iPhone throttling Apple pays $ 25 per person in the U.S. Review

iPhone throttling Apple pays $ 25

Following a successful class-action lawsuit against non-transparent throttling of its iPhone 6, 6 Plus, 6s, 6s Plus and iPhone SE (1st generation) with iOS 10.2.1 (or higher) and iPhone 7 and 7 Plus with iOS 11.2 (or higher), Apple has started To compensate iPhone users in the USA with 25 US dollars each.

Up to $500 million in damages in the United States

Apple’s Macrumors website, which specializes in Apple, reports that Apple is paying a total loss compensation sum of $310 to $500 million in the United States.

The comparatively low compensation of $25 will be paid out to all users of an iPhone 6, 6 Plus, 6s, 6s Plus and iPhone SE with at least iOS 10.2.1 or an iPhone 7 and 7 Plus with at least iOS 11.2.

However, the smartphone must have been put into operation before 21 December 2017 - the day Apple confirmed the throttling of the affected iPhone models.

iPhone 6s and iOS 10.2.1 as the stumbling block

As early as the end of 2017, disgruntled iPhone users had to increasingly notice that the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus (test) were also shutting down its system-on-a-chip with the advancing aging process of its battery. Since iOS 10.2.1, the maximum CPU clock of the Soc is to be coupled to the voltage supplied by the battery due to a revised iOS energy management - the result: a performance drop.

Shortly thereafter, Apple also confirmed slower iPhones with an aged battery, but described this behavior as wanted and in the interests of the customer. It prevents suddenly switching off smartphones by voltage peaks, which the aged battery can no longer cope with. However, iPhone users around the world saw the situation as expected differently and so consumers formed among other things to class actions in France and the USA.

Customers do not want to accept planned obsolescence

In many places, throttling is seen as a planned obsolescence and also Apple’s reaction to the criticism, in the form of a temporary reduced replacement of the battery in affected smartphones and the promise to allow more transparency in the future, could not appease affected buyers. In one of the class actions filed in the United States alone, the plaintiffs demanded damages of $999 billion from Apple.

At least in the US, consumers are now being compensated - albeit comparatively small - by Apple. According to Macrumors, the reason for the relatively low individual compensation is the high number of affected users.