Apple has heard you and you could be getting paid.
Apple has agreed to pay up to $500 million to resolve class-action lawsuits filed three years go after the company admitted to slowing down older iPhones.
The settlement needs to be approved by a judge before it is official but, if approve, here’s how the money is going to be distributed:
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 owners of iPhone 6, 6S, 7 and SE models who meet eligibility requirements related to the operating system they had running. They must file claims to get the award. If too many people file, the amount could shrink so don’t go crazy unless you’re for sure!
Remember, Apple admitted to releasing “a feature for iPhone 6, iPhone 6s and iPhone SE to smooth out the instantaneous peaks only when needed to prevent the device from unexpectedly shutting down during these conditions.”
That admission led to Apple offering discounted battery replacements at $29, but many people claimed they had already spent hundreds of dollars to buy new phones because Apple didn’t reveal the cause of the problem. If they had known they could just buy new batteries, they might not have bought new phones, some consumers in the case said. Whether that’s the case or not, it definitely led Apple to trouble.
Apple did not admit wrongdoing. As part of the settlement, the company will pay $310 million to $500 million, including about $93 million to lawyers representing consumers.
There’s still a judge that has to approve the settlement, but that’s some shady stuff! Will you be filing?