Customers sue Apple for intentionally slowing down old iPhone models

Apple recently confirmed that it slows down older iPhones in order to prevent sudden shutdowns caused by degraded batteries. Naturally, the announcement was not well received by the fans. Now, five Apple customers in the US are suing Apple for this.

As reported by Chicago Sun-Times, they have filed a federal lawsuit against the iPhone maker at a court in Chicago claiming an unspecified amount of money in damages caused by Apple as it deliberately slows down down older iPhone models. The plaintiffs come from different parts of the US; two are from Illinois, whereas the rest of them are from Indiana, North Carolina, and Ohio.

The plaintiffs said that Apple's practices are "deceptive, immoral and unethical" as they violate consumer protection laws.

The plaintiffs are being represented by attorney James Vlahakis, who said that Apple doesn't offer transparency for potential customers.

"Corporations have to realize that people are sophisticated and that when people spend their hard-earned dollars on a product they expect it to perform as expected."

"Instead, Apple appears to have obscured and concealed why older phones were slowing down," James Vlahakis added further.

As it has come to light, iPhone 5, iPhone 6 and even the relatively new iPhone 7 has been affected with Apple's practices. The filed lawsuit alleges that Apple "needlessly subjects consumers to purchasing newer and more expensive iPhones when a replacement battery could have allowed consumers to continue to use their older iPhones."

To be honest, it was kind of like an open secret that Apple, and some other big companies, slow down the performance on older devices so customers are forced to buy the new model of iPhones. That being said, one should also remember that batteries are engineered to last forever. However, a replacement battery will cost less than a new iPhone.

As of now, Apple is yet to issue an official statement regarding the lawsuit, and it may not issue one at all. As soon we get more information on the deveopment of the case, we will let you know.