If you were one of the iPhone owners who signed up to receive payment under Apple’s “Batterygate” lawsuit, you should have a check heading your way in the near future.
According to The Mercury News, the judge overseeing the lawsuit has thrown out an appeal from two iPhone owners who were attempting to object to the settlement, clearing the way for the payments to be sent out.
Apple in 2020 agreed to pay $500 million to settle the “Batterygate” class action lawsuit, which accused the company of secretly throttling older iPhone models. The class action lawsuit was open to U.S. customers who had an iPhone 6, 6 Plus, 6s, 6s Plus, 7, or 7 Plus running iOS 10.2.1 or iOS 11.2 prior to December 21, 2017.
The lawsuit also stemmed from the iOS 10.2.1 update, which Apple released in 2017. This update tweaked the performance of older iPhones with degraded batteries and prevented them from shutting down. As a result, the processor was effectively throttled down because the battery could not keep up, leading to slower performance speeds when this occurred. The only way to restore full performance was to replace the degraded battery.
Apple also didn’t initially inform customers that the iOS 10.2.1 update introduced performance throttling, which in turn led to a class action lawsuit. Apple later apologized for its lack of communication and dropped the price of battery replacements to $29 through the end of 2018.
iPhone owners eligible for a payout would have needed to submit a claim back in 2020, and submissions were open through October 6, 2020. Those who submitted a claim back then will be eligible for a payment, which will be around $65 per claimant.
Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.
Via MacRumors and The Mercury News