IPhone owners
from several states sued Apple Inc. for not disclosing sooner that it issued
software updates deliberately slowing older-model phones so aging batteries
lasted longer, saying Apple's silence led them to wrongly conclude that their
only option was to buy newer, pricier iPhones.
The allegations
were in a lawsuit filed Thursday in Chicago federal court on behalf of five
iPhone owners from Illinois, Ohio, Indiana and North Carolina, all of whom say
they never would have bought new iPhones had Apple told them that simply
replacing the batteries would have sped up their old ones. The suit alleges
Apple violated consumer fraud laws.
A similar lawsuit
was filed Thursday in Los Angeles. Both suits came a day after Apple confirmed
what high-tech sleuths outside the company already observed: The company had
deployed software to slow some phones. Apple said it was intended as a fix to deal
with degraded lithium-ion batteries that could otherwise suddenly die.
"Our goal is to
deliver the best experience for customers, which includes overall performance
and prolonging the life of their devices," an Apple statement said. It
said it released the fix for iPhone 6, iPhone 6s and iPhone SE and later
extended it to iPhone 7. Apple didn't respond to a message Friday seeking
comment.
The Chicago
lawsuit suggests Apple's motive may have been sinister, though it offers no
evidence in the filing.
"Apple's decision
to purposefully ... throttle down these devices," it says, "was
undertaken to fraudulently induce consumers to purchase the latest" iPhone.
Plaintiff Kirk
Pedelty, of North Carolina, contacted Apple as his frustration grew. However,
the lawsuit says: "Nobody from Apple customer support suggested that he
replace his battery to improve the performance of his iPhone. ... Frustrated by
slowdowns and intermittent shutdowns of his iPhone 7, Pedelty purchased an
iPhone 8."
The lawsuit seeks
class-action status to represent thousands of iPhone owners nationwide
Creative
Strategies analyst Carolina Milanesi said she believes the tech giant was
seeking to help consumers extend the lives of the older phones - though it
would have been better to disclose what it was doing and why right away.
"Even if you
are trying to do something good for your customers, it is going to be perceived
as you are sneaking around behind their backs if you don't tell them about it
first," she said.