Apple has been fined 5 million euros by Italy’s anti-trust watchdog for slowing down iPhones via software updates. Plus, it was slapped an additional fine of 5 million euros for not providing its customers with clear information on how to go about replacing their old iPhone’s battery under its discounted replacement program.
Alongside Apple, Samsung was also fined €5M for slowing down its devices or crippling their features with software updates.
The anti-trust body had received complaints from many consumer groups in Italy about their devices being slowed down with software updates thereby pushing them to buy a new smartphone.
The anti-trust body said in a statement that some Apple and Samsung firmware updates “had caused serious dysfunctions and reduced performance significantly, thereby accelerating the process of replacing them”.
It added the two firms had not provided clients adequate information about the impact of the new software “or any means of restoring the original functionality of the products”.
Apple came under fire late last year when it revealed that it intentionally throttled older iPhones due to their degrading battery performance. This led to the company being the subject of numerous lawsuits and irked a huge section of its customers. To pacify them, Apple launched a discounted battery replacement program where it allowed customers to replace batteries of their old iPhone for only $29.
Samsung and other OEMs had clarified back then that they did not slow down their devices using software updates due to their degrading battery. However, the Italian anti-trust body has fined Samsung for the same. This is the first time the Korean company has been slapped a fine for allegedly throttling its devices.
[Via Reuters]
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