The deal stems from Apple’s admission in 2017 that it slowed down performance in some of its older model phones to avoid unexpected battery shutdowns. That admission led to Apple offer discounted battery replacements at $29, but because Apple did come clean about the problem, many iPhone owners claimed they had already spent hundreds of dollars to purchase new phones instead of simply buying new batteries.
Apple has not admitted wrongdoing in the case, however, it agreed to pay $310 million to $500 million to consumers as part of a proposed settlement, including the $93 million that the lawyers will get off the top, which is the result of 66 proposed class lawsuits filed between December 2017 and June 2018.
According to Fast Company, if the settlement is approved on April 3, Apple will be required to pay consumers $25 per iPhone, “which may be adjusted up or down depending on how many iPhones are eligible, with a minimum total payout of $310 million.”
iPhone users who were named in the class-action lawsuit will get up to $3,500 each. The rest of the settlement money will be distributed to current owners and previous owners of iPhone models who meet eligibility requirements related to the operating system they had running. They will need to file a claim to get the cash, and if too many people file, the anticipated $25 payment could shrink.
According to the Bloomberg Law report, the settlement covers iPhone models that were running iOS 10.2.1 or later (that’s the 6, 6 Plus, 6s, 6s Plus and SE) or iOS 11.2 or later (the 7 and 7 Plus) before Dec. 21, 2017.
We’ll share the link here once there’s a webpage set up to file your claim.
