Apple is sending out checks for ‘batterygate’ class action claims

Checks are apparently hitting the bank accounts of people affected by Apple’s decision to slow down iPhones with older batteries back in 2017. MacRumors reported that readers of its site said they’d seen checks deposited to their accounts amounting to $92.17, later updating the story with an embedded post from one of the readers. Indeed, the website set up for the settlement was updated in December to say the payments were expected to go out this month.

So ends the batterygate saga. It began in 2017 when a developer showed that certain iOS 10 updates throttled performance for older phones like the iPhone 6S and iPhone 7. The company wasn’t upfront about the purpose of the slowdown before this, but later said the goal was to keep phones from randomly shutting down once the battery degrades beyond a certain point. Multiple class action lawsuits cropped up, claiming the company’s actions drove people to upgrade early, rather than simply paying to have their phones’ battery replaced.

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The company agreed to the settlement in 2020, and in August last year, one of the law firms representing customers in the lawsuit said a judge had cleared the last obstacle — a legal appeal — holding up the payouts, and that money would be sent soon. The phones affected were the iPhone 6, 6 Plus, 6S, 6S Plus, 7, 7 Plus, and the original iPhone SE. At the time, the firm said that payments would be around $65, so if you filed an approved claim by October 6th, 2020, you may have a little more money than you expected coming your way soon.