Apple, the well-known tech company, has decided to pay $20 million to bring an end to a class-action lawsuit that was filed over battery issues in its Apple Watch devices. This lawsuit was started back in 2019 in a U.S. court located in Northern California. It claimed that the batteries in the first four versions of the Apple Watch had a problem where they would swell up.
So, what does battery swelling mean? Essentially, it happens when heat and gas build up inside a lithium-ion battery, which is the type of battery Apple’s devices use. As the gas accumulates, the battery can start to expand, which can cause damage not only to itself but also to other parts of the watch because everything is packed closely together.
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Despite agreeing to settle the lawsuit, Apple maintains that the claims are not true and insists that the watches in question didn’t have any battery swelling issues. They said the settlement was a way to avoid ongoing legal expenses from a case that lasted over five years. According to court documents, “Apple denies all of the allegations made in the lawsuit, denies that the covered watches experienced any issues related to battery swell, and denies that Apple did anything improper or unlawful.”
In a statement to a tech news site, Apple added that they believe the Apple Watch models are safe and reliable. This settlement specifically applies to people who purchased the original Apple Watch and its early versions, which are no longer sold in stores. While Apple disagrees with the claims made against these older models, they chose to reach a settlement in order to prevent further legal disputes.
If you owned one of these affected Apple Watch models and experienced battery swelling, you might be eligible for some compensation. To qualify for a payout, you need to have contacted Apple customer service about your battery issue sometime between April 24, 2015, and February 6, 2024. Also, you must be living in the United States. If you qualify, you will be notified by mail or email. The amount you could receive will depend on how many issues you reported, with payouts ranging from $20 to $50.
In order to collect your payment, you will need to provide your payment information on the official site for the lawsuit before the deadline of April 10, 2025.
Interestingly, this settlement comes shortly after another company, Fitbit, which is owned by Google, was ordered to pay $12.25 million due to problems with a different device, where their smartwatch had issues with overheating batteries.
