Sukhmani Kaur Batra & Rachel Ocampo
Recently, Apple posted a letter on its website addressing the feedback and complaints 
received from its customers over the slower service for older iPhones.
iPhone users have long believed that Apple has progressively slowed down older phones to influence them to purchase the latest versions. In the letter, Apple admitted that the changes they made in iOS softwares a year ago did indeed affect the battery life of older generation phones.
However, Apple claims it made these changes to protect products such as the iPhone 6, iPhone 6S, and iPhone SE from unexpected shutdowns. The company stated that it would never “do anything to intentionally shorten the life of any Apple product, or degrade the user experience to drive customer upgrades.”
Nevertheless, Molly Troxclair, a Logan senior, disagrees: “Honestly, they should stop slowing down older phones. I get that it’s a selling technique but it’s just not right to their customers.”
The company has been affected with many lawsuits regarding this issue. In the United States alone, over 30 lawsuits have been filed. According to eight lawsuits filed in several district courts – including California, New York, and Illinois – Apple has defrauded iphone users by slowing devices without warning to compensate for poor battery performance. These lawsuits, among others, are seeking class-action status to represent iPhone owners nationwide.
As for international legal issues, consumers and government authorities alike have filed complaints in several foreign judicial courts. For instance, Citizens United for Consumer Sovereignty, an advocacy group in South Korea, has filed a civil suit against Apple and its subsidiary in a South Korean court and is now preparing for a criminal lawsuit on the basis of destruction of property. More than 120 people have joined the suit and are seeking an upwards equivalent of $2000 per plaintiff.
A prosecutor office in France opened an inquiry into this matter when a consumer advocacy group called Stop Planned Obsolescence filed a complaint. Under French law, shortening a product’s lifespan to make consumers buy more is a crime. Executives violating the law can face two years in prison and be fined 5% of their annual sale.
With the recent outrage over the matter, hopefully some legal action can finally allow users of older iPhones to once again experience the efficient service and fast speeds that Apple is known for.