Apple faces US probe after phone slow downs

Apple has confirmed it has been contacted by US agencies over its admission it has been slowing down the performance of older devices.

According to Bloomberg, Apple has been contacted by the US Department of Justice and the SEC which are in the preliminary stages of investigating wrongdoing to any of the claims. This is very much a hushed investigation for the moment and it is not sure what sort of financial penalties, if any, the iLeader would face if found guilty.

It should also be noted that while Apple has confirmed it has been contacted by US agencies, it has not given any specifics. The US Department of Justice and the SEC have only been named by anonymous sources so far.

The question of whether Apple has been slowing down older devices is seemingly a moot point now, it did admit it after all, but what is less clear is whether these agencies believe such activities are justified. Apple might be able to squeeze out of this difficult corner should it be able to convince the unknown agency that the slowdown was for the benefit of user experience overall.

Over the Christmas period Apple came clean over the slow down. It was slowing down the performance of older device as a means of improving battery life and to avoid devices shutting down at random times. Such actions were only used to improve the experience of the device for the consumer and nothing to do with the fact that a clunky devices makes an expensive upgrade more of a necessity for the poor iCultists, who are constantly being bleed dry by the iBoss. Since Apple’s admission of the slow down, it has seemingly gone on the offensive.

“We did say what it was, but I don’t think a lot of people were paying attention,” Apple CEO Tim Cook said to ABC in January. “And maybe we should have been clearer.”

The slow down wasn’t Apple’s fault, but the fault of the user for not paying attention to announcements made by the iMafioso in some obscure communications back-channel. And we thought it was Apple screwing the user, when it is the world screwing Apple.

Such headlines will not be welcomed by Apple executives who are already facing potential legal action in France and Italy for the planned obsolescence claims. Reports also state sales of the iPhone X were lower than expected, though details will be clearer during the company’s earnings call later this week. Although it is too early to tell, entering the smart speaker market late with a device which is amazingly more expensive than anything else on the market, might compound the misery for Apple.