Apple to Pay Canadian Customers Up to $150 Following iPhone Battery Controversy

by

A court in British Columbia, Canada today approved Apple's settlement related to the iPhone battery throttling controversy in 2018, according to CBC News.

iPhone 6s MacRumors YouTube
Apple agreed to pay up to $14.4 million (CAD) to settle a class action lawsuit in Canada that alleged the company secretly throttled the performance of some iPhone models. Each affected customer who submits a claim will receive a payment of between $17.50 and $150 (CAD) from Apple, with the exact payout amount to be dependent on the total number of claims submitted. More information on how to submit a claim will be shared on the settlement website, but a specific timeframe has yet to be provided.

The class includes any current or former resident of Canada (excluding Quebec) who owned and/or purchased an iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, and/or iPhone SE with iOS 10.2.1 or later installed or downloaded, and/or an iPhone 7 or iPhone 7 Plus with iOS 11.2 or later installed or downloaded, before December 21, 2017. A serial number will be required for each affected iPhone, according to CBC News.

Apple has denied the allegations described in the lawsuit, and the settlement does not represent an admission of fault. The settlement allows for Apple to avoid the additional time and costs involved with continued litigation.

Apple was sued in multiple Canadian provinces over iPhone battery throttling in 2018, including Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario, and Saskatchewan. The cases were filed shortly after Apple revealed that it had started throttling the maximum performance of some iPhone models with "chemically aged" batteries, when necessary, to prevent the devices from unexpectedly shutting down. Apple introduced this new power management system in iOS 10.2.1, but it initially failed to mention the change in that update's release notes, leading to public outcry. Apple eventually apologized about its lack of transparency, and temporarily lowered the price of iPhone battery replacements to $29 (USD) until the end of 2018.

Apple agreed to pay up to $500 million (USD) to settle a similar class action lawsuit in the U.S., and payments started going out in January there.

Tag: iPhone Slowdown

Popular Stories

iOS 26

iOS 26.4 and iOS 27 Features Revealed in New Leak

Friday December 12, 2025 10:56 am PST by
Macworld's Filipe Espósito today revealed a handful of features that Apple is allegedly planning for iOS 26.4, iOS 27, and even iOS 28. The report said the features are referenced within the code for a leaked internal build of iOS 26 that is not meant to be seen by the public. However, it appears that Espósito and/or his sources managed to gain access to it, providing us with a sneak peek...
Read Full Article • 89 comments
Apple Foldable Thumb

Leak Reveals Foldable iPhone Details

Monday December 15, 2025 9:09 am PST by
The first foldable iPhone will feature a series of design and hardware firsts for Apple, according to details shared by the Weibo leaker known as Digital Chat Station. According to a new post, via machine translation, Apple is developing what the leaker describes as a "wide foldable" device, a term used to refer to a horizontally oriented, book-style foldable with a large internal display....
Read Full Article • 139 comments
apple beta 26 lineup

Apple Leak Confirms Work on Foldable iPhone, AirTag 2, and Dozens More Devices

Monday December 15, 2025 2:05 pm PST by
Last week, details about unreleased Apple devices and future iOS features were shared by Macworld. This week, we learned where the information came from, plus we have more findings from the leak. As it turns out, an Apple prototype device running an early build of iOS 26 was sold, and the person who bought it shared the software. The OS has a version number of 23A5234w, and the first...
Read Full Article • 55 comments
iOS 26

Apple Releases iOS 26.2 With Alarms for Reminders, Lock Screen Changes, Enhanced Safety Alerts and More

Friday December 12, 2025 10:10 am PST by
Apple today released iOS 26.2, the second major update to the iOS 26 operating system that came out in September, iOS 26.2 comes a little over a month after iOS 26.1 launched. ‌iOS 26‌.2 is compatible with the ‌iPhone‌ 11 series and later, as well as the second-generation ‌iPhone‌ SE. The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones over-the-air by going to Settings >...
Read Full Article • 111 comments
iOS 26

iOS 26.2 Coming Soon With These 8 New Features on Your iPhone

Thursday December 11, 2025 8:49 am PST by
Apple seeded the second iOS 26.2 Release Candidate to developers earlier this week, meaning the update will be released to the general public very soon. Apple confirmed iOS 26.2 would be released in December, but it did not provide a specific date. We expect the update to be released by early next week. iOS 26.2 includes a handful of new features and changes on the iPhone, such as a new...
Read Full Article • 82 comments
Apple Logo Top Half

Early iOS 26 Software Leak Uncovers Dozens of Upcoming Apple Features

Monday December 15, 2025 3:05 pm PST by
Software from an iPhone prototype running an early build of iOS 26 leaked last week, giving us a glimpse at future Apple devices and iOS features. We recapped device codenames in our prior article, and now we have a list of some of the most notable feature flags that were found in the software code. In some cases, it's obvious what the feature flags are referring to, while some are more...
Read Full Article • 18 comments
macOS Tahoe 26 Thumb

Apple Releases macOS Tahoe 26.2 With Edge Light

Friday December 12, 2025 10:08 am PST by
Apple today released macOS Tahoe 26.2, the second major update to the macOS Tahoe operating system that came out in September. macOS Tahoe 26.2 comes five weeks after Apple released macOS Tahoe 26.1. Mac users can download the macOS Tahoe update by using the Software Update section of System Settings. macOS Tahoe 26.2 includes Edge Light, a feature that illuminates your face with soft...
Read Full Article • 98 comments
AirPods Pro Firmware Feature

Apple Releases New Firmware for AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods Pro 3

Thursday December 11, 2025 11:28 am PST by
Apple today released new firmware designed for the AirPods Pro 3 and the prior-generation AirPods Pro 2. The AirPods Pro 3 firmware is 8B30, up from 8B25, while the AirPods Pro 2 firmware is 8B28, up from 8B21. There's no word on what's include in the updated firmware, but the AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods Pro 3 are getting expanded support for Live Translation in the European Union in iOS...
Read Full Article • 68 comments

Top Rated Comments

erikkfi Avatar
erikkfi
23 months ago
Apple’s just getting themselves in trouble everywhere these days, aren’t they?

Of course, they never admit fault.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mike2q Avatar
mike2q
23 months ago

There's no guilt to admit to. Apple can't change the chemistry of batteries. They did what needed to be done to keep the phone working and stable.
They certainly choose the chemistry of their batteries but that's besides the point. They didn't need to throttle their phones for any end user benefits. If you believe they did then a bridge for sale metaphor comes to mind. Other phone manufacturers are somehow able to get by just fine without throttling so defending Apple on this one feels like defending an abusive relationship because you've had some good times together and they didn't mean to hurt you.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ort888 Avatar
ort888
23 months ago

They certainly choose the chemistry of their batteries but that's besides the point. They didn't need to throttle their phones for any end user benefits. If you believe they did then a bridge for sale metaphor comes to mind. Other phone manufacturers are somehow able to get by just fine without throttling so defending Apple on this one feels like defending an abusive relationship because you've had some good times together and they didn't mean to hurt you.
This is such an old story that was all hashed out over and over and over again like 5 years ago. Tons of phones had this exact problem... but rather than throttling, they just let them hard shut off. They just didn't make the headlines because they weren't apple and apple gets the clicks.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
BryanElliott Avatar
BryanElliott
23 months ago

There's no guilt to admit to. Apple can't change the chemistry of batteries. They did what needed to be done to keep the phone working and stable.
I think what most people are mad about is that apple made the choice for the customer to keep the phone slow without letting the customer know WHY and if that were the case they should have given the customer the choice in making that performance/battery life decision and at the very least give us more information about our batteries instead of hiding it from us.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
H2SO4 Avatar
H2SO4
23 months ago

There's no guilt to admit to. Apple can't change the chemistry of batteries. They did what needed to be done to keep the phone working and stable.
There was a LOT more to it than battery chemistry, but I've run out of steam to drag over it again so you can all ignore reality.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
H2SO4 Avatar
H2SO4
23 months ago

Apple was pushing for super-thin back then. It had a negative impact on battery life. Phones got thicker again, but now we're returning to thin again, likely because technology has improved.

I don't hold any hard feelings toward Apple trying to keep devices working well. Class-action lawsuits are rooted in selfish victim mindsets.
Someone takes a phone in to an Apple store with a battery problem and instead of telling the customer what the problem was they told them in a lot of cases, You need a new phone.

So the question is, did Apple know what the problem was, before offering this 'fix'? Well lets's see.........

* Apple receive millions of anonymous diagnostic reports when people sync their phones.
* Apple have an official support forum, and although they maintain that no employees actually work there, (no doubt to be able to distance themselves from bad advice), they WILL get feedback about problems.
* Apple have an official online support channel.
* Apple Stores have Genius Bars that report back their findings.
* There are countless other social media avenues that Apple will get wind of problems from, Facebook, Reddit etc.

Are you telling me that you don't believe that Apple, (collectively), lied to customers about what the problem was?
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Read All Comments