A South Korean court on Thursday dismissed a lawsuit seeking compensation from Apple over allegations that the company intentionally slowed down older iPhones to force customers to buy newer models. Korea Herald).
The court judge succinctly stated that the “lawsuit was dismissed,” but did not elaborate on the reasons for the ruling, claiming that nearly 9,800 South Koreans had sought 2 billion won ($1.64 million) from Apple. denied lawsuits filed by smartphone buyers.
The ruling comes five years after consumer groups filed civil lawsuits seeking damages of 200,000 won each. The lawsuit, originally filed by about 64,000 plaintiffs, alleges that Apple induced it in part. iphone The software upgrade that caused the performance degradation should be installed so that the user can consider replacing the device with a newer device.
This case is Apple’s Introduced in early 2017 You can use the power management features of older iPhones to prevent unexpected shutdowns during peak power consumption for devices with depleted batteries. These power management features throttle the processor on older iPhones that are not battery optimized, reducing performance.
Power management features weren’t widely announced until late 2017, so many customers felt cheated by Apple.
Apple denied misleading users, but later Admitted It reportedly slowed down some older iPhones with degraded batteries during peak power usage to prevent unexpected shutdowns. The company has since admitted that it should have provided a clearer explanation when it introduced power management features in iOS 10.2.1.
Following the apology, Apple battery replacement program Now all iPhone 6, 6s, 7, 6 Plus, 6s Plus, 7 Plus and SE customers can get a discounted battery replacement rate through the end of 2018.
Introducing Apple Better battery monitoring capabilities This includes the ability for customers to turn off power management features introduced in iOS 10.2.1.
The South Korean ruling contrasts with similar lawsuits filed against Apple in other countries. Apple in 2020 agreed pay up to $500 million To settle a long-running class action lawsuit in the U.S. Apple faced similar litigation in belgium, Chile,Spain, ItalyWhen Portugal.
