Apple is facing a new class-action lawsuit in the UK following allegations regarding its market abuse. 

According to the report, the UK consumers champion claims that the Cupertino tech titan has been throttling iPhones with degraded batteries.

Apple iPhone Throttling Issue

(Photo : Daniel Romero from Unsplash)
A UK consumer champion has recently pressed charges against Apple for misleading the users regarding the iPhone's power management features.

According to a report by Techcrunch on Thursday, June 16, Justin Gutman, a UK-based consumer rights campaigner, has pressed charges against Apple for abusing its market dominance. The issue is all about the iPhone throttling.

Based on the claim, the company is taking advantage of the software update to slow down older iOS devices intentionally.

Additionally, the country's Competition Appeal Tribunal is currently seeking up to $25 million in damages for the affected iPhone users in the UK.

Specifically, the allegation drawn to Apple involves the power management features displayed in older handset models. These could reportedly avoid unnecessary shutdowns at times when the devices reach their peak power, especially with worn-out batteries.

The iPhone throttling affects the processors of the older models, which have inefficient loads. Later, this would likely slow down the performance of the device.

According to Gutmann, Apple has tricked the users into thinking that their devices could still perform fast only if they download the needed software updates regardless of whether their devices have degraded batteries.

"Instead of doing the honorable and legal thing by their customers and offering a free replacement, repair service or compensation, Apple instead misled people by concealing a tool in software updates that slowed their devices by up to 58%," Gutmann said.

The complainant added that if the legal case goes successful, he hopes that many companies will reassess their business models so they won't be sticking to this "conduct" anymore.

Related Article: iPhone Throttling Suit Seeks Nearly $1 Trillion In Damages From Apple

Controversy in Power Management Features 

The iPhone's power management features have not been informed to the public by Apple until the latter part of 2017. This is the reason why customers felt that the company had only misled them.

At the time, the iPhone maker immediately issued an apology to all users, citing that it would improve the device's battery condition in the future.

The company is no stranger when it comes to lawsuits. As Macrumors reports, the Silicon Valley firm has been accused of throttling older iOS handhelds in 2020. Apple paid a fine of $500 million to settle the lawsuit.

Other than that, Portugal, Spain, Chile, Italy, and Belgium have previously sanctioned the company because of similar claims.

Meanwhile, Tech Times reported that Apple had filed a patent for a smart ring. This means that the company is leaning towards adding another AR-related product for some reason.

The smart thing could reportedly be used to control a virtual keyboard. All you need is a set of finger devices that will collect the user's finger input.

Read Also: Samsung Unveils Wallet App For Payments, Passwords, and More--What Happened to Pay?

This article is owned by Tech Times

Written by Joseph Henry