Apple failed to prevent huge class action lawsuit regarding ``Battery Gate'' that intentionally lowered iPhone performance
In 2017, it was revealed that Apple
Judgment (CPO Application) | Competition Appeal Tribunal
https://www.catribunal.org.uk/judgments/14687722-mr-justin-gutmann-v-apple-inc-apple-distribution-international-limited-and-1
Mass lawsuit against Apple over iPhone batteries can go ahead, London tribunal rules | Reuters
https://www.reuters.com/technology/mass-lawsuit-against-apple-over-iphone-batteries-can-go-ahead-london-tribunal-2023-11-01/
Apple could still face $2 billion penalty over iPhone throttling from years ago - 9to5Mac
https://9to5mac.com/2023/11/01/iphone-batterygate-lawsuit-uk/
Mass lawsuit against Apple over iPhone batteries may proceed, London tribunal rules
https://macdailynews.com/2023/11/01/mass-lawsuit-against-apple-over-iphone-batteries-may-proceed-london-tribunal-rules/
Battery Gate began at the end of 2017 with testimonies reported online saying that replacing the battery on an iPhone 6s restored its degraded performance , suggesting that Apple was intentionally lowering the peak performance of older iPhones. This is an admitted incident.
Apple has explained that the reason for reducing the iPhone's peak performance was to prevent unexpected shutdowns on iPhones with degraded batteries and to extend battery life. However, a class action lawsuit was immediately filed in the United States.
Apple, which admitted to intentionally lowering the performance of older iPhones, is already facing a class action lawsuit - GIGAZINE
Apple subsequently agreed to pay a settlement to American consumers, and in August 2023, the lawsuits of two iPhone users who had resisted the settlement until the end were dismissed . As a result, Apple will pay a total of $500 million (approximately 72.5 billion yen) in settlements to American users who purchased the iPhone 6 series or iPhone 7 series.
Class action lawsuits related to Batterygate are being advanced outside the United States, and in 2021, an Italian consumer group filed a class action lawsuit seeking damages of 60 million euros (approximately 7.5 billion yen at the rate at the time), and in 2022. A class action lawsuit was also filed in the UK in 2017.
The UK class action lawsuit was brought by consumer rights activist Justin Gutman on behalf of 24 million consumers in the UK. Lawyers argue that Apple hid problems with certain battery models by ' throttling ' batteries with software updates and installing power management tools that limited performance. Apple is seeking up to 1.6 billion pounds (approximately 290 billion yen) in damages and interest.
Regarding this class action lawsuit filed in the UK, Apple requested a blockade in May 2023, stating that ``the plaintiff's claims are groundless.'' In the document, Apple strongly denies Gutman et al.'s claims, saying, ``Except for a small number of iPhone 6s models for which we offered free battery replacements, the batteries themselves were not defective.''
However, on November 1, 2023, the UK Competition Appeal Court rejected Apple's request and ruled that the class action lawsuit could proceed. However, the Competition Appeal Court also noted that there was a 'lack of clarity and specificity' in Gutmann et al.'s case, and that these issues needed to be resolved before trial. Gutmann said in a statement that the ruling is 'a major step toward consumer justice.'
An Apple spokesperson told technology news site The Verge: ``We have never intentionally shortened the lifespan of Apple products or degraded the user experience to encourage customers to upgrade. 'And we never will. Our goal has always been to make products our customers love, and making iPhone last as long as possible is an important part of that.'
In addition, MacDailyNews, a news site that handles Apple-related information, says that Apple has already lost class action lawsuits over the battery gate issue in multiple countries, and that if Gutman and other lawyers resolve the problems pointed out by the court, Naturally, he points out that Apple will lose this time as well. However, he said that up to £1.6 billion may be too high, adding: 'The only question if this class action proceeds is the final settlement amount that Apple will have to pay.' I am.
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