Apple to pay Iowa more than $1.5 million over 2016 iPhone throttling lawsuit

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) - Attorney General Tom Miller and 30 other attorneys general announced on Wednesday a $113 million settlement with Apple, Inc. over its decision in 2016 to throttle the speed of consumers' iPhones to keep them from unexpectedly shutting down.

That includes $1,517,959 to Iowa.

In a news release, Miller said a multistate investigation discovered that Apple knew about a battery issue that caused iPhones to shut down.

However, the attorneys general allege Apple concealed the issue from consumers by issuing a software update in December 2016 that slowed the performance of the device to prevent them from turning off.

The attorneys general further allege that Apple profited off selling affected customers additional iPhones due to their concealment of the battery issue and the throttling of performance.

“Apple never acknowledged a problem until iPhone customers discovered it and complained,” Miller said. “This settlement ensures the company provides clear and useful information to consumers going forward.”

Miller said under the settlement Apple must also provide truthful information about its iPhone battery health, performance and power management on its website, in update installation notes and in the phone’s user interface.