Smartphone manufacturing giants Apple and Samsung drew stiff fines from Italian watchdog AGCM for releasing software updates that allegedly compromised the performance of phones. Of the two, the former drew another fine for failure to address battery problems of older iPhones.
The Italian Competition Authority fined both Apple and Samsung $5.6 million each for the controversial phone software updates. Further, they claim that these were done purposely to force customers to buy new devices.
Apple ended up getting a double whammy after the antitrust watchdog penalized them an additional $5.6 million for failing to provide additional information on how users can maintain and/or replace the phone batteries, CNet said.
For those who may have missed it, Apple admitted last December that it tried to slow down phones to resolve battery issues. However, they clarified that it was not their intention to force owners to buy new phones.
Aside from the hefty fines, AGCM also ordered both Apple and Samsung to publish a declaration on the Italian page of their websites about the decision. The whole row did not sit well with Samsung with the Korean company reasoning that they did not issue any software update that reduced the performance, particularly the Samsung Galaxy Note 4.
Further, Samsung adds that they have always released software updates to help patrons get the best user experience. They plan to take legal action to appeal the decision. For their part, Apple has yet to issue a statement on the matter.
It turns out that AGCM performed two complex investigations to determine if both companies had undertaken unfair commercial practices. If so, these were in direct violation of Articles 20, 21, 22 and 24 of the Consumer Code in relation to the release of some firmware updates for their mobile phones which caused serious malfunctions and significantly reduced their performance, speeding up their replacement with more recent products, according to the AGCM website.
Dealing with the performance of phones is something that can usually be addressed by patches released by Apple and/or Samsung. But while these updates do address problems that hardware and software bring, new issues normally crop up. Hence, it becomes a game of cat-and-mouse, leaving most apprehensive of being cautious before applying them.
The bottom line here is that Apple and Samsung do practice due diligence when it comes to addressing phone problems. On the matter of forcing consumers to buy new phones, such is debatable and entirely dependent on the owner with their financial stature playing a role in the final verdict on whether to upgrade or not.
