Apple may have swung an ax at its own legs after it admitted, earlier this week, that it is deliberately slowing down old iPhones, purportedly to prevent unexpected shutdowns on devices with aging batteries. Naturally, people have gotten upset about this new revelation and it is being reported that at least two groups of people have sued the Cupertino giant over this matter.
An Apple iPhone 7 and the company logo. Image: Reuters
A report by Bloomberg says that one of two groups has sued in the Chicago Federal court that Apple was deliberately slowing down the previous models such as the iPhone 5s, iPhone 6, iPhone 7, so that users are forced to buy the next generation of Apple iPhones. The lawsuit filed read “Apple’s iOS updates purposefully neglected to explain that its purposeful throttling down of older model devices and resulting lost or diminished operating performance could be remedied by replacing the batteries of these devices”.
The second group filed a lawsuit in the Los Angeles Federal Court claiming that Apple had reportedly breached an implied contract wherein the company had agreed not to tamper with the usage or speeds of the iPhone devices.
Apple has not immediately responded to these accusations according to Bloomberg. The Chicago based group are "seeking unspecified damages" according to the report. The Los Angeles based group, on the other hand, wants a replacement of their devices alongside compensation for the loss of value of their phones.
The move to throttle iPhones may have been made with the best of intentions, but when Apple goes out of its way to hamper repairs and is actively fighting the right to repair legislation in the US, it's hard to accept that it's only good intentions that are motivating these actions.
Affected users need only replace their battery for their phone to get back up to speed.
Dear @Apple here's an open letter from a distraught #iPhone7 user. How dare you slow down my expensive iPhone and not tell me anything about it! https://t.co/izGSciqNrH pic.twitter.com/PKka5cmAse
— Tech2 (@tech2eets) December 22, 2017
Published Date: Dec 23, 2017 01:24 pm | Updated Date: Dec 23, 2017 01:24 pm
