“Poor communication kills” is the
rather extreme conclusion regarding the potential trouble caused by withholding
information or phrasing them in a way that can be misled. For the most part,
such mishaps could likely lead only to hurt feelings at least and possibly cost
the poor communicator money. That has been the case with Apple, which kept mum
when users of their older iPhone models (6 or 7) started slowing down in
processing speed. This spurred many owners to buy newer, later iPhones. But
when Apple brought to light the real reason for the slowdown, it led to a suit
that could now cost them a half-billion-dollars’ worth of settlement.
According to The Verge, a settlement filed last Friday, February 28, in
California would have computing and mobile device giant Apple being compelled
to pay at least $500 million in compensation to a multitude of class action slawsuit
against them for deliberately dialing down processors on bought iPhone 6 and 7
units, compelling their owners to upgrade before learning that the slowdown was
caused by an iOS update that reduced processing power to reduce strain on aging
battery packs. Apple has reluctantly accepted the settlement.
In detail, all complainants named
in the class lawsuits against Apple from 2017 to 2018 will each receive
anywhere from $1,500 to 3,500 from the settlement. The lawyers involved will
divide $90 million among themselves, and the rest will be parceled into $25
payments on average to every other Apple user who currently owns or had once
owned an iPhone 6 or 7, but only if they file claims. This will determine
whether the 25 dollars per compensated user might be increased (if not many
will claim) or be decreased if a whole lot do. Apple just has to grin and bear
with the penalty.
The matter of iPhone 6-7
slowdowns was first noticed by owners in 2017. Believing that their phone
processors have slowed down with age, they tended to replace their iPhones with
later models, because Apple did not say anything. Later however the company
came clean that updates on iOS caused the processing slowdown, to compensate
for the decreasing charge capacity of older batteries. The class action suits
that flared up had the complainants declare that if Apple had been upfront
about the iOS feature, then they would have just bought new iPhone batteries
rather than new iPhones, all but accusing Apple of cutthroat marketing tactics
to make them upgrade, no questions.
Outside of the US, Apple is also
facing a hefty fine from France about the “Battery-gate” controversy, to the
tune of €25
million which was finalized last month. The stateside $500 million settlement
is itself pending a final court approval.
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