Apple now sending iPhone batterygate payouts to customers

Payouts to iPhone users are finally on their way as part of Apple's $500 million settlement of the “batterygate” throttling controversy. iPhone users who filed a claim as part of the case will receive a payment of around $92.17 for each claim. This could result in nearly $1,000 worth of total payouts for some people.

iPhone ‘batterygate' background

The lawsuit accused Apple of consumer fraud by deliberately slowing down the performance of iPhones as their batteries aged. In response, Apple issued a formal apology, reduced the price for battery replacements, and provided users with the option to turn off this feature. Additionally, Apple introduced new features to iOS to help reduce the impact of battery health deterioration over time.

Apple silently rolled out the performance throttling as a way to prevent unexpected iPhone shutdowns. This came as it transpired that iPhone batteries could not maintain peak performance as they aged. However, Apple rolled this out as part of iOS 10.2.1 in February 2017, without appropriately communicating the change to customers.

Payments are finally on their way

Apple agreed to shell out this $500 million settlement in March 2020, but still denied any wrongdoing. Of that $500 million, $310 million of it is going to the consumers. This equates to payouts of around $92 per claim for iPhone users.

If you didn't file a claim to join the lawsuit now, it's far too late to do so now. The deadline was back on October 6, 2020. If you had an iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, or iPhone SE, you could have filed a claim for each of those devices.

As first spotted by MacRumors, the first $92.17 payouts from Apple are now on their way to consumers as part of the settlement. This lines up with the settlement's promised timeline of the first payments going out to consumers sometime in January.