As common as class action lawsuits and settlements are today, scams posing as settlements are just as prevalent. So it’s not surprising some people might be skeptical when they receive a settlement claims check they didn’t expect.
Some iPhone owners went to Reddit to express their confusion as to why they had received $92 from Apple. VERIFY reader RG emailed us to ask, “Apple begins ‘Batterygate’ payments to iPhone owners. Is this a real thing?"
THE QUESTION
Are $92 Apple settlement checks real?
THE SOURCES
THE ANSWER
Yes, $92 Apple settlement checks are real.
WHAT WE FOUND
Settlement administrators have started mailing out checks for $92.17 in January to people who submitted eligible claims in 2020 for a class-action lawsuit against Apple regarding device updates that slowed down some iPhones struggling with battery issues.
The class-action lawsuit was called “In Re: Apple Inc. Device Performance Litigation” by the U.S. court system. The official settlement website is smartphoneperformancesettlement.com, according to court documents.
A Jan. 9, 2024 update to smartphoneperformancesettlement.com said distribution of settlement payouts began Jan. 5, 2024. The payments are being sent out on a rolling basis and will conclude at the end of January, the website says.
Claimants will receive $92.17 per device, according to Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy, one of the two law firms that co-led the lawsuit.
People can no longer submit claims. That’s because the claims process took place in 2020 after the settlement received preliminary approval. Over 2 million claims filed by the original Oct. 6, 2020 deadline were approved, according to court documents.
The reason people are receiving their checks now is because certain aspects of the original settlement were appealed and the legal disputes weren’t resolved until August 2023, according to Kaplan Fox, the other law firm that co-led the lawsuit.
As part of the settlement, Apple agreed to pay between $310 million and $500 million to consumers. Apple did not admit liability or wrongdoing as part of the settlement.
The class action lawsuit was based on allegations that Apple issued software updates that slowed down the performance of iPhones. The updates, which were released in early 2017, followed a period of time in which many iPhone owners reported issues with the battery life of their phones. Some people reported that their phones would cut off at 30% battery and wouldn’t turn back on unless they were put back on the charger first.
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