Anyone that owns an older iPhone may be rightly upset to learn that their device cannot perform as well as it did the day it came out of the box due to degradation of the battery. Apple offered an official response to clarify that additional power management actions are necessary to prevent iPhones from unexpectedly shutting down but that does not change the fact that the entire ordeal has been handled poorly.
After spending a small fortune for the latest iPhone available at the time, consumers have every right to be upset that they were not informed their devices were being restricted due to poorly designed power delivery stages. In fact, two residents of California have taken it upon themselves to seek class action against Apple for failure to disclose the throttling of processors in iPhones.
Stefan Bogdanovich and Dakota Speas have filed suit in the US District Court for the Central District of California, accusing Apple of intentionally slowing down older devices to promote the sale of newer models. Both plaintiffs are owners of iPhone 7 handsets as well as several previous generations. The duo is aiming to obtain national class action status for their suit which would allow anyone with an impacted device to seek damages from Apple.
"Our goal is to deliver the best experience for customers, which includes overall performance and prolonging the life of their devices." -Apple
While the lawsuit does not directly coincide with Apple's statement regarding their throttling practices, Apple is far from innocent in the way it has handled the matter. Hiding poor design choices instead of admitting there is a problem that cannot be fixed with software was the wrong decision. Having a slow iPhone is admittedly better than one that will not turn on but neither are desirable outcomes.
In this case, Apple should have more closely followed in the foot steps of Samsung and come forward with the issue sooner. The exploding Galaxy Note 7 was ultimately just a small blip in time for Samsung once the Note 8 rose to prominence.
Bogdanovich and Speas are asking for the replacement of their iPhones, compensation for the cost of replacement batteries and money back on the original purchase of their devices for not receiving a device of the quality they believed to be purchasing. Additionally, damages are being sought for depreciation in value and loss of value due to the inability to use their iPhones.