Apple faces Italian suit over iPhones that wear out too quickly

Milan: Apple Inc faces an Italian class-action lawsuit seeking compensation over misleading claims about the battery life of older iPhones. Euroconsumers, an international consumer organisation, said on Monday it filed the suit in Italy. The move follows similar cases filed last month in Belgium and Spain concerning users of various iPhone 6 devices.

Owners “expect sustainable quality products,” Els Bruggeman, head of policy and enforcement at Euroconsumers, said in a statement. “Unfortunately, that is not what happened with the iPhone 6 series. Not only were consumers defrauded, and did they have to face frustration and financial harm, from an environmental point of view, it is also utterly irresponsible.”

The lawsuits mirror US cases over claims that the company misled consumers about iPhone battery power and software updates that slowed the performance of the devices. The company in November agreed to pay $113 million to settle a case with multiple US regulators while customers are seeking approval from a US court for a class-action settlement that could be worth as much as $500 million.