Kaitlyn Cimino / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Apple has agreed to a $20 million settlement in response to a class-action lawsuit alleging Apple Watch battery swell damage.
- Apple Watch First Generation, Series 1, Series 2, and Series 3 models are potentially affected.
- Claimants can expect to receive about $20 per Watch.
Dealing with batteries is arguably the single most frustrating aspect of owning mobile electronics, and for as exasperating as the batteries in our phones can prove, they’ve got nothing on the challenges faced by wearables. Smartwatches rely on a whole arsenal of tricks to pull every last minute of endurance they can out of some legitimately tiny batteries. But what happens when the batteries themselves turn on us? Apple Watch owners have been complaining about damage from swollen batteries for years, and now they could be finally about to get some compensation.
Apple has agreed to settle a class-action lawsuit concerning battery-related damage to some of its oldest Apple Watch models: First Generation, Series 1, Series 2, and Series 3. While Apple does not admit to any underlying hardware flaws, the company has conceded to pay $20 million into a fund set up to compensate affected owners.
We’re not just talking about batteries losing their ability to hold a charge here, or the kind of swelling that makes us nervous about a battery bursting into flames. With these Apple Watch models, the tight spaces involved meant that battery expansion ended up damaging other expensive components, like the smartwatch’s screen.
So who can get some of this money, and how much? Basically, you need to own one of those affected Apple Watch models, and Apple’s records must reflect that the Watch has reported issues potentially related to battery swell in the United States. The actual payout will vary based on the number of claimants involved, and is estimated to be about $20 per Apple Watch — up to a maximum of $50. There does not appear to be a per-person limit if you have multiple devices experiencing this same issue.
Like any class action, you have the choice to opt out if you’d rather settle your beef with Apple directly. You can get full details on how to do that, or just to make sure you’re registered as a member of the settlement class, over on the settlement website.
