Apple has urged a London court to block a $2 billion lawsuit on charges of hiding defective batteries in millions of iPhones by slowing them down at the software level. Agency reports Reuters.
The Cupertino-based tech giant is facing legal action filed by consumer rights activist Justin Gutmann on behalf of iPhone users in the UK.
Gutman’s lawyers argued in court documents that Apple hid battery problems in some smartphone models and “secretly” installed a battery power management app. The system limited the performance of the device while extending the battery life.
An Apple spokesperson said the lawsuit was “baseless”. The Cupertino-based company vehemently denies that iPhone models have defective batteries, with the exception of a small number of iPhone 6s models where it offers free battery replacements.
The company also pointed out that the power management update it implemented in 2017 to manage old batteries or low battery levels only slowed the performance of the iPhone 6 by 10% on average.
Apple attorney David Wolfson made an argument in favor of dropping the case. “Not all batteries can provide the highest power required in all conditions and at all times,” he says, is common to all battery-powered devices.
Court in the USA in 2020 decidedApple has to pay about $113 million as part of the lawsuit to slow down older iPhones.