Tech giant Apple has been fined €25 million (NZ$42.74 million) after it deliberately slowed down older iPhone models.
In 2017, the company admitted it issued updates which slowed down the performance of iPhone 6, iPhone 7, and iPhone SE models, saying their ageing batteries weren't capable of supplying peak current demands.
"We have never - and would never - do anything to intentionally shorten the life of any Apple product, or degrade the user experience to drive customer upgrades," the company said at the time on its website.
However it failed to inform users it was slowing down their devices, or that replacing their iPhone battery could solve the problem. As a result, some bought new phones.
France's competition watchdog DGCCRF said iPhone owners "were not informed that installing iOS updates (10.2.1 and 11.2) could slow down their devices" and imposed the multi-million fine.
"Failing to inform consumers represented a misleading business practice using omission," the French authority wrote.
Apple accepted to settle by paying the fine and posting a statement admitting wrongdoing to its website.