Italian Consumer Association Launches Lawsuit Against Apple for Planned Obsolescence

Italian consumer association Altroconsumo today announced that it has launched a class action lawsuit [PDF] against Apple for planned obsolescence (via Reuters).

iPhone slow
Altroconsumo is seeking damages of 60 million euros on behalf of Italian consumers who were "tricked" by the practice, with the lawsuit covering the iPhone 6, ‌iPhone‌ 6 Plus, ‌iPhone‌ 6s, and ‌iPhone‌ 6s Plus.

"When consumers buy Apple iPhones, they expect sustainable quality products. Unfortunately, that is not what happened with the iPhone 6 series. Not only were consumers defrauded, and did they have to face frustration and financial harm, from an environmental point of view it is also utterly irresponsible" said ​Els Bruggeman, Head of Policy and Enforcement at Euroconsumers. "This new lawsuit is the latest front in our fight against planned obsolescence in Europe. Our ask is simple: American consumers received compensation, European consumers want to be treated with the same fairness and respect."

These claims date back to the 2017 release of iOS 10.2.1, which included a feature that throttled the performance of older iPhones with degrading batteries to prevent device shutdowns at peak usage points. Apple did not make it clear that avoiding shutdowns would require device performance to be scaled down, which led to a huge consumer outcry and blowback that's ongoing today.

Italy in 2018 fined Apple 10 million euros for "dishonest commercial practices" for implementing an update that "caused serious malfunctions and significantly reduced performance, thus accelerating phones' substitution."

Apple has maintained that the idea of planned obsolescence is absurd, with the iOS 10.2.1 update designed to make iPhones last longer by preventing interruptions in usage. Following the fiasco, Apple implemented battery health features in iOS and debuted a $29 battery replacement program, but it has still faced multiple legal issues related to planned obsolescence claims.

The prior Italian lawsuit and fine were levied by regulators, while the current lawsuit seeks damages for consumers. Altroconsumo is seeking 60 euros on average for all owners of affected iPhones.

Apple is facing similar lawsuits in Belgium and Spain, and a fourth class action lawsuit is set to launch in the near future. Italy is also currently investigating Apple for improper commercial practices in regard to cloud computing services and recently fined Apple 10 million euros for misleading water resistance claims.

Popular Stories

iOS 18

iOS 18.4 Coming Next Week With These New Features for Your iPhone

Friday February 14, 2025 6:18 am PST by
The first iOS 18.4 beta for iPhones should be just around the corner, and the update is expected to include many new features and changes. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman expects the iOS 18.4 beta to be released by next week. Below, we outline what to expect from iOS 18.4 so far. Apple Intelligence for Siri Siri is expected to get several enhancements powered by Apple Intelligence on iOS...
apple launch feb 2025 alt

What to Expect From the 'Apple Launch' Next Week

Thursday February 13, 2025 11:48 am PST by
Apple has yet to announce any new devices this year, but that could change starting next week. Apple CEO Tim Cook today said to "get ready" for a "launch" on Wednesday, February 19. "Get ready to meet the newest member of the family," said Cook, in a social media post. The post includes an #AppleLaunch hashtag, along with a short video featuring an animated Apple logo inside of a circle....
iPhone 17 Pro Render Front Page Tech

iPhone 17 Pro With All-New Camera Bar Design Allegedly Revealed

Thursday February 13, 2025 5:49 pm PST by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro will feature three rear cameras arranged in a familiar triangular layout, but the cameras will be housed in an all-new rectangular camera bar with rounded corners, according to YouTube channel Front Page Tech. iPhone 17 Pro camera design render created by Asher for Front Page Tech In a video uploaded today, Front Page Tech host Jon Prosser said the camera ...
iphone air concept weis

iPhone 17 Air Could Look Like This in Real Life

Friday February 14, 2025 3:41 am PST by
There have been several alleged leaked details of the iPhone 17 Air, Apple's rumored new slim iPhone, but images have been limited to grainy shots taken in component factories. However, this hyper-realistic concept created by WEIS Studio gives us the best idea yet of what Apple's thin device might actually look like. The concept design is inspired by recent leaks indicating that the device...
Apple Maps 2024

Apple Maps Might Start Showing Ads

Sunday February 16, 2025 7:22 am PST by
Apple is "exploring" the idea of showing search ads in the Apple Maps app, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Back in 2022, Gurman said software engineering was "already underway" to display ads in the Apple Maps app, but Apple did not move forward with the idea at the time. Today, he said Apple is "giving this notion more thought" again. This time around, he said Apple has yet to...
m2 pro mac mini

Apple is Now Selling a Refurbished Mac Mini for Just $319 (!)

Saturday February 15, 2025 9:58 am PST by
A few days ago, we reported that Apple's refurbished Mac mini pricing had a problem, and it appears that Apple has taken note. Apple was offering a refurbished Mac mini with the M2 chip, 16GB of RAM, and 256GB of storage for $559, which was $50 more than a refurbished Mac mini with the M4 chip, 16GB of RAM, and 256GB of storage. All other key specifications were equal. That's no longer...
apple launch feb 2025

Tim Cook Teases an 'Apple Launch' Next Wednesday

Thursday February 13, 2025 8:07 am PST by
In a social media post today, Apple CEO Tim Cook teased an upcoming "launch" of some kind scheduled for Wednesday, February 19. "Get ready to meet the newest member of the family," he said, with an #AppleLaunch hashtag. The post includes a short video with an animated Apple logo inside a circle. Cook did not provide an exact time for the launch, or share any other specific details, so...
Tim Cook Apple Park

10+ Announcements Apple Could Have Rolled Into a February Event

Saturday February 15, 2025 8:00 am PST by
Apple appears to have enough upcoming product announcements to justify a full event this month, yet all signs indicate these reveals will be handled through a series of press releases instead. There are a multitude of rumors from reliable sources about specific announcements in the coming weeks, so here's everything that Apple could have feasibly included in a hypothetical February event: ...

Top Rated Comments

CWallace Avatar
53 months ago
Cynical View:

Apple never should have enabled throttling, instead allowing phones with naturally-degraded batteries to just shut down and/or reboot.

The upsides would be they would have made more money because more people would have either paid for battery replacements at full price or bought new phones and Apple would not have had to pay all these fines and suffering the "bad PR" for actually trying to mitigate the problem.


Non-Cynical View:

Apple should have just made public what they were doing and why they were throttling. I'm sure there would have still been blowback (there always is when you try and do the right thing), but (hopefully) far less then they did by trying to just do it quietly.
Score: 26 Votes (Like | Disagree)
dasmb Avatar
53 months ago
You can't win for losing here.

Apple uses the most robust battery technology available at the time, a technology that decreases in voltage as it ages.

Dropping voltage to any chip causes the chip to malfunction In this case, it causes phones to randomly restart under load.

Apple releases a patch that causes phones with reduced voltage to heal through the problem by reducing performance, rather than risking data loss or panics.

This move -- which effectively increases the usable lifespan of the phone -- is used to punish the company for "planned obsolescence."

You guys know what a knock sensor is? It's a little device that every car has that measures the quality of combustion in the engine. If it detects the wrong kinds of ignition, it reduces the fuel/air mixture to prevent too-powerful explosions from damaging the engine. In essence, it reduces performance to prolong the lifespan of the engine. And to my knowledge, no car company to date has been sued for "planned obsolescence."
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
calzon65 Avatar
53 months ago
I think Apple already does a decent job supporting older platforms for many years. At some point, Apple or any other company, is going to "move on" to newer technologies.
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
xxray Avatar
53 months ago
This is ridiculous. Apple has always offered more years of software updates of any mobile OS. I understand they should’ve been more transparent with the battery situation, but still.
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
GeoStructural Avatar
53 months ago

I think Apple already does a decent job supporting older platforms for many years. At some point, Apple or any other company, is going to "move on" to newer technologies.
Right, if anything Apple is one of the big tech companies that supports their devices the longest.

Just the technological improvements alone, miniaturization, screen technologies, radio-communication standards, etc. make it very hard for these companies not to produce a new device periodically. That does not mean you have to buy it every year but they definitely will make it, otherwise their competition will.

I think Android devices suffer from early obsolescence more than iDevices. Same applies to Macs, I know people still rocking 2012 and 2013 devices that work decently.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Mac Prodigy Avatar
53 months ago
And everyone in that class action suit, outside of the lawyers, might get .7 cents each...if they are lucky. Class actions suits are the biggest waste of time. They only get lawyers rich.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)