A lawsuit was recently filed this week against Apple, stating that the company deliberately pushed iOS 4.0 to iPhone 3G and 3GS users, despite knowing that it was buggy and slow, in order to improve their iPhone 4 sales. Bianca Wofford brought the civil case to the Country Court of San Diego in California, complaining that the upgrade made her phone virtually useless and that Apple used the fact that users can’t downgrade to an older version of the operating system, forcing them to buy iPhone 4s. This specific case may pressure Apple’s restrictions on the ability of users to load the software they want on devices they own.

The heart of Wofford’s complaint is that Apple urged users using older iPhones to upgrade, promising these people performance improvements that they knew iOS 4 could not deliver. According to the lawsuit (PDF):

“Apple has falsely, intentionally and repeatedly represented that iOS 4, was a significant upgrade for the functionality of all iPhone devices, when in fact… iOS 4 is a substantial ‘downgrade’ for earlier iPhone devices and renders many of them virtually useless ‘iBricks.’

The main problem that Wofford and her lawyers present here is the fact that users can’t downgrade without jailbreaking and voiding their warranties. “The iOS4 ‘upgrade’ has essentially curtailed usefulness of the 3G/3GS devices,” the lawsuit continues, “and left consumers, like Wofford, without any ability to restore the device to its prior acceptable functionality.”

If the case is found in the plaintiff’s favor, Apple will end up facing false advertising charges and violation of California’s Unfair Competition Act, and may end up having to pay restitution and damages. In addition, the court may order that Apple provide a way for users to downgrade, or protect jailbreakers’ warranty writes. The filing even states that Wofford intends to asks a judge to grant class action status to her lawsuit in order to provide beenfits for more iPhone 3G and 3GS users that have suffered similar issues.

What do you think of the whole ordeal? Many users have been complaining about this for a while and if this complaint is favored, then Apple may seriously have to loosen their restrictions. This may not exactly be a bad move for Apple but will still hurt if they have to pay “restitution and damages” in order to do it. Let us know your thoughts and opinions in the comments below!

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[Source: Wired]

Authors: _GadgetNews

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