SAN JOSE, Calif., Jan 05, 2018 (BUSINESS WIRE) —
One of the nation’s top consumer-rights law firms has filed a class-action
lawsuit against Apple for secretly installing a feature to
intentionally slow down performance of many iPhone models, according to
Hagens Berman.
The suit, filed Jan. 5, 2018, in the U.S. District Court for the
Northern District of California, seeks compensation for degraded
performance in affected phones, as well as compensation for those who
purchased new iPhones (often at the urging of Apple representatives) to
alleviate Apple’s secretive and unauthorized slowdown of their phones.
It also seeks compensation for those who paid full price for battery
replacements in affected phones before Apple began offering them at a
reduced price.
If you own an iPhone 6, 6 Plus, 6s, 6s Plus or SE, find
out more about the lawsuit and sign up here.
“It wasn’t until Apple was faced with consumer outcry and bad press that
it finally chose to come clean about its secretive installation of
performance-limiting software on millions of iPhones,” said Steve
Berman, managing partner of Hagens Berman. “To add insult to injury,
Apple’s answer to its loyal customers is ‘Pay us $29 for a replacement
battery to fix our covered-up slowdown.’ Consumers deserve a better
answer.”
Apple’s actions left consumers without critical information. Many were
likely led to believe that their affected iPhones were suffering
performance issues because they were essentially obsolete, and so they
purchased new iPhones from Apple. But instead, the slowness they
experienced was due to Apple’s secret “feature.”
Berman said, “We’re willing to fight them again to ensure iPhone owners
are given just payback.” In 2015, the firm achieved a $450 million
settlement against Apple and the nation’s largest publishing companies
for artificially inflating the price of e-books. Apple fought the case
tooth-and-nail, sending it to the Supreme Court, where Apple lost.
The class action details a longstanding issue with iPhone performance,
leading up to Apple’s installation of the performance-docking feature in
iOS updates. In 2016, many iPhone owners had already grown dismayed with
their iPhone performance, as reports surfaced of random, unexpected and
disruptive shutdowns of certain iPhones, the suit states. Apple
cryptically covered-up the issue and refused to fully inform the public
of the root of the widespread shutdowns, according to the suit.
In more recent news, a researcher found evidence that Apple had embedded
performance-degrading features into iOS updates, likely as a means to
prevent these shutdowns. Apple’s performance-limiting features were
snuck into routine updates, unbeknownst to iPhone owners.
The suit says Apple handed iPhone owners an empty apology and late
explanation, stating that “users may experience longer launch times for
apps and other reductions in performance.” In this same breath, Apple
announced it would “reduc[e] the price of an out-of-warranty iPhone
battery replacement by $50 – from $79 to $29 – for anyone with an iPhone
6 or later whose battery needs to be replaced” though the end of 2018.
Find out more about the class-action
lawsuit against Apple for its iPhone slowdown.
About
Hagens Berman
Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP is a consumer-rights class-action law
firm with 11 offices across the country. The firm has been named to the
National Law Journal’s Plaintiffs’ Hot List eight times. More about the
law firm and its successes can be found at https://www.hbsslaw.com.
Follow the firm for updates and news at @ClassActionLaw.
View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180105005884/en/
SOURCE: Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP”>