The Canadian class action lawsuit regarding Apple’s controversial “batterygate” case has finally been settled, with Cupertino agreeing to pay out C$14.4 million to iPhone users in Canada.
As part of the settlement, which was greenlit by the Canadian court on Monday, eligible iPhone users will receive between C$17.50 and C$150 from Apple.
Canadians who owned or purchased any of the iPhone 6 series that ran or downloaded iOS 10.2.1, or the iPhone 7 or iPhone 7 Plus that ran or downloaded iOS 11.2 before December 21, 2017, are eligible for a payment from the settlement.
There is currently no exact date for payouts, so it could be a while before any money actually lands in Canadian bank accounts. But if you happen to live in Canada (apart from Quebec) there will be more information posted in due course on the settlement website.
What is 'batterygate'?
“Batterygate” was the name given to one of the most contentious events in Apple's history which occurred back in 2017. The tech giant was accused of throttling down older iPhone performance through an update.
The updates in question were initially promised to extend the battery life of the older model iPhones to prolong their lifespan. However, it was quickly discovered that the update actually hid some very negative effects for older iPhone users.
Originally, Apple was adamant the update degrading the performance of older phones was necessary to stop those models randomly shutting down. But the company didn't mention this in any update note and it was impossible to turn the feature off. This led to court cases and Apple settling the case in the U.S. in 2020.
Outside of the court settlement Apple also added the ability to turn off the CPU throttling, as well as making battery replacement for affected models cheaper. Apple has also developed and added software into modern phones that allows them to manage their battery health, and include a low power mode to help maintain battery health.
What about U.S. iPhone owners?
Canada wasn't the only country affected by "batterygate", and we have slowly seen payments across the United States from Apple's $500 million settlement here.
Amounts seem to vary, as reports on X claim that affected users have received payments in January for $92.17. That exceeded the expected amount of $25 per eligible device initially touted following the settlement back in 2020.
Nice thing to wake up to on a Saturday morning — especially after 3.5 years of waiting! https://t.co/efqqgca8NG pic.twitter.com/hqfBV25M6sJanuary 6, 2024
That’s the nature of class-action lawsuits; The total is divided between the number of claimants after legal fees are subtracted, so clearly fewer people took up the offer than originally expected. As with Canada, those affected in the U.S. can follow the latest developments on the U.S. settlement site here.
Despite offering an apology Apple has continued to stand by its decisions and the settlement has stated that it is “not an admission of liability, wrongdoing, or fault on the part of Apple, which denies the allegations against it” but Apple is finally making movements to pay disgruntled customers.
Hopefully, this means we will soon see an end to this issue and some peace of mind for those affected.
