Apple being sued over iOS 9 Wi-Fi Assist feature

From	Jeremy Bentham <nobody@anemone.mooo.com>
Subject	Apple being sued over iOS 9 Wi-Fi Assist feature
Message-ID	<7f99274f4de65184ddbad41936e0cb3e@anemone.mooo.com> (permalink)
Date	2015-10-26 08:57 +0100
Newsgroups	alt.comp.freeware, comp.sys.mac.system, alt.comp.os.windows-10, alt.privacy.anon-server, comp.os.linux.advocacy
Organization	dizum.com - The Internet Problem Provider

Cross-posted to 5 groups.

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We should have probably seen this coming a mile away, especially 
considering how people love suing Apple for almost every 
consumer misstep it makes. The latest class action suit filed 
against it by William Scott Phillips and Suzanne Schmidt 
Phillips on behalf of all other disgruntled iPhone and iPad 
users relates to the new Wi-Fi Assist feature added and enabled 
by default on iOS 9. The feature, which silently uses cellular 
data when Wi-Fi quality is poor, has allegedly caused the 
plaintiffs more than $5 million in data charges.


It isn't exactly new for Apple to implement new features and set 
defaults without telling users about it first. You could perhaps 
even consider it Apple's usability philosophy, to try to make 
decisions on behalf of the users so they wouldn't have to. That 
said, there are perhaps few such instances that would actually 
cost users no small amount of money if they're not aware of it.

Wi-Fi Assist was added in iOS 9 to ensure that there is quality 
Internet connection at all times. If iOS detects that Wi-Fi 
quality is too poor, it automatically switches to a cellular 
data connection. Everything happens quietly and smoothly so that 
the user isn't even aware that there's a problem. Depending on 
your data plan, that could incur some unwanted and unexpected 
charges.

The lawsuit alleges that Apple violated California's Unfair 
Competition Law, its False Advertising Law, and also accuses the 
company of negligent misrepresentation. Part of the beef was 
that Apple never even mentioned such a feature. It kept its lips 
sealed until news sites started talking about it. Only then did 
the company put up an FAQ about the feature, but, according to 
the plaintiffs, it was not enough and that the damage has 
already been done.

How much damage exactly? The lawsuit doesn't spell out the 
amount of charges incurred with Wi-Fi Assist, though it mentions 
that the "overall amount in controversy" goes beyond $5 million. 
The case was filed Friday in a district court in San Jose. Apple 
has yet to respond to the lawsuit.

VIA: AppleInsider

http://www.slashgear.com/apple-being-sued-over-ios-9-wi-fi-
assist-feature-25411454/

Comments:

Nathillien • 2 hours ago
Oh, poor Apple, "people love suing Apple". LOL.

I am not arguing whether this particular law suit has merits or 
not, but if Apple is allowed to sue willy-nilly over rounded 
corners, swipe to unlock, rubber-banding, wague looks and feels 
and other nonsense, then it is just apropriate they get the same 
treatment.
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Avatar
Red October  Nathillien • 2 hours ago
reap what you sow/sue
 • Reply•Share ›
Avatar
jabberwolf  Nathillien • 30 minutes ago
I agree - this is solely Apple's fault. Apple has always thought 
it knows better over its customers and makes these bonehead 
decisions for them... regardless if it hits their pocket books.
This isn't a misstep. That would imply a mistake.. it was done 
on purpose.
 • Reply•Share ›
Avatar
standardwilly  Nathillien • 24 minutes ago
Suing over patents is common business practice and is a 
necessity for protecting intellectual property rights 
(especially when they're stolen as they were with Samsung). 
Apple is no more litigious than any other company in this regard.
 • Reply•Share ›
Avatar
FindingAtlantis  Nathillien • 10 minutes ago
Well said. The author is either an Apple employee or a 
blithering moron.
 • Reply•Share ›
Avatar
Red October • 2 hours ago
one step behind again, thats a windowsphone feature. Keep up 
apple ??

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Thread

Apple being sued over iOS 9 Wi-Fi Assist feature Jeremy Bentham <nobody@anemone.mooo.com> - 2015-10-26 08:57 +0100
  Re: Apple being sued over iOS 9 Wi-Fi Assist feature Alan Browne <alan.browne@freelunchvideotron.ca> - 2015-10-26 17:04 -0400
    Re: Apple being sued over iOS 9 Wi-Fi Assist feature mike <ham789@netzero.net> - 2015-10-26 14:34 -0700
      Re: Apple being sued over iOS 9 Wi-Fi Assist feature nospam <nospam@nospam.invalid> - 2015-10-26 17:45 -0400
        Re: Apple being sued over iOS 9 Wi-Fi Assist feature Snit <usenet@gallopinginsanity.com> - 2015-10-26 15:17 -0700
          Re: Apple being sued over iOS 9 Wi-Fi Assist feature Steve Carroll <fretwizzen@gmail.com> - 2015-10-26 17:33 -0700
        Re: Apple being sued over iOS 9 Wi-Fi Assist feature Alan Browne <alan.browne@freelunchvideotron.ca> - 2015-10-26 18:20 -0400
        Re: Apple being sued over iOS 9 Wi-Fi Assist feature Steve Carroll <fretwizzen@gmail.com> - 2015-10-27 08:52 -0700
    Re: Apple being sued over iOS 9 Wi-Fi Assist feature Alan Browne <alan.browne@freelunchvideotron.ca> - 2015-10-26 18:16 -0400
    Re: Apple being sued over iOS 9 Wi-Fi Assist feature JF Mezei <jfmezei.spamnot@vaxination.ca> - 2015-10-26 18:53 -0400
      Re: Apple being sued over iOS 9 Wi-Fi Assist feature Snit <usenet@gallopinginsanity.com> - 2015-10-26 16:00 -0700

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