Investigators at the U.S. Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission are looking into whether or not Apple violated securities laws when it disclosed that it throttles CPU speeds on some iPhones.
Apple revealed at the beginning of the year that it intentionally lowers the speed on iPhones with older batteries to prevent unwanted crashes. Customers in numerous counties have filed lawsuits against the iPhone maker. Now it appears that the feds are getting ready to weigh in.
Customers received an apology from Apple earlier this month for the throttling. The company says it plans to release a new tool in iOS 11.3 that gives customers more information about their battery, as well as a toggle to choose between better battery performance or full CPU power.
Government officials have requested information from Apple about the CPU throttling according to a report from Bloomberg. The inquiry is currently in the early stages and it’s unknown if Apple will face any legal ramifications.
Slowdowns on iPhones only occur when the battery life of a device has been used up past a certain level. Replacing the battery with a new one will bring devices back to full performance. Apple is offering to replace all iPhone batteries for just $29 during all of 2018 as a way to make up for the throttling.
Buster Hein is a freelance writer who lives in Phoenix, Arizona. Twitter: @bst3r.
One response to “Apple faces DoJ probe over throttled iPhones”
DOJ and SEC … Better have told the truth on investor calls or someone is going to jail.
I could see how Apple manipulated shareholders by knowingly slowing down phones with updates, we’ll all know in about 2-3 years. My 950 has not slowed down and its three years old.