UK Lawsuit Over 'Throttled' iPhones Moves Forward
A legal claim in the United Kingdom over Apple's 2017 "throttling" controversy has been allowed to move forward by the Competition Appeal Tribunal, according to Reuters.
Consumer advocate Justin Gutmann filed the claim back in June 2022, originally seeking a total of £750 million for up to 25 million iPhone users in the UK whose devices were affected by the issue, which stemmed from Apple's efforts to prevent devices with degraded batteries from unexpectedly shutting down while in use. The claim has since ballooned to as much at £1.6 billion plus interest.
Gutmann's lawyers had argued Apple concealed issues with batteries in certain phone models and "surreptitiously" installed a power management tool which limited performance.
Apple, however, said the lawsuit is "baseless" and that it strongly denies batteries in iPhones were defective, apart from in a small number of iPhone 6s models for which it offered free battery replacements.
Gutmann's claim covers iPhone 6 through iPhone X models, and while the Competition Appeal Tribunal ruled the claim can move forward, it also highlighted "a lack of clarity and specificity" that will need to be resolved before it can actually proceed to trial.
Apple deployed power management features with iOS 10.2.1 in 2017 that throttled performance to prevent devices with degraded batteries from attempting to draw peak power the batteries could no longer provide. Apple says it introduced the features to help extend device lifespan while minimizing disruptive device shutdowns, but the company was criticized by some customers for not disclosing what it was doing amid suggestions it was attempting to hide defective devices.
Apple apologized for not better explaining the changes it made and why it did so, and introduced a low-cost battery replacement program that lasted for several years.
In 2020, Apple agreed to pay up to $500 million to settle a long-running class action lawsuit in the United States over the issue, and the company has faced similar lawsuits in a number of other countries.
Popular Stories
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices.
Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of April 2025:
Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone ...
Apple may have updated several iPads and Macs late last year and early this year, but there are still multiple new devices that we're looking forward to seeing in 2025. Most will come in September or October, but there could be a few surprises before then.
We've rounded up a list of everything that we're still waiting to see from Apple in 2025.
iPhone 17, 17 Air, and 17 Pro - We get...
Apple's upcoming foldable iPhone (or "iPhone Fold") will feature two screens as part of its book-style design, and a Chinese leaker claims to know the resolutions for both of them.
According to the Weibo-based account Digital Chat Station, the inner display, which is approximately 7.76 inches, will use a 2,713 x 1,920 resolution and feature "under-screen camera technology." Meanwhile, the...
A common complaint about the iPad Pro is that the iPadOS software platform fails to fully take advantage of the device's powerful hardware.
That could soon change.
Bloomberg's Mark Gurman today said that iPadOS 19 will be "more like macOS."
Gurman said that iPadOS 19 will be "more like a Mac" in three ways:Improved productivity
Improved multitasking
Improved app window management...
Apple in October 2024 overhauled its 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models, adding M4, M4 Pro, and M4 Max chips, Thunderbolt 5 ports on higher-end models, display changes, and more. That's quite a lot of updates in one go, but if you think this means a further major refresh for the MacBook Pro is now several years away, think again.
Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has said he expects only a small...
Apple is working on a new version of the Vision Pro with two key advantages over the current model, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
Specifically, in his Power On newsletter today, Gurman said Apple is developing a new headset that is both lighter and less expensive than the current Vision Pro, which starts at $3,499 in the U.S. and weighs up to 1.5 pounds.
Gurman said Apple is also...
On this week's episode of The MacRumors Show, we catch up on the latest iOS 19 and watchOS 12 rumors, upcoming devices, and more.
Subscribe to The MacRumors Show YouTube channel for more videos
Detailed new renders from leaker Jon Prosser claim to provide the best look yet at the complete redesign rumored to arrive in iOS 19, showing more rounded elements, lighting effects, translucency, and...
It was a big week for leaks and rumors in the Apple world, with fresh claims about iOS 19, the iPhone 17 Pro, and even the 20th anniversary iPhone coming a couple of years from now.
Sources also spilled the tea on the inner turmoil at Apple around the Apple Intelligence-driven Siri revamp that has seen significant delays, so read on below for all the details on these stories and more!
iOS ...
Apple and other electronics manufacturers have received a break from Trump's reciprocal tariffs, with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency sharing a long list of products excluded from the levies last night.
iPhones, Macs, iPads, Apple Watch, and other Apple devices will not be subject to the 125 percent tariffs that have been put in place on imported Chinese goods, nor will Apple...
