'Batterygate' users can now file to get up to $25 settlement from Apple

Users affected by Apple's throttling of older iPhones can now submit a claim to potentially receive around $25 per phone, following a court's decision to accept Apple's settlement.

Apple's proposed $500 million deal to settle the series of class-action lawsuits over its slowing down of older iPhones, has been approved by the US District Court. Following a preliminary approval in May 2020, the court is now requesting that eligible affected users file to receive their portion of the settlement.

"If you are or were a U.S. owner of an iPhone 6, 6 Plus, 6s, 6s Plus, and/or SE device that ran iOS 10.2.1 or later before December 21, 2017, and/or a U.S. owner of an iPhone 7 or 7 Plus device that ran iOS 11.2 or later before December 21, 2017," says a website created for the purpose, "you could be entitled to benefits under a class action settlement."

The amount an eligible user will receive depends upon the total number of people claiming. "The cash payment per eligible device depends on the actual number of approved claims and other factors, including the award of attorneys' fees and expenses and Named Plaintiff service awards," says the full notice.

"Under the proposed settlement, Apple shall pay a minimum of $310,000,000 (the "Floor") and a maximum of $500,000,000 (the "Ceiling")," it continues. "Under no circumstances shall any of the Floor revert to Apple."

The so-called 'Batterygate' incident began with the slowing down or throttling of older iPhones and an apology from Apple. The company specifically apologized for not having informed users of the slowdown. It continues to maintain that the purpose was to protect and prolong the batteries of these older phones.

That apology was followed by lawsuits around the world and although this settlement may mean the end of the case in the US, Apple is continuing to face legal issues overseas.

28 Comments

andrewj5790 296 comments · 9 Years

About 4 years ago

Still the most ridiculous “issue” I’ve ever seen with Apple. Dumber than antennagate, dumber than bendgate, dumber than hissgate. Completely silly. Glad some lawyers found something to thicken their wallets with.

agilealtitude 165 comments · 6 Years

I would be ashamed to file for or be involved in any way with such a ridiculous claim.

Metriacanthosaurus 880 comments · 8 Years

andrewj5790 said:

Still the most ridiculous “issue” I’ve ever seen with Apple. Dumber than antennagate, dumber than bendgate, dumber than hissgate. Completely silly. Glad some lawyers found something to thicken their wallets with.

agilealtitude said:

I would be ashamed to file for or be involved in any way with such a ridiculous claim.

Same. I feel really bad for people at Apple and Apple in general for having to endure this embarrassment. Unfortunately this is entirely Tim Cook's fault. Had he done what the previous CEO would have done, and said, "How Apple engineering manages the CPU performance and behavior in Apple Silicon is none of anyone's business except for Apple engineering.".. that would have been the end of it. The whining of others would have been replaced by the next big whine within weeks and forgotten about. Instead, he admitted fault where none occurred, leading to substantial loses and tons of bad PR. Worst, it validated the whining of complete idiots who think they know better than Apple engineers.

sflocal 6133 comments · 16 Years

As an prior owner of an iP6 for 3 years, I am embarrassed to fill this out. It was all about the lawyers.

crowley 10431 comments · 15 Years

If I'd unnecessarily and reluctantly bought a new iPhone when my phone performance had hit the floor because of a fixable battery issue that Apple hadn't told me about, I'd probably be duly pissed off. I didn't, but I can understand why some might feel compensation was in order.