Apple can’t block iPhone ‘throttling’ lawsuit, London court rules

Apple must face a UK class action lawsuit that accuses the company of knowingly using defective batteries in certain iPhone models, as reported earlier by Reuters. In a ruling on Wednesday, London’s Competition Appeal Tribunal denied Apple’s request to block the lawsuit.

Last year, Justin Gutmann filed a lawsuit against Apple that alleges the company installed batteries in the iPhone 6, 6 Plus, 6S, 6S Plus, SE, 7, and 7 Plus that couldn’t keep up with the device’s processor or operating system. The suit accuses Apple of hiding this issue while also continuing to push automatic software updates including a power management tool that slowed down, or “throttled,” their processors.

“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 spokesperson Tom Parker tells The Verge. “Our goal has always been to create products that our customers love, and making iPhones last as long as possible is an important part of that.”

Update November 1st, 11:51AM ET: Added a statement from an Apple spokesperson.