Launched way back in 2014, if you live in Canada and bought an iPhone 6, you could claim up to $150 back from Apple in a huge settlement announced on Sunday (January 7).
The lawsuit doesn’t just feature the iPhone 6 but also includes the iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, and iPhone SE with iOS 10.2.1 or later. It also includes the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus loaded with iOS 11.2 onward. To claim, you need to have had both the phone and the software at some point before December 21, 2017, according to the website set up by the class counsel.
In the lawsuit, it is alleged that iPhones from this era had their performance throttled and would prematurely age, due to changes made in the named iOS updates in an effort to prolong battery health.
Apple has agreed to pay “between $11,137,500 CAD and $14,427,500 CAD (Canadian Dollars)” in the settlement, and the hearing for the settlement will take place on January 29, 2024. You can claim for multiple iPhones if you need to, and must submit a claim form to be paid what you are owed by Apple.
You can also opt out of the deadline by January 10, 2024, if you wish to pursue action on a more personal level with Apple. If you don’t choose to opt out of that settlement, you forfeit your right to sue for damages and are automatically included in the settlement class. You can also object to the settlement by the above deadline if you aren’t satisfied with the result.
Is Apple guilty? — iMore’s take
It’s important to note that the website above clarifies “The Settlement is not an admission of liability, wrongdoing, or fault on the part of Apple, which denies the allegations against it.” It is, of course, true that settling doesn’t mean a company is guilty. Apple may settle for many reasons.
Apple’s lawyers and execs may have determined the total value of the suit is worth the amount of money it may take them to fight it, plus the potential PR hit it could take for carrying out the class action for a longer period, might not be worth the money.
It is important to note, however, that this is not the only time this claim has come up: There remains a £1.6 billion lawsuit to go to trial for the same thing in the UK. This is also not a sign Apple is guilty as no verdict has been reached. As recently reported by Ars Technica, consumers have finally been paid for a similar successful class action lawsuit for the iPhone 6 in America, back in 2020.
All of these cases don’t outright prove Apple throttled devices but the almost half a billion dollars it has already paid isn’t to be ignored. The UK case is perhaps one of the more interesting so far due to the huge demand, and will likely be the most telling in the long run.
