We’re sorry, says Apple as it faces criminal claims over slow iphones

APPLE has apologised for slowing down older iphones and said it would cut the price of battery replacements, although it said it had “never – and would never – do anything to intentionally shorten” the life of its products.

The tech giant is facing a number of legal challenges since last week revealing that a software update slows down the iphone 6, 6s, 7 and SE models when their batteries wear down over time.

In a letter last night, Apple said it was aware some of its customers “feel Apple has let you down” and apologised over the way it handled performance for iphones with older batteries.

Users have long suspected that Apple slows down older iphones, but the company admitted it last week when a tester found performance slowing down when a battery degrades. While Apple says it does this to make the phones last longer, consumers have claimed it is a tactic to encourage upgrades, and have criticised the company for not coming clean about it.

In order to “regain the trust of anyone who may have doubted Apple’s intentions”, Apple said it had decided to reduce the price of out-of-warranty battery replacements from $79 to $29 and would also be introducing new software features to allow users to track their battery performance better.

The olive branch came as the number of lawsuits filed against Apple mounted, the latest being criminal claims in France. Campaign group Halte a l’obsolescence Programmée association (HOP) said it had filed a complaint, claiming that purposefully reducing the performance of older models of the iphone was ille gal.

Under regulations introduced in 2015, companies cannot sell items that are designed to fail over time. The HOP said breaching the law could mean jail sentences of up to two years for executives, and fines of up to €300,000 (£270,000) as well as 5pc of a company’s turnover.

“It is our mission to defend consumers and the environment against this waste organised by Apple,” said Laetitia Vasseur of HOP.

Apple already faces lawsuits in the US and Israel but this is the first attempt at criminal claims.