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To expandA fine of 10 million euros and 5 million euros has been fined in South Korea for Apple and Samsung. An investigation in January by antitrust and antitrust authorities in the country showed that some smartphone software updates were in progress. Have a negative impact on the performance of the devices.
The decision of the Italian authorities would probably be the first of its kind against smartphone manufacturers. Investigators blame such as deliberately slowing the performance of obsolete mobile phones through updates and encouraging users to buy new phones, The Guardian reported.
"Apple and Samsung have adopted unfair business practices," said the antitrust authority, pointing out that operating system updates were causing serious failures and poor performance, accelerating the process of replacing old users with new phones.
The two companies have not given their customers enough information about the impact of new operating systems on their old phones, nor about any other method that can be used to restore the business. 39, the material efficiency of the origin, said the head of the regulation.
Samsung gave the owners of its Galaxy Note 4 a new version of Google's Android operating system dedicated to the latest Galaxy Note 7, but its users found that it was slowing down the operating system.
Apple has introduced to its owners the iPhone 6 operating system designed for iPhone 7, which has caused problems for obsolete owners.
The regulator sentenced the two companies to a fine of up to € 5 million each and ordered them to publish on their websites a penalty notice intended for Italian users in order to inform customers of the decision to the Commission.
An additional fine of 5 million euros was imposed on Apple for not clearly informing consumers about the "essential" characteristics of lithium batteries, including their average life expectancy and how to retain or replace them on the batteries. iPhones.
In December, Apple agreed to deliberately slow down iPhone devices with degraded batteries through software updates to avoid any sudden shutdown issues.
The company then apologized for its actions and reduced battery replacement costs, added information about the battery status in the iOS system and allowed users to slow down the handsets of the battery. iPhone.
The Italian Antimonopoly Authority opened its investigation following customer complaints in parallel with a similar investigation conducted in France, an investigation that has not yet been reached and which constitutes an offense under French law to deliberately shorten the life of any product. to boost sales. The French Consumer Protection Agency is able to charge up to 5% of the value of annual sales or to impose a prison sentence.
In January, the US Senate asked Apple questions about the slow pace of iPhones and a series of massive lawsuits across the country. More than 60 separate US lawsuits have been ordered as part of a single action in Northern California, still underway.
On the contrary, Samsung has always released updates that allow our customers to get the best experience possible, "said a spokesman for Samsung, expressing dissatisfaction with the decision and its intention to appeal the fine .
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