Apple's $500M lawsuit on iPhone throttling gets delayed by COVID-19

One of Apple's long-running class-action lawsuits seems to be close to a settlement. According to a report from Law360, a federal judge in California has given preliminary approval on the settlement on Friday. The judge, however, delayed the final approval due to the coronavirus outbreak.

"During a hearing held via Zoom's videoconferencing tool, U.S. District Judge Edward J. Davila told the parties he wants to extend the final approval deadlines by a few weeks due to the COVID-19 crisis and he told them to meet and confer about proposing a new date for a final settlement approval hearing that would take place sometime in December."

The lawsuit is based on the company's decision to slow down older iPhones to avoid performance issues. If the settlement goes through as the deal currently stands, Apple will pay up to $500 million for its actions.

"Under the proposed deal, Apple has agreed to pay up to $500 million in total, depending on the amount of iPhone users to participate in the deal, according to court filings. Class members would receive $25 each for their phones. If the payouts, attorney fees and expenses don't add up to at least $310 million, class members will receive up to $500 apiece until that minimum settlement amount is reached."

Apple's counsel, Christopher Chorba of Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP, says that the settlement will be limited to those who installed specific software updates on iPhones ranging from the iPhone 6 to the iPhone 7 Plus, as well as the first-generation iPhone SE.

"Chorba also stressed that the settlement only applies to individuals who performed certain software updates on their Apple iPhone 6, 6 Plus, 6s, 6s Plus, 7, 7 Plus and SE devices, and not all owners of those phones."

The final approval for the settlement is currently expected to be reached in a few weeks.