Daily US Times: Apple will pay $113m to settle allegations that it slowed down older iPhones, a scandal dubbed ‘batterygate’.
Thirty-three US states claimed that the tech giant had done this to drive users into buying new devices.
Millions of iPhone users were affected when the models of 6 and 7 and SE were slowed down in 2016 in a scandal that was described as ‘batterygate’.
Apple declined to comment, but the company has previously said the phones were slowed to preserve aging battery life.
The deal is separate from a proposed settlement Apple reached in March this year to pay affected iPhone owners up to $500m in a class action lawsuit.
Apple updated software on models of the iPhone 6, 7 and SE in 2016- which throttled chip speeds on aging phones.
The tech giant acknowledged its update reduced power demands after researchers found unusual slowdowns in 2017.
The states argued that the company had acted deceptively and should have replaced batteries or disclosed the issue.
Millions of users were affected by power shutoffs, according to an Arizona filing.
The iPhone maker denies that the slowdown was for financial gain.
But Mark Brnovich, Arizona Attorney General, wrote in a court document made public on Wednesday: “Many consumers decided that the only way to get improved performance was to purchase a newer-model iPhone from Apple.”
“Apple, of course, fully understood such effects on sales,” the court document added.
Under the settlement, the company did not admit to any wrongdoing or breaking any law.
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