Rome - Italy's antitrust authority said on Monday it had fined Apple 10 million euros ($12 million) for "aggressive and misleading" commercial practices regarding its iPhones.
The regulator said in a statement the company advertised that several iPhone models were water-resistant without clarifying they were only so under certain circumstances.
Apple has previously said its iPhones (namely iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, iPhone XR, iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max), were water resistant at a depth of between one and four metres for up to 30 minutes, depending on the model.
Apple also added that the company's disclaimer, saying that its phones were not covered by warranty in case of damage from liquids, tricked clients, who were also not provided support when their phones were damaged by water or other liquids.
“However, according to the country's competition regulator, the messages did not clarify that the claims are only true under specific conditions, for example during controlled laboratory tests with the use of static and pure water, and not in the normal conditions of use by consumers,” added the MacRumor report.
The regulator considered it inappropriate to push an "aggressive" commercial practice highlighting water resistance as a feature, while at the same time refusing to provide post-sales warranty assistance if the iPhone models in question suffer water damage.
Apple declined to comment.
Reuters and IOL TECH