Carson City, NV – Today, Nevada Attorney General Aaron D. Ford and a coalition
of over 30 attorneys general announced a $113 million settlement with Apple,
Inc. over Apple’s 2016 decision to throttle consumers’ iPhone speeds in order
to address unexpected shutdowns in some iPhones. Under the terms of the settlement,
Apple will pay $1,577,469.41to the State of Nevada.
Through the multistate investigation, the attorneys general found
evidence to allege that Apple discovered that battery issues were leading to
unexpected shutdowns in iPhones. Rather than disclosing these issues or
replacing batteries, however, Apple concealed the issues from consumers.
Apple’s concealment ultimately led to a software update in December 2016 that
reduced iPhone performance in an effort to keep the phones from unexpectedly shutting
down.
The attorneys general allege that as a result of this concealment and
subsequent decision to throttle the performance of consumers’ iPhones, Apple profited
from selling additional iPhones to consumers whose phone performance Apple had
slowed.
“One of my roles as attorney general is to hold businesses accountable to
the highest standards for our consumers,” said AG Ford. “Through this settlement, consumers can
expect more transparency from Apple, and I’m grateful to my Bureau of Consumer
Protection for reaching this important agreement.”
In addition to the monetary payment, Apple
also must provide truthful information to consumers about iPhone battery
health, performance and power management. Apple must provide this important
information in various forms on its website, in update installation notes, and
in the iPhone user interface itself. Apple has also agreed to provide the option to service a
consumer’s battery if it becomes significantly degraded.
The Complaint filed by
the attorneys general is attached.
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