Apple Italia has been compelled to post an advisory statement regarding iPhone throttling

iPhone battery replacement

After losing an Italian lawsuit alleging that Apple failed to properly disclose to customers that the iOS 10.2.1 update introduced performance throttling, the Cupertino company has now published a statement regarding the case on its Italian website.

As first spotted by SeeteBIT, the company has been compelled to add some fine print to the bottom of the Italian website in order to explain the whole planned obsolescence saga.

The machine-translated advisory statement reads as follows:

AUTHORITY GUARANTOR OF COMPETITION AND MARKET COMMUNICATIONS TO CONSUMER PROTECTION

Apple, Inc., Apple Distribution International, Apple Italia S.r.l. and Apple Retail Italia S.r.l. have led consumers in possession of iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus to install the iOS 10 operating system and subsequent updates without providing adequate information about the impact of that choice on the performance of the smartphone and without offering (if not to a limited extent or late) any means of restoring the original functionality of the device in the event of a proven decrease in performance following the update (such as downgrading or battery replacement at reasonable costs).

The practice has been determined as incorrect, pursuant to articles 20, 21, 22 and 24 of Legislative Decree no. 206/2005 (Consumer Code) by the Italian Competition Authority.

The Authority has ordered the publication of this amending declaration pursuant to Article 27, paragraph 8, of the Consumer Code (provision adopted in the meeting of 25 September 2018 and available on the website www.agcm.it)

Samsung Italia is compelled to publish a similar advisory on its website as the South Korean conglomerate had also been found to have mislead customers by withholding crucial information about the performance throttling algorithms.

Reuters reported in January a year ago:

Italy’s antitrust body had opened a probe into allegations that Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd used software updates to slow their mobile phones and push clients into buying new handsets.

The watchdog said in a statement that the two companies had not told clients that the updates might have a negative impact on the performance of their phones. 

Apple and Samsung were both suspected of orchestrating “a general commercial policy taking advantage of the lack of certain components to curb the performance times of their products and induce consumers to buy new versions”, the watchdog said. 

As a result of this conduct, Apple is now set to pay a multi-million euro fine for infringing on four separate articles of Italy’s national consumer code.

Both giants have insisted that their primary motivation with CPU throttling has always been prolonging the user’s battery life and protecting owners’ device from issues like unexpected shutdowns, which happens when the battery can no longer hold enough charge to provide maximum power during peak CPU load.

The question is, do you buy such an explanation?

Let us know in the comments!