AirPods Pro
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A class action lawsuit accuses Apple of false advertising, alleging that a crackling issue with the first-generation AirPods Pro contradicts Apple's marketing promises.
Filed November 1 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, the proposed class action lawsuit, titled LaBella, et al. v. Apple, alleges that Apple was wrong in its marketing of the AirPods Pro's high-quality sound. The 51-page lawsuit alleges that the personal audio accessories' sound problems directly contradict their quality claims.
The lawsuit, first reported by ClassAction.org, discusses how consumers complained about audio issues when using AirPods Pro for months after release. The issues were severe enough that Apple launched a service program for affected units released before October 2020.
However, the lawsuit insists that it’s not just users of the initially released units who are experiencing the issues, and that all first-generation AirPods Pro are actually affected by these issues. Apple allegedly knew this was affecting more users, so it allegedly extended the service program to cover AirPods for three years after initial sale.
Apple’s own support documents explain that users could hear crackling or static sounds, as well as active noise cancellation malfunctioning, under certain circumstances. This included using AirPods Pro in noisy environments or while exercising or talking on the phone.
The lawsuit also claims that customers would have either avoided the AirPods Pro or paid less for them if the problems had been known up front.
“As such, the AirPods Pro Gen 1 were not worth the premium consumers paid for them because they contained an audio defect and did not live up to Apple’s advertising,” the lawsuit says.
Apple is also accused of failing to notify buyers of the first-generation models of the existence of a support program.
The damage claims include allegations that Apple breached its warranty under California, Ohio, Texas, and Pennsylvania law, violated the Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act, the California Consumer Legal Protection Act, the California Unfair Competition Law, and the California Consumer Privacy Act.
In its prayer for relief, the lawsuit seeks compensatory damages for plaintiffs and class members, pre- and post-judgment interest, for Apple to repair and replace affected AirPods Pro devices, and attorneys' fees.
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