We’re now approaching 30th class action lawsuit over the iPhone throttling debacle

In less than two weeks since admitting to deliberately slowing down older iPhone models with worn-out batteries, nearly 30 class action lawsuits have so far been filed against Apple, highlighting just how badly the company has handled the whole situation.

Canadian outlet PatentlyApple’s been following those lawsuits closely, having counted as many as 27 different class actions filed against Apple as of Monday. One of the lawsuits sought a ridiculous payout of $999 billion, with the latest cases filed in San Francisco and Brooklyn.

Additional lawsuits are reportedly pending, meaning by the time you read this the number of legal proceedings filed over the iPhone throttling debacle could easily zoom past 30.

Many of the plaintiffs allege that Apple has been purposely slowing down older iPhones through software updates in order to presumably encourage sales of new iPhones, giving fuel to the longstanding conspiracy theory of planned obsolescence.

Apple apologized for not communicating to its customers how the recent changes in iOS impacted CPU performance on iPhone 6, iPhone 7 and iPhone SE models with older batteries.

TUTORIAL: How to check if your iPhone’s battery needs replacing

As an olive branch to the disgruntled customers, Apple has temporarily slashed the price of its out-of-warranty battery replacement program to $29 from $79 throughout 2018.

All customers that request a battery replacement will get one, regardless of the results of the battery diagnosis tests run directly on the device, the iPhone maker said.

However, a Brazilian state agency required additional clarity on the matter, having notified the Cupertino technology firm last week that it must explain how Brazilian iPhone owners will be able to purchase battery replacements at lower prices.