Apple and Samsung fined for slowing down phones with updates

CNET ^ | October 25, 2018 | Marrian Zhou

[fireman15]

Apple and Samsung were fined Wednesday for software updates that Italy's antitrust watchdog said slowed down users' phones.

The Italian Competition Authority, or AGCM, fined Apple and Samsung 5 million euros (about $5.7 million) each for releasing software updates that "significantly reduced" the performance of phones, the AGCM said in a statement.

Both companies urged people to install updates that weren't "adequately supported by their devices," the AGCM said, adding that Apple and Samsung failed to provide customers with an "effective way to recover the full functionality of their devices." This pushed consumers to buy new devices, according to the AGCM.

Apple was fined an additional 5 million euros for allegedly failing to provide adequate information on how to maintain and replace phone batteries.

[fireman15]

I have been watching this story develop over the past couple of days. The problem of older devices bogging down is a problem not just with phones, but with computers as well. Who hasn't noticed older computers that used to seem quite zippy becoming bogged down on websites that are packed with processor intensive ads and code. Fortunately we can thank Free Republic for still being accessible to even those who eschew the latest technology.

But it often seems that these days one has to become a computer or phone expert to keep their older devices from slowing to a crawl. This is for various reasons, but it it all seems to work to force one into buying ever more powerful devices. I didn't really mind when this was for making photo, video editing, 3D rendering, or raw number crunching less time intensive, but these days it is being used against us for better tracking and targeting us for ads and leftist nonsense.

[adorno]

So, is the Italian government going to use the penalty money to help the affected consumers, or are they going to use the penalty money for general expenses and other giveaways?

It could be that Italy was the testing ground for other countries, where they may insist on getting their just dues for the Apple and Samsung deeds?

BTW, what Apple and Samsung did here is not exactly applicable to PCs? There were no automatic updates from MS to offset the slowdowns on people’s or companies’ PCs.

[horsappl]

Linux Ubuntu is as easy to install as Windows these days. I have installed in on several older machines for people who are technically challenged so they can use old machines for web browsing. They run like new and do not get bogged down with spyware or updates.

[fireman15]

BTW, what Apple and Samsung did here is not exactly applicable to PCs?

The mechanisms are not the same but the same results are similar.

[fireman15]

Linux Ubuntu is as easy to install as Windows these days.

I have Linux installed in virtual machines. The issue is that many of the programs that I use are not compatible.

[SkyPilot]

I had an older iPad. Early on, it was fast as could be, especially on the net.

After several "updates" it was completely useless.

[fuzzylogic]

There’s lots of different reasons for slow downs. I believe the issue here is that the battery isn’t replaceable and degrades over time - so their “solution” was to slow the processor down so it consumes less energy.

Is this reasonable though? It’s the reality of these battery technologies. They could have left things alone and users would just experience terrible battery performance requiring almost perpetual charging. If the phone isn’t designed to easily replace the battery then I would, as a user, probably accept the changes.

What Apple should probably have done is to fully disclose what the update would impact and let the user make the choice. That said, it would be difficult to manage future updates - likely needed for security patching - if you have groups of users that made different choices.

[VastRWCon]

I had an older iPad. Early on, it was fast as could be, especially on the net. After several “updates” it was completely useless.

**************************************************

Yep I have one I only use as a radio (iheart)

[adorno]

The mechanisms are not the same but the same results are similar.

The mechanisms are the important part. The results on the PC side were not as a consequence or directly related to anything that Microsoft did. Samsung and Apple took it upon themselves to manipulate people's smartphones remotely and without informing the owners. And no, it's not about updates that are normal when it comes to "fixing" stuff or making things better or adding features to software. Apple and Samsung were fearful of people getting the idea that their smartphones were somehow flawed and dying early deaths, and didn't want the bad publicity that comes from those kind of incidents.

[fireman15]

After several “updates” it was completely useless.

This is the type of issue that I have noticed with numerous electronic devices in the past few years. The odd thing is earlier in digital electronics history when hardware advances were proportionally much greater the useful life of my devices were definitely longer. I had an “IBM Thinkpad” that I used for over ten years. The thing is still outwardly perfect. These days it seems like I am very lucky to get five years out of any device. They not only become intolerably slow... they actually start falling apart.

[mabarker1]

Exactly why I go with the KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid) Plan. Windoze updates are turned OFF, when I was running Mozilla/Foxfire/Firefox whatever I didn’t update them, JAVA, iOS & Android got no updates. I now run Brave Browser and am still 2 iOS updates behind. Things run fine.

I don’t go anywhere else but FR, E-Mail and a few Links via FR, uploads to My Pic Hosting site and pay some Bills every month.

Oh yeah, during Election Season I go to some politicians sites to complain.

[Squantos]

Risk taker yew .....

[mabarker1]

Well someone has to do it.😀