Apple agrees to pay Canadian iPhone battery class action settlement

Disgruntled iPhone users will be eligible to recover up to $150 from Apple after a BC Supreme Court judge approved a class action settlement to repay owners of slower phones who had their battery lives throttled.Apple agreed to pay between $11.1 million and $14.4 million to settle the claims for owners of older iPhone 6s and 7s, depending on how many people apply, owners could be eligible for a maximum of $150 and a minimum of $17.50 depending on eligibility.It comes after the company was accused of providing software updates to deliberately slow the phones in order to preserve battery life..Lawsuits were filed in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Ontario. The settlement applies to all Canadian residents except those in Quebec.“The proceedings relate to allegations of (i) performance mitigation features of iOS operating software versions 10.2.1, 10.3, 11 and/or 11.2 for iPhones; (ii) defects causing the iPhones to prematurely age, degrade and shut down unexpectedly; (iii) defects in the performance of the iPhone batteries; and (iv) misrepresentations or intentional concealment concerning the foregoing,” according to the suit administrator.In a statement the company denied doing anything wrong and said the settlement is not an admission of wrongdoing..It follows a similar ruling in California where the settlement range was between USD$310 million and $500 million.Apple customers who bought an iPhone 6, 6 Plus, 6s, 6s Plus, SE, 7 or 7 Plus with iOS 10.2.1 or later (for iPhone 6, 6 Plus, 6s, 6s Plus, or SE) and/or iOS 11.2 or later (for iPhone 7 or 7 Plus) before December 21, 2017 may be eligible for the settlement, according to a website representing the class action.Users will be able to search a database of serial numbers to determine eligibility. As many as 10 million of the phones were sold in Canada. To receive a cash payment, class members must submit a valid claim form for each device. Forms will be available online in the coming days.