Illinois Residents Sue Apple Over iPhone Slowdown

CHICAGO, IL — Two Illinois iPhone owners have filed a class-action lawsuit against Apple after the company admitted it slows down older iPhones. Apple said it made a controversial decision to use software updates to slow processing power in older devices. The company said the updates ensure the phones don't unexpectedly shut down.

Attorneys with the Sulaiman Law Group Ltd. of Lombard, filed the lawsuit Thursday in Chicago federal court on behalf of a group of iPhone owners, which included two Illinois residents, Ala Abdulla and Lance Raphael, and three other plaintiffs from Indiana, Ohio and North Carolina.

The lawsuit claims the updates "wreaked havoc" on batteries in the iPhone 5, 6 and some iPhone 7 models. The lawsuit says simple fixes could have kept the iPhones running more smoothly.

"Apple's decision to purposefully slowdown or throttle down these devices was undertaken to fraudulently induce consumers to purchase the latest iPhone versions of the iPhone 7, as well as new phones such as the iPhone 8 and iPhone X," the lawsuit says.

The lawsuit says Apple never informed its customers it was intentionally slowing down their iPhones, or suggested they install new batteries.

A spokesperson for Apple could not immediately be reached for comment.

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