Apple is facing a A$3 billion class action lawsuit over claims it hid faulty batteries in million of iPhones by throttling the device with bloated software updates.
The case, brought by consumer rights activist Justin Gutmann on behalf of iPhone 6 and iPhone 6s users in the United Kingdom, claims Apple hid defective batteries on the two phones, and surreptitiously” introduced the Power Management tool, which limited the batteries’ performance.
Apple argued the suit is “baseless” and notes that only a small number of iPhone 6s batteries were faulty, which was acknowledged at the time, with users offered a free replacement unit.
In addition, it says the Power Management update was intended to prolong the lifespan of older batteries, and — in any case — only reduced an iPhone 6’s battery performance by 10 per cent.
Apple yesterday urged the London tribunal to toss the case out, with lawyer David Wolfson saying the lawsuit hinges on an argument that “not all batteries could deliver the peak power demanded in all circumstances at all times”, which is common to every battery-driven device.
