Fact check: Apple settlement payouts will be far less than $700 per user, claims closed in 2020

Nate Trela, USA TODAY
·4 min read
4

The claim: Apple will give $700 to anyone whose iPhone was slowed down

A Feb. 19 Instagram post (direct link, archive link) features a man with an iPhone in front of an Apple Store. The video is captioned, "That's why they slow phones down after 2 years."

While portraying a customer, the man contends Apple illegally throttled his device when it launched a new model.

"We know, and that's why we have to pay anyone with a slowed-down phone $700 if they claim it," he says while playing the part of an Apple representative.

The video was liked more than 90,000 times in nine days.

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Our rating: False

Apple's last known settlement in the U.S. over battery slowdowns will not pay anything near $700 per phone, according to a legal expert and settlement terms. And there's nothing available for users to "claim." The deadline in that case was in 2020, and based on the number of claims payouts are likely to be around $200.

Apple settlement recently reviewed

The video doesn't say what the $700 figure is based on or how a consumer could get the money. However, a judge recently approved the settlement of a 2017 class action lawsuit against Apple for slowing down iPhones when updating the operating system.

At this point, it is too late for someone to join that settlement, according to Rory Van Loo, a Boston University law professor. And individuals will not get anywhere close to what the post claims.

"Consumers can't now just call up and get $700 if their phone was throttled," he said.

When the case was settled in 2020, most claimants expected to receive $25 per eligible device. But that settlement was rejected in September 2022 by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which held the judge who approved the deal applied the wrong legal standard. The settlement was again approved on Feb. 17, with total payments ranging between $310 million and $500 million.

In theory, payments could have reached $700 if there were only a few hundred thousand valid claims, Van Loo said. However, the settlement fund has more than two million claims filed against it, putting payouts closer to $200 apiece before legal fees are deducted, he told USA TODAY in an email interview.

Fact check: Claim about health effects of AirPods and other Bluetooth earphones is missing context

Another issue with the social media claim is that people had to opt into the settlement by Oct. 6, 2020. So there's no ability to claim anything at this point, contrary to what the social media post asserts.

And the settlement only applied to owners of certain models who used specific operating system versions before Dec. 21, 2017.

Apple acknowledged in 2017 that it was slowing down older iPhones, saying it did so to improve power management.

The company has faced multiple complaints around the globe over the practice, including one filed last June in the United Kingdom. Several complaints suggest Apple slows down the products to encourage consumers to buy new phones.

Apple did not respond to a USA TODAY request for comment, but the company previously told the Financial Times, "We have never – and would never – do anything to intentionally shorten the life of any Apple product, or degrade the user experience to drive customer upgrades."

USA TODAY reached out to the social media user who shared the claim for comment.

Lead Stories also debunked the claim.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fact check: False claim Apple will pay $700 for 'throttled' iPhones