苹果同意支付1.13亿美元和解iPhone放缓的“ Batterygate”案

Apple on Wednesday agreed to pay $113 million to settle consumer fraud lawsuits brought by more than 30 states over allegations that it secretly slowed down old iPhones, a controversy that became known as "batterygate."

Apple first denied that it purposely slowed down iPhone batteries, then said it did so to preserve battery life amid widespread reports of iPhones unexpectedly turning off. The company maintained that it wasn't necessary for iPhone users to replace their sluggish phones, but state attorneys general led by Arizona found people saw no other choice.

法庭文件显示，苹果是世界上最有价值的公司，它通过隐藏关闭和减速问题来采取欺骗性行动。

"Many consumers decided that the only way to get improved performance was to purchase a newer-model iPhone from Apple," Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich wrote in a complaint made public on Wednesday. "Apple, of course, fully understood such effects on sales."

According to state investigators, the move boosted iPhone sales "potentially by millions of devices per year."

据报道，这种放缓影响了2014年至2016年间发布的Apple手机。在iPhone用户在Reddit和技术博客上抱怨之后，这种情况才首次曝光。

At the time, Apple claimed the unexpected iPhone shutdowns affected a "very small number" of iPhones, but state investigators say that behind the scenes, Apple worked to conceal the problem from the public.

苹果公司发言人拒绝就和解发表评论。作为交易的一部分，苹果公司不承认违反任何法律或任何其他不法行为。

最终，在2017年12月，苹果确实承认了旨在解决设备关闭问题的电池减慢情况，导致该公司罕见地道歉。

"We have never — and would never — do anything to intentionally shorten the life of any Apple product, or degrade the user experience to drive customer upgrades," Apple stated at the time.

苹果在三月份同意支付高达5亿美元的赔偿，以了结有意减慢旧手机速度的指控。这项和解协议要求苹果为每部iPhone的消费者至少支付25美元，尽管一些已经在新设备上花费数百美元的消费者认为付款太少，太迟。

As part of Wednesday's settlement, $113 million will be distributed among the states, including California, Tennessee and Pennsylvania. The funds will cover attorneys' fees and will be used to fund future consumer protection investigators. Apple also agreed to operate a website that makes iPhone updates that affect batteries "clear and conspicuous" to consumers. The agreement still awaits final approval from the court.

Starting in 2018, iPhone users have been able to better control an iPhone's battery life and check on the health of the battery.

Arizona Attorney General Brnovich said the settlement on Wednesday exposed Apple's deceptive behavior around battery throttling.

"Big Tech companies must stop manipulating consumers and tell them the whole truth about their practices and products," Brnovich said. "I'm committed to holding these Goliath technology companies to account if they conceal the truth from their users."