Italy Fines Apple 10 Million Euros for Throttling iPhones

The Italian Competition Authority (AGCM) has fined both Apple and Samsung for releasing software updates that have significantly reduced the performance of their smartphones leading to accelerated consumer replacement. AGCM ascertained that Apple and Samsung were in violation of Articles 20, 21, 22 and 24 of the Consumer Code.

The two companies induced customers to download updates without adequately informing customers of the effect on their devices, nor providing a way to recover full functionality.

With respect to Apple, since September 2016, it has insistently suggested to consumers that had purchased an iPhone 6 (6/6Plus and 6s/6sPlus, marketed respectively from Autumn 2014 and 2015) to install the new operating system iOS 10, optimized for the next model iPhone7, without informing consumers of the greater energy demand of the new operating system and of possible inconveniences – in particular, sudden shutdowns - that such software update could cause. To limit the occurrence of such inconveniencies, Apple released, in February 2017, a new update (iOS 10.2.1), without warning consumers that its installation could reduce the speed of execution and functionality of devices. In addition, Apple did not offer any specific support measures for iPhones that had experienced such operating problems and were no longer covered by the legal warranty; only in December 2017 Apple provided for the possibility to replace batteries at a discounted price.


Furthermore, Apple also violated Article 22 of the Consumer Code as it had not provided customers with instructions on how to maintain, verify, and replace batteries in order to preserve full functionality of devices.

Samsung's violation involves the Note 4:

Samsung, since May 2016, has insistently suggested to consumers that had purchased Note 4 (marketed from September 2014), to install the new firmware based on the new Marshmallow version of Android, conceived for the new device Note 7, without informing them of the serious malfunctions that the new firmware could cause due to greater stress of device's hardware and asking a high repair cost for out-of-warranty repairs connected to such malfunctions.

Samsung has been fined 5 million euros for one violation and Apple has been fined 10 million euros (5 million for each violation).


Both companies will need to publish an amending declaration on their Italian websites detailing the Authority's resolution and a providing a link to its assessment decision.

Apple is facing around 60 class action lawsuits for slowing down the iPhone 6s. The company's remedy of offering discounted $29 battery replacements is set to expire on December 31, 2018. Please follow iClarified on Twitter, Facebook, or RSS for updates.