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Apple to pay $500M in lawsuit for slowing down older iPhones to drive sales

by Ayodeji Onibalusi
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Smartphone giant, Apple Inc., has agreed to pay a settlement of $500 million US dollars in a class-action lawsuit brought against it for intentionally slowing down older phones to boost the sales of its newer devices.

According to the proposals of the settlement agreement, Apple is required to pay owners of some iPhone models $25 for each device that is affected, with a total minimum amount of $310 million and a total maximum of $500 million.

These findings are from documents that were released on Friday in a US District Court in San Jose, California.

A user could begin to get even more money depending on the number of affected devices that caused them to file for claims together with the extra costs of associated legal fees and expenses that the court approves.

This settlement agreement brings to a close, a long legal battle that Apple Inc. has fought for over two years and has seen the company receive a lot of backlash for the act.

The company has issued an apology to its users for not telling them about the practice of intentionally slowing down their older devices in order to force them into purchasing a newer model.

“We know that some of you feel Apple has let you down,” Apple said in a statement. “We apologize.”

The company, however, denied that it was forced by the courts to pay a settlement, but rather chose to pay the amount in order to avoid lengthy legal battles and soaring costs.

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