Malcolm Owen
A putative class action lawsuit is attempting to sue Apple over claims the batteries used in Powerbeats Pro didn't last for the nine hours mentioned in Apple's marketing.
The lawsuit, filed on Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, accuses Apple of overpromising on battery life for the Beats by Dre Powerbeats Pro. While Apple said it would last for up to nine hours on a single charge, New York resident Alejandro Vivar says that's not the case.
The suit alleges that part of the problem is that the earbuds aren't necessarily charging properly, and that's down to a supposedly badly-designed charging case, reports Law360. The earbuds allegedly can be dislodged from their seating, preventing them from charging.
It is also proposed that "IPX4-rated sweat and water resistance" claims were another cause for concern in relation to charging. Sweat could corrode the charging contacts, Vivar offers, adding that sweat damage supposedly isn't covered by the product warranty.
Apple is also said to have gained more profits "at the expense of consumers," due to not disclosing the problems with the Powerbeats Pro.
Vivar insists he used Apple's marketing claims to mean the battery "would last for the time promised, that both earbuds would charge and maintain their charges equally, not be affected by perspiration, and that the charge capability would not be negatively impacted by design or manufacture of the product."
The lawsuit aims to represent a class of purchasers in multiple states, starting with New York but also including Georgia, Michigan, Montana, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Dakota, and Virginia.
Vivar is represented by Spencer Sheehan of Sheehan & Associates PC. Sheehan has previous experience taking on Apple over marketing claims, including one case in New York over water resistance of iPhones and what constitutes water damage under Apple's warranty.
Sheehan is also involved in a California federal court case that alleges the "Buy" button in iTunes is misleading, since it is possible for access to content bought using it to be revoked.
This is not Apple's first lawsuit relating to Powerbeats and performance. Previously, consumers complained about malfunctions of the Powerbeats 2 and Powerbeats 3, but while a judge kept the lawsuit alive in 2018, it was eventually voluntarily dismissed in 2020.
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7 Comments
This one may have merit - I had a lot of trouble with Powerbeats pros stating charged. I learned to be very careful about seating the buds in that case. If I didn’t I’d find at least one dead. When they were charged they were great but when dead they were awful. The new Beats Fit solve the problem with a firm magnetic lock though. Still the beats pros sold for $250 - there needs to be a reconciliation.
As much as I love these earphones I do occasionally find that one of them hasn’t charged because it worked its way slightly loose in the case. The magnets that hold the earphones in place aren’t particularly strong.
I got a pair of Powerbeats pro to use for running and had nothing but trouble with them charging in the case. I would put them in the case to find next time I went to use them they did not charge. I would constantly have to wiggle and adjust them to make sure they were correctly seated to charge, and even after I got a charging notification there was a chance they would disconnect from charging. So frustrating I gave up on them. I would say this is the worst Apple product I have ever purchased.
Yup, I experienced seating issues with my first pair. Always made sure to press down on the pair into the case to make sure they had contact with the charging pins, then closed that line. They charged fine.
I’ve been wanting these for a while, but just as I was about to buy them the Fit Pros came out. Indecision, followed by the holidays, caused me to put off the purchase until January. But, based on these posts, I’ll definitely be going with the Fit Pros. I’m sorry that your experiences with them were mostly negative, but thank you for sharing them.