Italian watchdog condemns Apple and Samsung for software updates



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By: Reuters | Rome |

Last Updated: October 25, 2018 01:00:10





Italian consumer groups have complained that mobile software updates reduce device functionality and are designed to encourage customers to buy new devices. new handsets. (File)

The Italian Antitrust Supervisory Authority on Wednesday sentenced $ 5.7 million to Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd following complaints that they had used software updates to slow down their phones. portable. Apple has been fined another $ 5 million for failing to clearly indicate to its customers how to maintain or possibly replace the handset batteries.

Italian consumer groups have complained that software updates for mobile phones are reducing the functionality of devices. push customers to buy new handsets. The antitrust entity said in a statement that some firmware updates Apple and Samsung "had caused serious malfunctions and significantly reduced performance, thus speeding up the replacement process."

He added that the two companies had not provided the customers with sufficient information on the impact of the new software "or any means to restore the original functionality of the products ". Apple acknowledged last year that the iPhone software had the effect of slowing down some phones with battery problems, but denied having ever done anything to intentionally shorten the life of a product.

The company apologized for its actions and reduced the cost of replacing the battery. He also announced that he would change software to show users if the batteries on their phones were working well. Samsung's software updates for its phones have not been questioned yet. However, the Italian regulator said that he had acted as a result of complaints about the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 released in September 2014.

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He revealed, during a review several months, Samsung's customer service records and internal emails that an Android operating system The update released in 2016 was not optimized for the Galaxy Note 4. The update resulted in serious malfunctions, including unwanted automatic reboots, as it placed too much emphasis on aging devices Note 4, the regulator concluded.

Samsung said in a statement was disappointed with the decision and would appeal. "Samsung has not released any software updates that reduce Galaxy Note 4 performance," the statement said. "On the other hand, Samsung has always released software updates that give our customers the best possible experience," he said.

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