Apple had to face more questions about the issue of slowing down older iPhones on Monday. According to a Reuters report, a powerful Chinese consumer group has demanded that the company provides clarity on this matter before Friday.
The demand was issued by the Shanghai Consumer Council. In a letter the organisation sent to the Cupertino-based company yesterday, it demanded an “explanation for the slowdown” as well as information about what Apple intends to do regarding the problem.
Detailed info about the Shanghai Consumer Council’s letter to Apple is not available at this early stage, but based on what happened in similar situations in the past Apple might simply refer the council to a letter it issued last month.
Although the Shanghai Consumer Council has the approval of the Chinese authorities, it is not a governmental organisation as such. According to Reuters, the council received no less than 2,615 complaints regarding Apple products last year, a huge increase over the 965 complaints it had to deal with in 2015.
The Shanghai Consumer Council is not the first agency to approach Apple for full information regarding what seems to be the intentional slowdown of older iPhones. In the US the company has already been questioned by legislators from both the House Energy and Commerce Committee and the Senate Commerce Committee.
Apple is currently also fighting a host of lawsuits across the globe about its practice of purposefully slowing down ageing iPhones with older batteries. For example, the company is being sued by the same legal firm that was behind the $450m e-book price fixing case a couple of years ago.
Don’t hold your breath for Apple to acknowledge any wrongdoing though – it’s much more likely the company will simply stick to its original explanation.