They will have to pay 10m and 5m Euros in fines respectively
A ruling in Italy decided that Apple and Samsung are guilty of “planned obsolescence” for slowing down their phones through software updates.
The ruling stems from an investigation conducted last January, where Italy’s antitrust watchdog found that software updates made phones slower than expected. This was documented when a Galaxy Note 4 was updated to a software intended for the Galaxy Note 7, and when an iPhone 6 was installed with iOS10—the OS installed on the iPhone 7.
In a statement, the antitrust watchdog explained that the operating system updates “caused serious malfunctions and significantly reduced performance, thus accelerating phones’ substitution”.
The decision is the first of its kind against phone manufacturers. However, this decision is limited to Italy, and that a similar investigation is being done in France. A Samsung spokesperson said that they are disappointed with the decision and that they intend to appeal the fine.
Apple has yet made a statement regarding the decision as of this writing.
