Italy has fined Apple $12 million (about Sh1.3 billion) for misleading its buyers about the iPhone’s waterproof feature.
Reuters has reported that the Italian Competition Authority, Autorita Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato (AGSM) imposed the fine for false reports by the company which affected the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 plus models.
Apple was accused of not being clear about the iPhone’s water resistant claims. According to a press release by the AGSM, Apple said that the iPhones are water resistant for up to 30 minutes at a depth of up to 4 meters.
Read: Apple Unveils iPhone 12 Featuring 4K Screen, 5G Capabilities and more
However, the Italian regulator found that Apple failed to indicate that the resistance only applies in certain conditions like controlled lab tests with pure water.
Ironically, Apple in its warranty also issued a disclaimer saying that water damage is not covered in the iPhone’s warranty; despite marketing the phone as a water resistant device.
AGSM also fined Apple and Samsung about two years ago for throttling older devices with software updates. Apple was fined Sh1.3 billion for violations which included; withholding battery performance information from its clients and throttling the performance of older iPhones without giving any warning.
A similar scenario dubbed “batterygate” in the US saw the tech giant agree to settlements worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
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