Fall has come again, and in what feels like a cyclical tech tradition, many older iPhone models have undergone a ‘slow-down’ as new iPhone models are released.
Many in the U.S. and globally feel that Apple secretly releases software to phase older iPhone models into obsolescence when new ones are released to drive profits and create additional reliance on Apple’s product line and repair options. In 2017, Apple even admitted that a new software release weakened the performance of older iPhone models – lending some credence to the masses’ belief of nefarious corporate behavior from Apple. In 2020, Apple folded in a class action lawsuit and agreed to pay a settlement fee for not informing Apple product users of the potential for new software to slow older devices. Individuals owed money under that settlement agreement received money this Fall, 2023.
Despite the understanding that new software sometimes slows old devices and confirms such from Apple, people have remained suspicious of Apple whenever new products are released. For example, there is an active investigation into Apple’s purportedly nefarious “planned obsolescence” in France. Additionally, a case against Apple for over a billion dollars was recently approved to move forward in the UK for the same underlying reason.
The older and more recent cases illustrate a tendency for individuals worldwide to distrust big tech. It may be because tech is an industry where laypeople lack deep knowledge of products and how software may affect hardware. The ongoing suspicion manifests the expectation for tech products to be efficient and remain efficient over time. Or, of course, the distrust may be well founded – at least in these cases against Apple.
In the face of consumer protection regulations and in the eyes of its consumers, the tech industry would do well to be as transparent as possible when releasing new technologies that may impact the performance of old devices. Consumer welfare, in part, hinges on ensuring an informed consumer population. Apple likely faces an uphill battle to rebuild trust with its consumers, and it can certainly expect to continue trudging through legal adversity in the face of these new lawsuits and investigations.
Cole Haaf, BridgehouseLaw Charlotte
Sources
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/15/technology/personaltech/new-iphones-slow-tech-myth.html
https://www.cnet.com/tech/mobile/apple-to-start-paying-out-500m-in-iphone-slowdown-lawsuit/
https://www.theregister.com/2023/11/02/apple_batterygate_uk/
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