The company claims that this was not “planned obsolescence”, but rather as a result of battery wear and tear that the only way to ensure iPhones would not randomly shut down was to throttle its speeds. That being said, many were rightfully upset by this revelation and according to a report from the Washington Post, Apple has since agreed to pay out $113 million in a settlement agreement.
Back then, Apple tried to be proactive when the issue first came to light. The company promised more transparency in revealing battery health to users, and also giving them options to disable throttling if they wished. The company also launched a battery replacement program in which they gave affected iPhone users a deep discount on replacing their batteries if they wished.
As part of the settlement agreement, Apple will also need to be more clear in how they disclose battery health and its power management systems both on its iPhone and online documentation.