'Batterygate' saga: Apple to pay eligible users a total of $500 million for the issue

iPhone users in the US will soon be able to claim compensation for the ‘Batterygate’ saga after Apple previously agreed to settle a class-action lawsuit that accused the company of secretly throttling older iPhones’ performance.

The proposed settlement states that Apple will make a minimum, non-reversionary payment of $310,000,000 and a maximum payment of up to $500,000,000, depending on the number of claims submitted, reported MacRumors. 

What is Batterygate?

Consumers contended that their phones' performance suffered after they installed Apple software updates. They said this misled them into believing their phones were near the end of their lifecycles, requiring replacements or new batteries. 

Apple, in its defence, had denied all allegations and said that it is entering into this settlement to "avoid burdensome and costly litigation". The settlement is not an admission of wrongdoing by Apple, according to the U.S. District Court for Northern California. Apple attributed the problems mainly to temperature changes, high usage and other issues, and said its engineers worked quickly and successfully to address them.

Apple introduced a battery/performance management system in iOS 10.2.1, giving users an option to choose between a longer battery life that could temporarily compromise the system performance or select performance over battery life.

Who is eligible to redeem a claim?

Eligible iPhone users in the US can register to submit a claim or review other options, including excluding themselves from the lawsuit to retain the ability to sue Apple individually over the matter. All claims must be submitted online or received by letter mail by October 6, 2020, or else payment is forfeited.

Users in the US who own an iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, and/or iPhone SE that ran iOS 10.2.1 or later, and/or an iPhone 7 or iPhone 7 Plus that ran iOS 11.2 or later, before December 21, 2017, can apply for the claim.