Apple on Wednesday reached a $113 million settlement with 34 states attorneys general who claimed the tech giant hid iPhone battery issues and throttled the device’s performance with a 2016 software update.
The settlement comes after Apple already agreed to a $500 million settlement earlier this year for throttling older iPhones. In Wednesday’s court filing, Apple denied knowingly slowing down devices and said the settlement does not mean the company violated any laws.
“Apple willingly has entered into this Judgment in order to resolve the Attorney General’s and the agencies representing this action’s claims under the UCL and FAL as to the matters addressed in this Judgment and thereby avoid significant expense, inconvenience, and uncertainty,” an Apple rep told TheWrap.
The lawsuit, brought by 33 states and the District of Columbia, claimed Apple mislead its customers into believing they needed new devices, instead of letting them know they could upgrade their batteries and avoid many of the issues they were dealing with. Apple said it had slowed down older iPhones to conserve battery life and prevent unexpected shutdowns. As part of Wednesday’s settlement, Apple agreed to “maintain easily accessible and prominent” webpages with information on the company’s battery and other issues, including shutdowns and device performance.
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“Big Tech companies must stop manipulating consumers and tell them the whole truth about their practices and products,” Arizona Attorney General Mark Bronovich said in a statement.
Arizona, along with the attorneys general for Indiana and Arkansas, led the investigation. Customers from Apple’s home state of California will receive $24.6 million as part of the overall settlement.
The settlement comes on the same day the company agreed to lower its App Store transaction fee for smaller developers.
You can read the full settlement document by clicking here.
Pamela Chelin contributed to this report.
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