Apple to Pay $92.17 to Millions of iPhone Users as Compensation for Batterygate
Several users are reporting that they have received a payment of $92.17 from Apple in their bank account. The reason behind this unexpected payment is a 2020 judicial agreement that was unblocked last year, for which Apple agreed to pay $500 million as compensation for the so-called Batterygate.
This means that the company is now free to distribute about $92.17 to each of the millions of iPhone owners who registered as part of a class action lawsuit launched in 2017. This is good news for affected users, as the original 2020 agreement initially only contemplated a payment of $25. However, since the number of people who signed up was less than expected, the agreed fine of $500 million will be distributed among fewer people. Some users are even receiving multiple payments for each iPhone they entered into the lawsuit.
The issue began in late 2017 when users noticed that their iPhones were slowing down over time. Initially, it was assumed that Apple had implemented a planned obsolescence program to encourage users to upgrade their phones frequently.
Further investigations found that Apple was indeed slowing down iPhones, mainly the iPhone 6, as the battery aged and lost capacity. This was done to prevent the phone from becoming unstable and restarting when the processor demanded more energy than the battery could deliver. Apple did not make this information public or allow users to make a choice, something it later enabled with an operating system update.
In response to the controversy, Apple changed its battery replacement policy and reduced the cost of changing a battery for older phones to less than half the original price in its stores worldwide.
The litigation continued until 2020 when the company agreed to pay $25 to all those involved in the class action lawsuit, covering users of iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone SE, iPhone 7, and iPhone 7 Plus. The estimated payment was between $310 and $500 million.
This is the second payment that Apple will make for this issue. In 2020, the company agreed to pay $113 million to the state of California and the counties of Alameda and Los Angeles in the United States, which had sued the company for the same issue.
Overall, Apple’s compensation payment for Batterygate is finally reaching affected iPhone users, providing a measure of restitution for the controversy that has been ongoing for several years.