Seven years ago, a group of angry consumers from New York and New Jersey filed suit against Apple. The group claimed that the company intentionally crippled the iPhone 4S with the release of iOS 9. At the time, iOS 9 was the latest and greatest, improving upon the foundations of the operating system, while keeping a lot of new ones. But for some it was the beginning of the end. Users with an iPhone 4s were eligible for the update, but complained about a bad or broken experience after doing so. For most, reverting to the previous version of iOS was not possible once the update was done. Now, Apple must pay $20 million to those affected.
Apple to pay $20 million to affected people
It’s been a little over a decade since the iPhone 4s was launched. The smartphone was an amazing device for its time. The handset debuted with iOS 5 and will be supported for several years after release, with the final update moving it to iOS 9. Unfortunately, Apple’s ambitious plan to keep the iPhone 4s up to date will prove to be detrimental. Many people reported that after update to iOS9, iPhone 4s will run slow or suffer from reliability issues. In turn, this resulted in the aforementioned class-action lawsuit.
Despite the lawsuit, Apple continues to support its devices
Despite the class-action lawsuit, Apple continues to strive and support its devices to the best of their abilities. That means most of its devices are constantly updated, breathing new life into older hardware. Currently, the latest iOS version from Apple comes in iOS 15. The oldest supported handset for this release is the iPhone 6s. The iPhone 6s was originally launched with iOS9 and has been receiving updates year after year. The handset has received six generations of updates since the original launch.
If you or someone you know has an iPhone 4s and updated to iOS9, you may be entitled to some compensation. For now, users will have to be patient, as there is no means to claim for this settlement. In the near future, a website will be created to accept submissions.
Source: MacRumors
