Arizona Continues Multi-State Probe Against Apple over Batterygate

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Apple may have settled a class-action lawsuit to put throttle-gate behind it, but the scandal continues to grow. The report claimed Texas was involved in a multi-state investigation to see if Apple violated consumer law. More recently, Arizona is involved and may be heading up the probe into Apple’s controversial throttling practice.

According to a report from Reuters, the attorney general in Arizona is looking into Apple’s practice of throttling older iPhone models, specifically the iPhone 6 and 7 series.

Apple began throttling older phones when it released iOS 10.2.1. Many users noticed that their phones slowed down, but attributed it to age and not something Apple had changed.

Many of these consumers bought new phones, thinking their existing phones were becoming obsolete. The company claims it was not trying to be deceptive, and only slowed down older phones to minimize shutdowns due to aging battery instability.

Regardless of the reason behind the deliberate slowdown, Apple may have broken Arizona’s deceptive trade practice law when it chose to throttle iPhones without the consumer’s permission.

This investigation isn’t a case of follow-the-leader with Arizona pursuing a lawsuit because Texas did. Apple’s throttling has been on Arizona’s radar for years. According to Reuters, Arizona actually began to examine Apple’s throttling practice as early as 2018. And it’s not just Arizona and Texas, other states, both Democrat and Republican, are joining in the investigation.

Apple’s decision to neuter phones has been costly for the Cupertino company. The company recently settled a class-action suit, setting aside up to $510 million to cover claims. iPhone owners affected by the throttling can file to receive a claim up to $25. Customers have until October 6, 2020, to file a claim. They also can object to the settlement, request a hearing to discuss the fairness of the settlement, or exclude themselves if they wish to be part of another class-action lawsuit.

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