Payouts Underway: Apple Begins Disbursing $500 Million Settlement to iPhone Users
San Francisco: Apple has commenced the distribution of compensation to iPhone users affected by the $500 million ‘Batterygate’ settlement in the United States.
In 2020, Apple reached an agreement to resolve a class-action lawsuit, committing up to $500 million, which accused the tech giant of covertly slowing down specific iPhone models.
As indicated by MacRumors, users who submitted claims are now receiving payouts, with individual reports suggesting deposits of $92.17 each as part of the settlement.
Throughout the legal proceedings, Apple consistently denied any wrongdoing, clarifying that it chose to settle to avoid prolonged and expensive legal battles.
The class-action lawsuit encompassed all US residents who owned affected iPhone models—iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, and/or iPhone SE running iOS 10.2.1 or later, and/or iPhone 7 or iPhone 7 Plus running iOS 11.2 or later—before December 21, 2017.
In August of the previous year, a US judge granted the final approval for payments to the impacted iPhone users.
The legal action, initiated in 2018, stemmed from consumer grievances about iPhones shutting down despite the battery indicator displaying over 30 percent charge. Following a 2018 iOS update, users gained the ability to assess their battery health and disable performance throttling as part of Apple’s commitment to transparency and user control.
