Facing lawsuits and consumer outrage after it said it slowed older iPhones with flagging batteries, Apple Inc is slashing prices for battery replacements and plans to change its software to show users whether their phone battery is good.
In a posting on its Web site on Thursday, Apple apologized over its handling of the battery issue and said it would make a number of changes for customers “to recognize their loyalty and to regain the trust of anyone who might have doubted Apple’s intentions.”
Apple made the move to address concerns about the quality and durability of its products at a time when it is charging US$999 for its newest flagship model, the iPhone X.
The company would cut the price of an out-of-warranty battery replacement from US$79 to US$29 for an iPhone 6 or later, starting next month, it said, adding that it would also update its iOS operating system to let users see whether their battery is in poor health and is affecting the phone’s performance.
“We know that some of you feel Apple has let you down,” Apple said in its posting. “We apologize.”
Apple on Wednesday last week acknowledged that iPhone software has the effect of slowing down some phones with battery problems.
The problem was that aging lithium batteries delivered power unevenly, which could cause iPhones to shutdown unexpectedly to protect the delicate circuits inside, Apple said.
That disclosure played on a common belief among consumers that Apple purposely slows down older phones to encourage customers to buy newer iPhone models. While no credible evidence has ever emerged that Apple engaged in such conduct, the battery disclosure struck a nerve on social media and elsewhere.
Apple on Thursday denied that it has ever done anything to intentionally shorten the life of a product.
At least eight lawsuits have been filed in the states of California, New York and Illinois alleging that the company defrauded users by slowing devices down without warning them. The company also faces a legal complaint in France, where so-called “planned obsolesce” is against the law.
French prosecutors have launched a probe into Japanese printer maker Epson Inc for alleged planned obsolescence in its products, using landmark consumer legislation that campaigners hope to turn against Apple as well.
The investigation, confirmed to Agence France-Presse (AFP) by a legal source on Thursday, was last month opened and is being led by antitrust and consumer protection specialists in the French Ministry for the Economy and Finance under the instruction of prosecutors in the Nanterre suburb of Paris.
It comes after a complaint by the association Stop Planned Obsolescence (Halte a l’Obsolescence Programmee), which filed a case against printer makers Epson, HP Inc, Brother International Corp and Canon Inc in September alleging they were tricking consumers into replacing ink cartridges before they were empty.
The group on Wednesday filed a separate complaint against Apple.
To tackle the problem of planned obsolescence, France passed landmark legislation in 2015 known as “Hamon’s law,” which made the practice illegal and — in theory — obliged retailers to say whether replacement parts were available.
The law, named after former socialist minister Benoit Hamon, stipulates that a company found to be deliberately shortening the life of its products can be fined up to 5 percent of its annual sales, while executives can face up to two years in jail.
The Epson case — if the initial legal inquiry finds enough evidence for a trial — could lead to the first prosecution for the crime, which some lawyers have warned will be difficult to prove in court.
The company did not comment on the legal probe when contacted by AFP on Thursday.
Additional reporting by AFP
Stephen Garrett, a 27-year-old graduate student, always thought he would study in China, but first the country’s restrictive COVID-19 policies made it nearly impossible and now he has other concerns. The cost is one deterrent, but Garrett is more worried about restrictions on academic freedom and the personal risk of being stranded in China. He is not alone. Only about 700 American students are studying at Chinese universities, down from a peak of nearly 25,000 a decade ago, while there are nearly 300,000 Chinese students at US schools. Some young Americans are discouraged from investing their time in China by what they see
Taiwan Transport and Storage Corp (TTS, 台灣通運倉儲) yesterday unveiled its first electric tractor unit — manufactured by Volvo Trucks — in a ceremony in Taipei, and said the unit would soon be used to transport cement produced by Taiwan Cement Corp (TCC, 台灣水泥). Both TTS and TCC belong to TCC International Holdings Ltd (台泥國際集團). With the electric tractor unit, the Taipei-based cement firm would become the first in Taiwan to use electric vehicles to transport construction materials. TTS chairman Koo Kung-yi (辜公怡), Volvo Trucks vice president of sales and marketing Johan Selven, TCC president Roman Cheng (程耀輝) and Taikoo Motors Group
MAJOR DROP: CEO Tim Cook, who is visiting Hanoi, pledged the firm was committed to Vietnam after its smartphone shipments declined 9.6% annually in the first quarter Apple Inc yesterday said it would increase spending on suppliers in Vietnam, a key production hub, as CEO Tim Cook arrived in the country for a two-day visit. The iPhone maker announced the news in a statement on its Web site, but gave no details of how much it would spend or where the money would go. Cook is expected to meet programmers, content creators and students during his visit, online newspaper VnExpress reported. The visit comes as US President Joe Biden’s administration seeks to ramp up Vietnam’s role in the global tech supply chain to reduce the US’ dependence on China. Images on
New apartments in Taiwan’s major cities are getting smaller, while old apartments are increasingly occupied by older people, many of whom live alone, government data showed. The phenomenon has to do with sharpening unaffordable property prices and an aging population, property brokers said. Apartments with one bedroom that are two years old or older have gained a noticeable presence in the nation’s six special municipalities as well as Hsinchu county and city in the past five years, Evertrust Rehouse Co (永慶房產集團) found, citing data from the government’s real-price transaction platform. In Taipei, apartments with one bedroom accounted for 19 percent of deals last