What you need to know
- Apple has agreed to pay $113 to settle the iPhone "throttling" investigation.
- It also committed to being more transparent on similar software changes.
Reported by The Washington Post, Apple will pay $113 million to settle the iPhone "throttling" investigation that has been brought on by almost three dozen states in the U.S. According to the report, the states and Apple agreed to the financial penalty and a legal commitment from Apple to be transparent in the future when implementing similar software changes.
Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich said that companies like Apple must "tell the whole truth" when taking actions that affect their customers.
"Big Tech must stop manipulating consumers and tell them the whole truth about their practices and products ... I'm committed to holding these goliath technology companies to account if they conceal the truth from their users."
Apple's decision to slow down older iPhones like the iPhone 6S in order to preserve their battery life resulted in the investigation which argued that the change didn't prompt users to keep their devices for longer as opposed to forcing them to upgrade to a new phone.
Apple's approach ultimately left many users feeling as if the "only way to get improved performance was to purchase a newer-model iPhone from Apple," the Arizona complaint contends. As a result, the company relied on "unfair and deceptive acts and practices" to boost its sales "potentially by millions of devices per year," according to Arizona's attorney general.
The agreement also demands that Apple be more transparent about changes that would affect an iPhone's power and battery management. The company has already added tools for iPhone users to view and manage their battery, as well as turn off the "throttling" feature.
Apple has declined to comment on The Washington Post's report.
