Millions of iPhone users could get payouts in legal action. This follows the launch of a legal claim accusing Apple of secretly slowing the performance of older phones.
WATCH:
Apple has been haunted by so-called “batterygate” for some time now.
In the most recent action, Justin Gutmann alleges the company misled users over an upgrade that it said would enhance performance but, in fact, slowed phones down. The models covered by the claim are the iPhone 6, 6 Plus, 6S, 6S Plus, SE, 7, 7 Plus, 8, 8 Plus and iPhone X models.
He is seeking damages of almost 800 million pounds (R15.7m) for up to 25 million UK iPhone users.
It is an opt-out claim, which means customers will not need to actively join the case to seek damages
Apple says it has “never” intentionally shortened the life of its products.
The claim, filed with the Competition Appeal Tribunal, alleges Apple slowed down the performance of older iPhones, in a process known as "throttling", in order to avoid expensive recalls or repairs.
It is reported to further allege that Apple introduced this tool to hide the fact that iPhone batteries may have struggled to run the latest iOS software, and that rather than recalling products or offering replacement batteries, the firm instead allegedly pushed users to download the software updates.
Gutmann is reported to say that "instead of doing the honourable and legal thing by their customers and offering a free replacement, repair service or compensation, Apple instead misled people by concealing a tool in software updates that slowed their devices by up to 58%“.
In a statement, Apple is reported to have said: "We have never, and would never, do anything to intentionally shorten the life of any Apple product, or degrade the user experience to drive customer upgrades.
"Our goal has always been to create products that our customers love, and making iPhones last as long as possible is an important part of that."