Oliver Haslam·

Samsung Caught Lying: Fined $5.7 Million For Slowing Down Phones Like Apple Via Updates

The controversy surrounding Apple’s decision to artificially limit the speed at which some of its iPhone CPUs would run in order to improve battery stability continues to rumble on, and the company has been fined by Italy’s Authority for Market and Competition consumer watchdog as a result.

Samsung has also been dragged into the mess, receiving its own fine as a result.

Earlier in the year, Apple was found to have slowed down older iPhones via a software update, something Samsung was also accused of. While Samsung refused to admit that it had done anything, Apple said that it was slowing phones down to ensure that their aging batteries were able to distribute enough power to keep them running. It seems that the Italians aren’t buying that, with the belief being that both Apple and Samsung were making phones slower as part of a planned obsolescence move that would force customers to upgrade to newer phones, sooner.

Following an investigation, Samsung has been fined $5.7 million with the conclusion being that it published updates that “caused serious dysfunctions and reduced performance significantly, thereby accelerating the process of replacing them.” Apple has been fined double that sum, however, with the findings being that it not only engaged in planned obsolescence but also failed to inform customers of the characteristics of the batteries it use in iPhones.

It’s doubtful that either company will take this laying down, and we wonder whether this ruling will see further legal troubles for both companies.

Apple continues to offer cut-price iPhone battery replacements as part of its customer relations drive over the matter – a deal that ends at the end of the year.

(Source: Reuters)

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