Italian consumer association Altroconsumo on Monday announced that it has filed a class-action lawsuit against Apple for the planned obsolescence of its iPhone.
Reuters reports Altroconsumo is seeking damages of 60 million euros on behalf of Italian consumers who were “tricked” by the practice. The lawsuit covers Apple’s iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6s, and iPhone 6s Plus.
“When consumers buy Apple iPhones, they expect sustainable quality products. Unfortunately, that is not what happened with the iPhone 6 series. Not only were consumers defrauded, and did they have to face frustration and financial harm, from an environmental point of view it is also utterly irresponsible” said Els Bruggeman, Head of Policy and Enforcement at Euroconsumers. “This new lawsuit is the latest front in our fight against planned obsolescence in Europe. Our ask is simple: American consumers received compensation, European consumers want to be treated with the same fairness and respect.”
The lawsuit’s claims go back to the 2017 release of iOS 10.2.1, which introduced a feature that throttled the performance of older iPhone models with degrading batteries. Apple said the feature was designed to prevent device shutdowns at peak usage points. Apple did not specifically announce that avoiding the shutdowns would require throttling of the devices’ performance. The move led to consumer blowback that continues to this day.
Apple for its part has always maintained that the idea of planned obsolescence is absurd and that the iOS 10.2.1 update was intended to make iPhones last longer by preventing interruptions in usage. Following the throttling controversy, Apple put in place battery health features in iOS and offered a $29 battery replacement program.