Do you own or have you ever owned an iPhone 6 or 7? You might be eligible for a payout from Apple under a Canada-wide class-action settlement worth up to $14.4 million.
The class-action settlement with Apple was approved by the British Columbia Supreme Court last month and is related to a lawsuit over software updates and alleged defects in older iPhones.
Class members include residents of Canada, aside from Quebec, as of June 15, 2023, who bought or had an iPhone 6, 6 Plus, 6s, 6s Plus, SE, 7 or 7 Plus smartphones, and updated to the iOS version 10.2.1 or before Dec. 21, 2017.
All eligible class members who meet these criteria have until Sept. 2, 2024, to submit their claims online.
They can do so by filling out a form on the settlement website.
If people are unsure that this class action applies to them, they can confirm by entering their serial number on the settlement website.
Those Canadians who do submit their claim by the deadline could get up to $150 after deducting legal fees.
This class-action lawsuit against Apple was launched in 2018.
It alleges that the tech giant intentionally concealed performance mitigation features of iOS versions 10.2.1, 10.3, 11 and/or 11.2.
The class action also alleged defects caused the iPhones to prematurely age, degrade and shut down unexpectedly as well as battery problems.
Apple has denied these allegations but has agreed to pay between $11.1 million and $14.4 million under the settlement.
This class action was certified in June 2023 by the B.C. Supreme Court, but it affects Apple customers in different provinces minus Quebec, which has a separate ongoing case raising similar concerns about older iPhone models.
In 2020, Apple settled a similar case in the United States involving so called “throttling” of iPhone 6 and 7 models, agreeing to pay up to $US500 million.
— with a file from The Canadian Press