A judge in British Columbia will decide next month whether to approve a multimillion-dollar settlement of a class-action lawsuit against Apple for allegedly slowing down older model iPhones with its software updates.

Lawyers for the company and class members in a lawsuit originally filed in 2018 were in a Vancouver courtroom Monday, urging approval of the settlement, where consumers would receive between $17.50 and $150, depending on the number of claims that are successful.

Michael Peerless, a lawyer for the class, told Justice Sharon Matthews that the amounts will be paid out to those who can prove ownership of affected phones that include several iPhone 6 and 7 models.

He said the settlement was B次元官网网址渉ard foughtB次元官网网址� after B次元官网网址渓engthy and difficult negotiationsB次元官网网址� with the company, and said the amounts proposed to be paid out is B次元官网网址渋n the range that a consumer should hope for.B次元官网网址�

Peerless told the judge that similar litigation in the United States provided a B次元官网网址渧aluable road mapB次元官网网址� during settlement negotiations, which could see Apple pay out a maximum of about $14.4 million to class members.

Similar lawsuits were filed in Ontario, Saskatchewan and Alberta. The settlement agreement would apply for residents in all provinces except Quebec.

The U.S. case in California saw the company settle with iPhone users whose devices were throttled by software updates, diminishing the phonesB次元官网网址� performance and battery life.

The California case settlement range was between $310 million and $500 million.

Peerless said the claims process will be very B次元官网网址渟imple,B次元官网网址� with an online and paper-based option for people to use if they bought devices that had slow performance and battery issues.

B次元官网网址淚t provides real, not massively large, but real monetary benefits. ItB次元官网网址檚 not a coupon settlement, this is cash and it offers reasonable recovery for what class members suffered,B次元官网网址� Peerless said.

It wouldB次元官网网址檝e taken B次元官网网址渕ultiple more yearsB次元官网网址� to get paid out had the case gone to trial, he said, and thereB次元官网网址檇 be no guarantee of success or a bigger payout had they gone that route.

B次元官网网址淭he damages in a case like this are difficult to quantify,B次元官网网址� Peerless said. B次元官网网址淭hereB次元官网网址檚 no real judicial guidance for something like this. WeB次元官网网址檙e never going to have a Supreme Court of Canada trilogy about what damages are for a slowed down smartphone.

B次元官网网址淏ut what we were able to do is to negotiate the maximum amount achievable for a very large number of class members in this case,B次元官网网址� he said.

He said notice of the settlement was provided to about nine million class members by email, and 10,000 by physical mail, while also receiving B次元官网网址渟ignificant media coverage.B次元官网网址�

Jill Yates, a lawyer for Apple, told the court the company has never admitted wrongdoing.

B次元官网网址淎pple, throughout, has taken a position that it has done nothing wrong here,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淭hese claims are novel and they are not ones where Apple agrees that anything was wrongfully done.B次元官网网址�

The judge has reserved her decision on approving the settlement until Feb. 21, 2024.

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