers pay a hidden 'Apple tax,' said Dr. Kent, adding that it’s been imposed for ten years. If the case - which first launched in 2022 - is successful, millions of UK Apple users could receive compensation for years of inflated app prices.
"The digital economy has become an extension of ourselves, and our everyday choices. We use apps to manage every part of our lives: they are the tools that help us shop, work and play," she explained.
"And while Apple customers love their products it doesn’t give them the right to behave unfairly, and that’s what they’ve been doing.
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"Apple has excluded competition and restricted its customers’ choice of where to shop for apps. It charges an excessive rate of commission of up to 30% for developers to sell apps in its shop, and its loyal customers who pay the price."
This case is part of a series of legal challenges Big Tech companies face globally.