The Apple Settlement: Here's What You Need To Know

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It seems as if Apple is making headlines every other day. Whether it’s for their hardware, software, or services, something Apple-related almost always makes news somewhere. As it turns out, the company made news again in July of 2018 when they agreed to pay consumers money as part of a settlement with the New York Attorney General’s office and 32 other states. To make things even more interesting, this settlement was related to the App Store and not any of their other services such as iCloud or iTunes. 

The reason they got involved is because people felt that they were forcing them to use their App Store instead of letting them download apps from other sources such as Google Play or Amazon. With that being said, let’s take a look at what we know about this Apple Settlement so that you can decide whether you think it’s worth your time or not.

What is the Apple Settlement ?

The Apple Settlement is an agreement between Apple and 32 states that they will pay consumers money as part of a resolution of an investigation that was started by the New York AG’s office. There are a lot of different pieces to this settlement, so let’s break them down so that you can have a good understanding of what this is all about. Basically, the investigation started out as a result of complaints that Apple was being anti-competitive. 

People were upset that Apple required them to use their own App Store when downloading apps. This was in place so that apps could be downloaded and used on multiple Apple devices. However, some iOS users wanted to also be able to download apps from non-Apple sources such as Google Play or Amazon. That led to the investigation, which Apple ultimately agreed to settle.

Is This Just Another iOS App Settlement ?

Now that we’ve gone over the basics of what the Apple Settlement is, you may be worried that this is just another iOS app settlement. That’s understandable, as there have been quite a few settlements related to this in the past and they you have to pay $30 to participate. Unfortunately, to our knowledge, this is not another iOS app settlement. This settlement is not related to any of the iOS apps that Apple offers, nor does it cost you anything to participate.

How Much Is In The Apple Settlement Fund ?

The Apple Settlement Fund will be $50 million, but they have claimed that they will use only $5 million of that to cover the costs of administering the settlement. This means that the rest of the money in the fund will be distributed to consumers as part of the settlement. The amount that each person will receive from the Apple Settlement Fund depends on how many people file a claim. The more people who file, the less you will get for each claim. If only a few people file a claim, each one will be worth more money.

The Benefits To Consumers

There are a lot of benefits to consumers. First, they will receive between $30 and $80 depending on how many apps they purchased, when they purchased them, and where they purchased them from. Unfortunately, there are a few restrictions that you should be aware of. 

First, you must have purchased an app between January 1, 2011 and February 16, 2016 from an App Store in one of the following states: Arizona, California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Nevada, New Hampshire, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, or West Virginia. 

If you meet these requirements, you will be able to receive between $30 and $80 from the Apple Settlement Fund.

The Problems With The Settlement

There are a few problems with the settlement. First, it’s not clear if this settlement will hold up in court. If a judge decides to throw it out, you won’t receive any money. If it does go through, though, you don’t know when you will receive the money. It could be months or even years before you see anything related to this settlement. The second major problem with the settlement is that it really doesn’t do anything beneficial to the consumer. 

Apple is only agreeing to pay us money because they were caught doing something that they shouldn’t have been doing in the first place. This is not a ruling against Apple; it’s just a way for them to get out of what looks like a messy situation.

Final Thoughts

The Apple Settlement is a complicated situation that could lead to consumers getting a substantial amount of money from Apple. However, it’s important to note that there are a few problems with this settlement that could cause it to be thrown out by a judge or take a long time to be distributed. If you were affected by Apple’s practices, now is the time to file a claim. The sooner you do, the more money you’re likely to receive.