Back in December 2017, Apple was found to be throttling iPhones to “provide the best experience for customers” on older devices with degraded battery performances. However, the lack of transparency about the throttling “feature” resulted in lawsuits, which the company agreed to settle by paying up to $500 million to customers that were affected in the form of $25 payments.
Now, the United States District Court for the Northern District of California has set up a website (spotted by 9to5Mac) to accept claims for the settlement relating to the lawsuit. Only those that live in the U.S. and who fall under the criteria for the device and OS specifics are entitled to apply for the claim. It must be noted, however, that users with multiple affected devices will have to lodge separate claims for each device.
The eligibility criteria are as follows:
If you are or were a U.S. owner of an iPhone 6, 6 Plus, 6s, 6s Plus, and/or SE device that ran iOS 10.2.1 or later before December 21, 2017, and/or a U.S. owner of an iPhone 7 or 7 Plus device that ran iOS 11.2 or later before December 21, 2017, you could be entitled to benefits under a class action settlement.
The exact amount on the settlement will vary depending on the number of claims that are received. Additionally, the claims for the settlement must be made before October 6, 2020. Eligible users will have to provide the serial number of their devices. The claim form also provides a search tool to locate the serial number based on a set of information. The claims can also be made by mail, as documented here. You can read through the entire notice here. It also contains information on users’ rights and deadlines to exercise them.
The fairness hearing is slated to take place on December 4, 2020. The company has agreed to pay anywhere between $310 million to $500 million for the claims. However, the number of claims will determine how much the per user pay-out will be and how many settlements will be approved.