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Did Apple force users to buy new iPhones?

WION
New Delhi, Delhi, IndiaEdited By: Gravitas deskUpdated: Jan 26, 2021, 11:10 PM IST
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Apple briefly crossed the $3-trillion milestone in terms of the market cap on Monday (representative image). Photograph:(Reuters)

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In November last year, Apple admitted that it had concealed a major battery problem from its customers

Tech companies keep upgrading their products, sometimes at an alarming pace. One such company is the famous Apple.

It keeps pushing out new models of the iPhone every single year but the customers are not able to keep up as not everyone wants to buy a new phone every year unless they are forced to.

Lawsuits are being filed across Europe against Apple. All of them accuse the company of slowing down older iPhones so that customers will be forced to upgrade.

In November last year, Apple admitted that it had concealed a major battery problem from its customers. The company then unveiled new software, one that allegedly cuts down performance to a great extent.

However, experts feel there could be a bigger plan here because even though Apple had to pay more than $100 million in damages, this was offset by the increased sales of its next-generation device.

Altroconsumo, an Italian consumer association is suing Apple and are seeking $73 million in damages. They are accusing Apple of tricking Italian consumers through planned obsolescence. It is a tactic called planned obsolescence which slows down older devices, forcing customers to upgrade.

The lawsuit covers four iPhone models: 6, 6s, 6plus and 6Splus. In totality, Apple sold around 1 million of these models between 2014 and 2020. There are similar cases in Belgium and Spain and another one in the offing in Portugal.

However, Apple rejects these allegations and denies doing anything to shorten their device's life. Apple has called this a feature of protecting ageing batteries. The consumers, however, are not convinced and are accusing Apple of coaxing them into upgrading their device or buying new batteries.

If the Italian lawsuit holds, every affected consumer could end up getting $70 dollars — an amount that will not even get you a charger of that same device.