Apple iPhone Battery Scandal Reaches France, Where Planned Obsolescence is Illegal

The iPhone battery scandal has attracted worldwide attention. France is the latest country to begin investigating whether or not Apple planned for older iPhones to become obsolete in order to spur sales of newly released iPhones.

Apple admits the company purposely slows down older phones because the older batteries would otherwise cause the phones to shut down without warning after software updates. Critics say Apple was not transparent about this purposeful slowing of the older phones until recently cornered about the issue.

Consumers allege that they have been duped into purchasing newer model phones in order to ensure they have a fully functioning phone with the quickest speeds. The iPhone battery scandal is further complicated by the fact an iPhone owner can’t simply replace the battery themselves. Apple ensures the iPhone owner must take the phone to an Apple store or mail in the phone to obtain a replacement battery that usually runs around $79. Since the news broke, Apple has discounted battery replacements to $29 each.

France consumer watchdog group HOP is asking Apple to make future iPhones capable of having the batteries removed and replaced by the consumer. The group also would like to see future software updates become reversible if the consumer sees poorer performance after an update.

Apple Apologizes for iPhone Battery Scandal

Apple has apologized for the lack of transparency over the iPhone battery slowdown but insists the goal was to extend the life of a consumer’s current iPhone and not to trick a consumer into buying a new iPhone.

Apple explained, “About a year ago in iOS 10.2.1, we delivered a software update that improves power management during peak workloads to avoid unexpected shutdowns on iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, and iPhone SE. With the update, iOS dynamically manages the maximum performance of some system components when needed to prevent a shutdown.”

Apple insists these changes might go unnoticed to some iPhone owners, but others could see longer launch times for various apps and “other reductions in performance.”

Apple already is facing a variety of class action lawsuits by consumers who feel the iPhone battery scandal led them to believe their only recourse was to purchase a new iPhone for hundreds of dollars. France’s HOP consumer group agrees. HOP’s co-founder, Laetitia Vasseur, says the organization must defend customers from what is basically Apple’s organized waste program.

France passed a law in 2015 that makes the planned obsolescence of a product illegal. The law bans “the use of techniques by which the person responsible for the marketing of a product aims to deliberately reduce the duration to increase the replacement rate.”

While planned obsolescence is not illegal in the United States, consumers are filing iPhone class action lawsuits contending they bought a new phone because the old one was too slow. Because the consumers did not know replacing the old phone’s battery would restore it to optimal speed, consumers feel they bought an entirely new iPhone that they didn’t really need.

If you are an iPhone customer who has been impacted by this iPhone battery scandal, you could be eligible to pursue legal action in the form of a lawsuit.

Join a Free Apple iPhone Throttling Class Action Lawsuit Investigation

If you owned an iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone SE, iPhone 7 or iPhone 7 Plus that performed slower after an iOS update or would unexpectedly shut down for seemingly no reason, you may qualify to file or join an iPhone class action lawsuit.

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