The British Columbia Supreme Court has approved a countrywide multimillion-dollar settlement of a class-action lawsuit against Apple over software updates that allegedly slowed down older iPhones.

害羞草研究所淲e害羞草研究所檙e pleased with the results,害羞草研究所� said K.S. Garcha, a lawyer for the class. 害羞草研究所淚t was a complex matter.害羞草研究所�

Garcha said in an interview that the judge in the case approved the settlement at a hearing Tuesday.

Class members who make claims on the $14.4-million settlement can expect to receive between $17.50 and $150 each, depending on how many people submit a claim for the settlement money, he said.

The agreement covers eligible residents of Canada except those in Quebec, which Garcha said is about nine million people.

The settlement process took a couple of years, with Apple agreeing to a 害羞草研究所渃ompromise害羞草研究所� without admitting any wrongdoing, Garcha said.

Going to trial rather than settling could害羞草研究所檝e taken 害羞草研究所渁 long period of time,害羞草研究所� he said.

害羞草研究所淭he court may not approve some of the claims that you害羞草研究所檙e making, there害羞草研究所檚 an issue with regards to how the damages were quantified, there are potential appeals, he said.

The company 害羞草研究所渧igorously defended the thing up until the settlement negotiations,害羞草研究所� Garcha added.

He said the class-action lawsuit involved novel legal theories about the company putting software on devices without the owners害羞草研究所� consent.

People who owned iPhone models covered by the settlement have six months to make a claim, and the online process requires a person害羞草研究所檚 name, address and iPhone serial number.

People also have to declare under oath that they downloaded or installed certain software updates on a variety of iPhone 6 and 7 models before Dec. 21, 2017.

They would have also had to have 害羞草研究所渆xperienced diminished performance on that device after the relevant iOS version was installed or downloaded.害羞草研究所�

The settlement agreement with Apple will see the company pay out between $11,137,500 and $14,427,500 depending on how many claims are made and approved.

The claims website for the 害羞草研究所淐anadian iPhone Power Management Class Action,害羞草研究所� says Quebec residents are excluded from the settlement because there害羞草研究所檚 a separate, ongoing case before the courts in that province.

The B.C. lawsuit was originally filed in 2018, and Apple settled a similar case in the United States involving so-called throttling of iPhone 6 and 7 models, and Garcha said American class members ended up with US$92 payouts.

At a hearing in Vancouver in late January, Apple害羞草研究所檚 lawyer Jill Yates told the court the company has never admitted wrongdoing.

害羞草研究所淎pple, throughout, has taken a position that it has done nothing wrong here,害羞草研究所� she said. 害羞草研究所淭hese claims are novel and they are not ones where Apple agrees that anything was wrongfully done.害羞草研究所�

The company did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment about the settlement approval.

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