The iPhone maker has agreed to pay between $11.1 million and $14.4 million to affected customers.
Apple has officially agreed to pay an amount between $11.1 million and $14.4 million to settle a Batterygate class action lawsuit in Canada.
The company continues to deny allegations
While Apple does not admit wrongdoing, it has agreed to settle the lawsuit against it. It will be paying somewhere between $17.50 and $150 to each eligible customer in Canada. The amount paid out will depend on the number of affected customers who make a claim.
Technically, the company had previously agreed to the settlement, but approvals were required from a court judge in British Columbia’s Supreme Court, where the class action lawsuit was filed.
Putting the Batterygate scandal behind it six years later
The lawsuit had to do with allegations that software updates Apple pushed six years ago led to substantial performance issues in customers who were still using older iPhone models. This primarily consisted of a rapid battery drain that was rendering the devices impractical to use.
The lawsuit was filed in 2018 against Apple Inc. and Apple Canada Inc. (which are known together as simply Apple). It pointed to the software updates in 2017 and how they impacted the usability of older phones with weaker batteries, causing them to drain fast or shut down unexpectedly. Those devices also often suffered from slow performance, according to the allegations.
At the time, the issue was slapped with the Batterygate label and online speculations abounded regarding Apple’s intentions to encourage people with older devices to upgrade. Apple denied all these accusations but has agreed to settle the lawsuit to put it behind them. With this settlement, it has stated that it is not an admission of any liability, wrongdoing, or fault.
The hearing regarding the approval of the settlement took place back on January 25 at the British Columbia Supreme Court in Canada. The judge gave approval to the settlement earlier this month.
Customers who believe they are eligible to part of the settlement payouts must file a claim on the official website of the class action.
