Apple is sued in London on charges of ‘suffocating’ iPhones – 5/2/2023 – Tech

Apple Inc appealed to a London court on Tuesday to block a $2 billion lawsuit that accuses the company of hiding faulty batteries in millions of iPhones by “smothering” the devices with software updates.

The tech giant is facing a lawsuit worth up to £1.6 billion plus interest, brought by consumer advocate Justin Gutmann on behalf of UK iPhone users.

Gutmann’s lawyers have argued in court filings that Apple hid battery problems in certain cell phone models and “surreptitiously” installed a power management tool that limited performance.

Apple has said in written arguments that the lawsuit is “groundless” and vehemently denies that the batteries in its iPhones were defective, except for a small number of iPhone 6s models for which it offered free battery replacements.

The company also says its power management update introduced in 2017 to manage demands from older or low-charge batteries reduced the performance of an iPhone 6 by an average of just 10 percent.

Gutmann on Tuesday asked the London Competition Court of Appeal to certify the case and allow it to proceed to trial.

His lawyer, Philip Moser, referred to Apple’s 2020 settlements to settle a US regulatory and class action lawsuit over iPhone battery issues, showing that the company “wasn’t saying it never happened.”

Apple had also pledged to be “clearer and more direct” with iPhone users about battery health to the UK competition regulator in 2019, Moser said.

The company denies misleading its customers about iPhone battery issues and points to a public apology issued in 2017 offering cheaper battery replacements to affected customers.

Apple attorney David Wolfson said in court documents that the suit effectively alleges that “not all batteries can provide the required peak power under all circumstances and at all times,” which was common to all powered devices. the battery.