back to article Apple chucks $3 at iPhone users after killing FaceTime on iOS 6 because it didn't want to pay connectivity charges

Apple has agreed to settle a class-action lawsuit brought by folks upset the iGiant broke FaceTime overnight on millions of iPhones. The settlement amounts to a few bucks a device, meaning the Cupertino giant almost certainly made a net profit in the process. This week the Tim Cook-led corporation said it would pay $18m [PDF] …

  1. anthonyhegedus Silver badge

    Yes, it’s annoying. But technology moves on. Apple should have kept the service going at least till iOS 9. But lots of things break when OSes get an upgrade.

    Maybe the issue is that they could have kept it going a while longer. At the end of the day it benefits nobody but the lawyers. It certainly doesn’t benefit the end users. We are learning more and more that not everything works if it’s profit driven.

    Apple could keep old things working, but it would be at the expense of innovation. Apple could innovate constantly and that would be at the expense of fairly recent devices reaching their end of life too quickly. It’s got to be a balance.

    I bought the original iPad not long after it came out. 18 months later it was unable to run some of my apps because they needed the latest OS and the latest OS wasn’t available for the iPad 1. I sold it, and didn’t buy another iPad.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      You're missing the fact that they openly lied about it, claiming that it was a "bug" rather than something they deliberately broke. Perhaps if they'd been honest about it, and say, told people they were switching it off in six months time, it wouldn't have come to this.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        I wouldn't bother. This is the fun thing about life, those that think they can't be sheep become sheep (I'm guilty of this not with iPhones or iPads though). It's one of life's most harsh lessons not everyone learns because by the time they have the chance to learn it they are "set".

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Are you an AI?

      A lot of your sentences are nonsequentars or self contradictory. Just like AI dungeon "You walk into the house then back in and find yourself outside" statements.

    3. Warm Braw

      lots of things break when OSes get an upgrade

      It's only inevitable if you choose to accept it.

      1. Wellyboot Silver badge

        Very true. When the broken software is also from the OS manufacturer there's no excuse.

        Apple basically told users who have spent good money on a 'premium' product that one of the touted major USPs is now toast because in reality they didn't want to do a (simple?) backport to iOS6 and would much rather you paid again to keep the same features available. Don't forget this is the time when iOS was quietly slowing down older phones 'to preserve battery life'.

        I wish I could've created a business selling paper umbrellas to people I'm peeing on from above.

    4. FlaSheridn

      Expense of testing, not innovation

      > keep old things working, but it would be at the expense of innovation

      Not breaking existing customers does not prevent innovation, but it does require testing old products as well as new—whereas breaking old products encourages new sales.

  2. Mark 85

    Ah... Lawyers

    What a career... win or lose, they get paid and always a large pile of the settlements.

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Flame

    The lawyers feast tonight . . . again

    It's amazing how much lawyers detract from justice.

  4. Belize

    99% of lawyers give the rest a bad name.

    1. Notas Badoff

      Thank you. I've always wondered what to say to the good friend who is also a good lawyer. Love being around her, but I've not seen her in a courtroom, so no conflicted feelings?

  5. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    If you lose a patent case...

    ...you have to do this. Paying for a patent to run software is a massive cost. For example, H264/HEVC costs you money when you buy a device that plays video, and that extortion is only limited because governments declared those patents FRAND.

    Having said that, given that iOS7 was a free upgrade option anyway, Apple should have just put a downloadable iOS6 FaceTime app in the AppStore or something.

    I'm surprised that their lawyers don't have all this covered in the EULA.

  6. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    How about

    We blame four entities here. Apple for saying it was a bug. Virtinex for the patent trolling. USPO for allowing it. The US court system for allowing an unqualified jury to decide if the patent was breached. There is nothing original or novel in the patent, nor is it covering video calling.

    1. BebopWeBop

      Re: How about

      Five - the lawyers.

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