You could be in line for a payout from Apple for slowing down your iPhone

Apple has agreed to settle legal action taken against it for deliberately slowing down older iPhones. Having already been fined €25 million by a French consumer watchdog the company has now agreed to settle in the US -- something which could cost it $500 million.

Apple previously admitted to the practice of slowing down phones, saying it was to increase the life of devices with aging batteries. The new agreement in the US could see Apple paying out $25 to those affected by updates to iOS that slowed down their iPhones.

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But this is not yet set in stone. This is merely a preliminary proposed class-action settlement, and it still needs the approval of US District Judge Edward Davila in San Jose, California. If approved, the final bill would be between $310 million and $500 million.

The settlement covers people in the US who had an iPhone 6, 6 Plus, 6s, 6s Plus, 7 Plus or SE running iOS 10.2.1 or later, and those who had an iPhone 7 and 7 Plus running iOS 11.2 before December 21, 2017.

Despite agreeing to make such payments to iPhone owners, the settlement does not see Apple admitting any wrongdoing -- just as was the case in Europe. The $25 payment has been described by lawyers for the consumers involved in the case as "fair, reasonable and adequate".

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