Apple, Samsung fined for slowing phones

Italy’s competition authority yesterday said it was fining Apple and Samsung $11.5 and $5.7 million respectively for the “planned obsolescence” of their smartphones. An investigation by the anti-trust authority revealed that “Apple and Samsung implemented dishonest commercial practices”, a statement said.

Operating system updates “caused serious malfunctions and significantly reduced performance, thus accelerating phones’ substitution.” Samsung told owners of its Note 4 phone to install a new version of Google’s Android operating system intended for the more recent Note 7 but which rendered the old model sluggish.

Likewise, Apple told iPhone 6 owners to install an operating system designed for the iPhone 7, leading to problems for owners of the older model. Apple was also found to have failed to tell customers about “essential” characteristics of its phones’ lithium batteries, including their average life and how to prolong that life.