You must have seen the Apple Watch Lawsuit Claim thing in the headlines recently, and that’s just because a lot of people were straight up disappointed by the Apple Watches that they bought. Like, there were issues with the battery, the band of the watch, and even in the software. So, let’s get to some details here and see why Apple is entangled in all this legal mess.
Battery Problems in Older Apple Watches
The first news story is about a large lawsuit filed against the makers of their original Apple Watch models, as well as against the makers of the original Series 1, Series 2, and Series 3 Apple Watches. This legal case brings to light the problem of the swelling of the battery that caused damage. Furthermore, when a watch such as those used with a swollen battery is worn, it gets stuck in a compact watch frame, and this is disastrous. In the worst cases, screens got loose and fell off, or devices completely failed and ceased to work. Besides all these bizarre incidents, there were still a small group of users who even suffered from wrist injuries as well.
Apple Corporation did not admit any responsibility for the incident, but they agreed to pay a lot to the plaintiffs. The price of the settlement was around $20 million. Provided you owned an Apple Watch within the given time frame and it had developed the specified issue, you were allowed to claim a refund within the period up to April 10, 2025. Payouts were said to be around $20 and could even go up to $50, subject to the number of claims that were filed.
The people who had been experiencing problems all expected payment in the range of $20 to $50, with the amount mostly being determined by the number of registered claims overall.
Are There Harmful Chemicals in Apple Watch Bands?
Another lawsuit has been filed in response to the production of certain Apple Watch bands, like Sport Band, Ocean Band, and Nike Sport Band, which were mentioned this time. The issue is with PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances), which are usually called “forever chemicals” because of their long life and potential negative effects on human health.
Apple does market the Watch as a health device. Thus, the fundamental question emerging is this: why are there still any bands made with materials suspected of being detrimental to our health if the product is supposed to be safe in the first place? A California class action lawsuit of that nature was put forward last January.
The plaintiff is stating that Apple undertook a conscious decision not to make use of safer alternatives like silicone. As of now, no agreement or monetary relief has been publicly declared, although this very Apple Watch Lawsuit Claim is ongoing.
Siri Listening Without Permission
This lawsuit also deals with the violation of privacy through the activation of any device having Siri as the voice assistant. The argument for the users is that Siri is always on, which means the users are always being recorded without their consent.
The legal procedure originated in 2021 when Fumiko Lopez accused Apple. Apple, actually, though not acknowledging their infringement, agreed to settle the case for $95 million. If you realized that Siri had confirmed your words without your permission while you were conversing intimately, in the period between September 17, 2024, and December 31, 2024, you were the person to be a potential complainant for the damages and could file a lawsuit till the 2nd of July, 2025.
According to the latest notice given, the court is going to hold the final hearing for this case on August 1, 2025. Once the hearing is successfully concluded, a short time later, the payout of the damages will be released.
