Korean iPhone users lose W2b 'Batterygate' suit - The Korea Herald

A South Korean tribunal ruled connected Thursday that Apple did not deliberately dilatory down the show of its iPhone handsets, dismissing immoderate 9,800 Korean smartphone buyers' suit for 2 cardinal won ($1.64 million) against the United States electronics giant.

"The suit is dismissed," a tribunal justice concisely said, without elaborating arsenic to the crushed for the ruling. The ruling besides indicated the plaintiffs are liable for the entirety of attorneys' fees.

The ruling comes 5 years aft the radical of electronics consumers successful Korea filed the civilian suit demanding damages of 200,000 won each, which was past considered the biggest people enactment successful Korea's history, with immoderate 64,000 plaintiffs initially.

The suit alleged that Apple had induced users of the iPhone 6, 7 and their variants to bash a bundle upgrade successful 2016 that caused a slowdown of its mobile processors truthful that users would beryllium forced to regenerate their products for newer ones. Users besides claimed they were not fixed immoderate announcement successful beforehand astir what was besides known arsenic "throttling" aft the upgrade.

Apple has denied the claims, saying the telephone slowdown was meant to sphere the beingness of the aging artillery aft a bundle upgrade, not to merchantability caller products.

The territory tribunal ruling was antecedently delayed from Jan. 19.

The ruling stands successful opposition with that of the US, arsenic iPhone users successful 34 states had reached a colony that imposed a $113 cardinal good connected Apple.

Hannuri, the instrumentality steadfast representing the users, said successful a connection Thursday that the ruling highlighted the request for changes successful Korea's judicial strategy specified that each of those aggrieved by wrongful behaviour bash not person to beryllium contiguous astatine the suit, arsenic good arsenic a find process to unit plaintiffs and defendants to uncover grounds to beryllium presented from the opening of the trial.

By Son Ji-hyoung (consnow@heraldcorp.com)