Apple Starts Sending $15 Checks Following ‘Applegate’ Settlement

Remember when gripping your iPhone 4 in a certain way would cause your calls to drop? Nineteen lawsuits remembered the problem, and those cases have cost Apple $53 million.

The Cupertino tech giant settled the case with $16 million going to lawyers and the rest of the cash going to Apple customers who reported issues with their smartphone.

When the Applegate issue first surfaced, the tech firm told customers to hold their devices with less of a “death grip.” Apple eventually began offering specialized cases that solved the death grip problem. Apple offered the cases for a short period of time at no cost to customers.

During the lawsuit, Apple noted that other manufacturers have suffered from the same type of “death grip” issues.

The lawsuit was actually the combination of 18 different lawsuits, which were brought together under a single class action lawsuit.

While Apple attempted to turn Applegate into an industry issue, the tech giant eventually apologized for its phone’s antennae failures.

Some of the very claimants who sued Apple had received bumper cases for their troubles.

The $15 checks are going out to registered Apple users who purchased an iPhone 4 but did not receive a free bumper case. The $15 checks are directly related to the cost of the bumper cases at the time of the Applegate issue.

Apple and other manufacturers have been careful to avoid “death grip” issues since the release of the iPhone 4. This settlement will likely mean such antennae issues are more closely monitored in future smartphone releases.

Do you think Apple deserved to pay out $53 million over Applegate?