The fine was imposed by fraud watchdog DGCCRF and France’s competition, stating that consumers were not warned.
In 2017, Apple confirmed that it had slowed down some iPhones, but did so only to “prolong the life” of the devices.
Apple in a statement said that it had already resolved the issue with the watchdog.
Why Does Apple Slow Down Old iPhones?
Most of the iPhone Users had long doubted that to encourage people to upgrade when a new one was released Apple had slowed down thier older iPhones .
In 2017, the company confirmed that it has slowed down some models as they aged, but did not encourage people to upgrade.
It stated that lithium-ion batteries in devices became less capable of supplying peak current demands, as they aged over time.
As a result, the iPhone may shut down unexpectedly to protect its electronic devices.
Therefore, it released a software update for the iPhone 6, iPhone 6s and iPhone SE, which “smooths out” the battery performance.
The practice was confirmed after a customer-shared test on Reddit, suggesting that their iPhone 6S had significantly reduced lifespan, but suddenly accelerated again after changing the battery.
What Did The Regulator Say?
The French watchdog stated that iPhone owners were “not informed that installing iOS updates (10.2.1 and 11.2) may slow down their devices”.
As part of the agreement, Apple should display a notice on its French-language website for a month.
It stated that Apple “committed a crime of misleading commercial behavior” and agreed to pay the fine.
Does Apple Still Slow Down Older iPhones?
Yes. Since Apple confirmed the practice in 2017, it has implemented it on many more iPhones, including:
- iPhone 6, 6 Plus, 6S, 6S Plus
- iPhone SE
- iPhone 7 and 7 Plus
- iPhone 8 and 8 Plus iOS running 12.1 or greater
- iPhone X running iOS 12.1 or higher
- iPhone XS, XS Max and XR running iOS 13.1 or greater
The setting is only enabled when the battery starts to malfunction, and iOS now provides consumers with clear information about when performance management is turned on.
“The effects of performance management on these new models may be less noticeable due to their more advanced hardware and software design,” Apple said.