Apple starts paying out over claims it deliberately slowed down iPhones
Apple have started paying out to complainants from a lawsuit which alleged that the tech giant deliberately slowed down certain iPhones.
The lawsuit had been settled in 2020, with Apple denying any wrongdoing in the case as the BBC reported they were instead concerned about the cost of further litigation.
The lawsuit was first launched in 2017, the same year that Apple confirmed they did deliberately slow down some iPhone models as they got older.
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The tech giant said that the diminishing battery performance over time meant they slowed down certain models of their popular smartphone to compensate and lengthen the device's lifespan.
Apple also said they wanted to 'prolong the life' of their customer's gadgets rather than nudge customers into buying a new phone from them, but the lawsuit claimed that the company had been throttling phone performance without telling customers.
Having reached a $500 million (£394 million) settlement in the US, some iPhone users are now saying that their payment has come in and are taking to social media.
Around three million people joined the lawsuit, though if you're hoping to get in on the action now the deadline of October 2020 is long gone, and some have posted that they've received $92.17 by way of payment.
That's the settlement over in the US, while on this side of the pond a judicial tribunal rejected a request from Apple to throw out a lawsuit alleging that the tech giant was throttling iPhones through software updates.
The lawsuit, filed by Justin Gutmann, alleges Apple installed a power management tool in an update and is seeking £1.6 billion in compensation on behalf of the millions of iPhone users in the UK.
Apple said the case was 'baseless', denying they would ever intentionally shorten the life of one of their products or make the experience worse to force customers into buying upgrades.
An Apple spokesperson said at the time: "We have never - and would never - do anything to intentionally shorten the life of any Apple product, or degrade the user experience to drive customer upgrades.
"Our goal has always been to create products that our customers love, and making iPhones last as long as possible is an important part of that."
Nonetheless the Competition Appeal Tribunal ruled that the lawsuit could go ahead.
The US settlement only applied to people who had iPhones in the 6 and 7 range along with the iPhone SE, while the one in the UK includes those who had iPhone 8, 8 Plus and the iPhone X.
LADbible has contacted Apple for comment.
Joe Harker