Apple is going to pay up to $14.4 million (CAD) to eligible members of a class-action lawsuit in Canada that said that the company purposefully dialed back the performance of some older iPhones.
CBC reports that each claimant can expect to receive between $17.50 and $150, depending on the number of claims submitted (via MacRumors).
In late 2017, it came to light that Apple was slowing down some older iPhone models and this created an impression that the company was doing so to force people to upgrade to a new model. Apple responded by explaining that since aged batteries become less capable of delivering peak energy loads, it implemented a power management feature to prevent unexpected shutdowns.
Customers weren’t happy with the lack of transparency and many lawsuits were filed. The company apologized for not being forthcoming and also reduced the price of battery replacement from $79 to $29 temporarily.
Apple has denied any wrongdoing but has decided to settle to save on litigation costs.
All Canadian residents, excluding those from Quebec, who got an iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, or an iPhone SE with iOS 10.2.1 or later installed or downloaded or an iPhone 7 or iPhone 7 Plus with iOS 11.2 or later installed or downloaded before December 21, 2017, are seemingly eligible for the settlement. You’ll have to provide the serial number of your iPhone to get a payment.
A claim form will become available in the coming days and class members will have to fill it out and submit it to receive money.
The company previously agreed to pay up to $500 million to affected consumers in the US to settle a similar lawsuit. The company started sending payments for that lawsuit earlier this year, with some affecting consumers receiving $92.17.
