Users of old iPhones to receive payments as $500 million lawsuit finally ends

Appeal against terms of the settlement by two users rejected and the 'Batterygate' saga finally concludes.

Apple is set to issue payouts of approximately $65 per person to hundreds of thousands of users of iPhone 6 and 7s, and the first generation iPhone SE, to settle a lawsuit which began in 2016. The total payout will amount to $500 million.

Apple agreed to the payout in 2020 despite denying any wrong doing but the process was stalled by two claimants objecting to the terms of the settlement, That appeal was finally overturned by the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals earlier this week.

The lawsuit accused Apple of deliberately and stealthily throttling the CPUs of older iPhones to avoid accelerated battery drain which would then lead to "unintended power offs."

Apple acknowledged in 2017 that its iOS software did indeed reduce the likelihood of old models spontaneously powering off by slowing performance, and the angry response forced Apple to upgrade iOS and offer discounts on new batteries. A feature to

Users of the affected devices had to file a claim before October 6 2020 and approximately 3 million claims were logged. Apple also introduced a feature in newer versions of iOS which provide a visual indicator of battery health.

A similar claim was filed in the UK last year by consumer rights campaigner Justin Gutmann, and Apple lost its appeal against it in May. Gutmann's case claims that Apple deliberately used its iOS software to hide defective batteries,

The company offered a £25 plus shipping battery replacement service for certain iPhone models, but Gutmann claims that Apple failed to sufficiently publicise this service and abused its dominant market position.

Hearings on that case are due later this month and in September.