Apple reached an agreement with a Chilean consumer organization to pay 3.4 million dollars and settle a class action lawsuit filed for the planned obsolescence of some of its devices, the lawyer for the litigants reported this Wednesday (04/07/2021).

The US company was sued in 2018 by some 150,000 users of Iphone phones – of the 6, 6 Plus, 6s, 6s Plus, 7, 7 Plus and SE models – who claimed to have “experienced poor performance” after performing updates to the operating system. scheduled by the brand before December 21, 2017.

The agreement with the Cupertino (California) technology company and the Organization of Consumers and Users (Odecu) provides for the opening of a registration period for affected users, who will have to demonstrate the drop in the performance of their device, as explained at a press conference virtual lawyer Juan Sebastián Reyes, from the Pérez Donoso Law Firm.

“The user accredits the poor performance of the cell phone, indicates the model and serial number. It is independent of whether they have acquired it (the device), have found it or have been given it as a gift,” Reyes said.

Each device credited as defective will receive a maximum compensation amount of $ 50, which will be distributed in the event that there are several complaints concerning the same serial number.

In December 2017, Apple admitted to modifying iOS, the software that controls its mobile devices, to reduce the performance of older iPhone models whose batteries were deteriorating and thus prevent phones from shutting down spontaneously.

Critics accused Apple of forcing users to buy phones earlier than necessary.

As of August 15 and for three months, users will be able to register as affected in the class action lawsuit to receive their compensation.

gs (afp, La Tercera)