Apple is facing a class action lawsuit that claims the tech giant falsely advertised a popular device.
Three plaintiffs alleged that Apple proclaimed its $250 AirPods Pro Gen 1 were ‘premium’ earbuds for three years after acknowledging some units were defective.
Customers said that they reported the problems in 2019 due to major sound issues like crackling, static, background interruption and loss of sound.
The lawsuit argues that ‘Apple touted its AirPods Pro Gen 1’s superior audio and noise-cancelling qualities and sold AirPods Pro Gen 1 to consumers nationwide even though its AirPods Pro Gen 1 had an audio defect.’
Apple acknowledged the sound issues a year after the product’s release in 2020, telling consumers they would service or replace the affected AirPods Pro at no cost to the consumer.
But plaintiffs claim that Apple buried its admission of the problem on its support page and never took steps to notify people who had purchased the device.
They are suing for violating California, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Texas‘ consumer protection and warranty laws and are seeking damages, fees, costs and a trial by jury.
Apple’s 2020 notice warned consumers about the ‘sound issues’ on its support page, and also reported that the active noise cancellation wasn’t working as it should and people could experience ‘a loss of bass sound, or an increase in background sounds, such as street or airplane noise.’
While the earbuds were discontinued in September 2022, units have continued to be sold on Amazon and Walmart for $150 or more.
However, the new class action lawsuit filed on November 1 said that Apple hadn’t fixed the problem for future sold devices, thus misleading customers into paying ‘a premium’ for a faulty product.
Instead, the lawsuit said that Apple agreed to cover the affected devices for two years after retail, but just before the deadline, the lawsuit reported that the company updated its service program to cover the product for three years after sale.
‘In short, Apple extended the program because it knew it could not fix the problem,’ the lawsuit said.
The lawsuit claims that Apple didn’t take appropriate action and should have immediately pulled the headphones from store shelves.
Lindsey LaBella said in the lawsuit that she purchased the device in 2022 and about a year later started experiencing static and crackling noises, but was never notified by Apple that the headphones were defective.
She said the device worsened over time until it became unusable, prompting her to make an appointment at an Apple store in May of this year.
The company’s sound test allegedly confirmed they were defective but that she would have to pay $89 per earbud or buy a new set for $249 – the same price she paid for the Pro Gen 1 pair.
Plaintiff Stacey Rodgers likewise said in the lawsuit that when she bought the device in 2021, she wasn’t informed that it would cause sound issues and ‘reasonably believed that the AirPods Pro Gen 1 provided high-quality audio and would function like high-end headphones.’
Within a year of purchase, Rodgers said she started experiencing issues, but when she visited the Apple store in November 2023, she was also allegedly told it would cost $89 a piece to replace the earbuds.
Other users have complained on social media and Apple’s site that they experienced the same issues years after Apple confirmed the devices had sound problems.
One person wrote on a Reddit post in 2022 that their headphones had started crackling but claimed ‘when I talked with Apple Support, they said that since mine were made in Q1 2021, they’re not eligible for replacement.’
The consumer protection and warranty laws were instated in 1975 to protect buyers from false advertising and requires companies to notify them of defective or faulty goods and services.
The lawsuit did not include a specific payout, but a hearing date has been set for February 5, 2025
