Apple is sending out checks for ‘batterygate’ class action claims

Customers who were impacted by Apple's choice to decelerate iPhones with aged batteries back in 2017 are now reportedly receiving compensation. Site users revealed they had found checks amounting to $92.17 deposited into their bank accounts. Further, the company had said in December last year that the payments are scheduled to be disbursed this month. This brings closure to the controversy surrounding Apple's so-called "Batterygate". It was sparked off in 2017 when a report found that certain iOS 10 updates were suppressing the performance of older models including the iPhone 6S and iPhone 7. Apple had not previously disclosed the rationale for the slowdown which was designed to prevent phones from shutting off unpredictably once the battery passed a particular level of deterioration. Several class action lawsuits were filed, alleging that the company's measures forced customers to upgrade their devices prematurely rather than simply having their phone batteries replaced. In 2020, Apple agreed to a settlement and in August of the same year, it was reported that a legal block preventing the disbursement of the settlement money had been cleared by a judge, paving the way for the payouts. The models involved were the iPhone 6, 6 Plus, 6S, 6S Plus, 7, 7 Plus, and the original iPhone SE. The firm had initially indicated at the time that customers would receive around $65, so those who had applied by October 6th, 2020 might receive a bit more than anticipated.