iPhone battery row: 'It was unintentional, we apologize' says Apple

After facing nine lawsuits, Apple Inc has apologized and said it is slashing prices for battery replacements and will change its software to show users whether their phone battery is good. The firm also said that it hadn’t intentionally set out to shorten the life of the products.

The lawsuits said iPhone maker slowed down to compensate for poor battery performance. Eight of the nine complaints have been registered in the US District Courts in California, New York, and Illinois.

Apple made the move to address concerns about the quality and durability of its products at a time when it is charging $999 for its newest flagship model, the iPhone X.

According to Bloomberg report, the company said it would cut the price of an out-of-warranty battery replacement from $79 to $29 for an iPhone 6 or later, starting next month. The company also will update its iOS operating system to let users see whether their battery is in poor health and is affecting the phone's performance.

"We know that some of you feel Apple has let you down," Apple said in its posting. "We apologise."

On December 20, Apple acknowledged that iPhone software has the effect of slowing down some phones with battery problems. Apple said the problem was that ageing lithium batteries delivered power unevenly, which could cause iPhones to shutdown unexpectedly to protect the delicate circuits inside.

Primate Labs, which develops an iPhone performance measuring app, identified blips in processing speed and concluded that a software change had to be behind them.

On Monday, two Israelis in Tel Aviv filed class-action lawsuit of Rs 801 crore ($125 million). They claim that Apple breached its duty toward consumers by concealing information. The suit accuses US-based firm of breaching its basic duties toward users by failing to disclose that ‘innocent’ software updates would have negative implications for their phone use.