Apple Facing Multiple Lawsuits After Admitting to Slowing Down Old iPhones

Nine lawsuits have been filed against Apple for fraud, after the company said it slowed down older iPhones to compensate for poor battery performance.

According to a new report from Reuters, eight of the nine lawsuits have been filed in the US District Courts in California, New York and Illinois. They seek class action against Apple to represent potentially crores of iPhone users around the United States.

The plaintiffs seek unspecified damages from Apple, in addition to reimbursement for the phone’s purchase with two of the plaintiffs asking the court to ban the company from reducing the speed of devices or, at least to oblige Apple to inform users before it does so.

A $125 million USD class action lawsuit was also been filed by two Israelis in Tel Aviv on Monday, Haaretz reported on Tuesday. The Israelis claim that Apple breached its duty toward consumers by concealing information. The suit accuses Apple of “breaching its basic duties toward users by failing to disclose that ‘innocent’ software updates would have negative implications for their phone use.”

The company acknowledged last week for the first time in detail that operating system updates released since “last year” for the iPhone 6, iPhone 6s, iPhone SE and iPhone 7 included a feature “to smooth out” power supply from batteries that are cold, old or low on charge.

Phones without the adjustment would shut down abruptly because of a precaution designed to prevent components from getting fried, Apple said.

Earlier in the week, Apple told CNBC: “Our goal is to deliver the best experience for customers, which includes overall performance and prolonging the life of their devices. Lithium-ion batteries become less capable of supplying peak current demands when in cold conditions, have a low battery charge or as they age over time, which can result in the device unexpectedly shutting down to protect its electronic components.”

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