Over 180,000 Korean iPhone users to join class-action lawsuit

Over 180,000 Korean iPhone users to join class-action lawsuit. January. 01, 2018 07:28. by Jae-Hee Kim jetti@donga.com.

Consumer dissatisfaction is at an all-time high over the compensation plan for intentionally slowing down older iPhones. The number of people wanting to participate in the domestic class action lawsuit against Apple has passed 180,000 as of Sunday afternoon.

According to Hannuri Law, the law firm currently taking application for participation in the “slowing iPhone performance class action lawsuit,” around 180,000 people applied by Sunday 2 p.m. The number of applicants was around 20,000 by Saturday morning, but since Apple’s compensation plan announcement, which was made on Friday local time, the number increased by 150,000 in one day. Law Firm Hwimyung is also accepting an authorization to conduct through an online forum.

Consumer anger toward Apple has not dissipated because of the dissatisfaction over the compensation plan Apple presented. The tech giant said it would reduce the price of an out-of-warranty iPhone battery replacement from 79 dollars to 29 dollars for anyone with an iPhone 6 or later whose battery needs to be replaced.

Apple Korea also announced it would cut the price of battery replacements for Korean users with an iPhone 6 or later from 100,000 won to 34,000 won. As Apple has acknowledged slowing down older iPhone performance with its iOS update, more iPhone users are urging a free battery replacement.