Apple is facing another lawsuit over Powerbeats battery issues. Alejandro Vivar, resident of New York filed a possible class action lawsuit over allegations of design defects in the Powerbeats Pro prevents the wireless headphones from charging correctly. Since it’s so easy to lose contact between the buttons and the charging case, one of the earbuds either doesn’t charge “consistently” or quickly drains its charge. Apple committed fraud by misrepresenting battery life and failing to address issues it allegedly knew about, the author said.
Vivar’s lawyers suggest that a combination of the case design and an insufficiently strong ear “gasket” (the piece that goes into your ear) may be to blame. Customers had to resort to inserting a “wedge” to keep the charging pins in contact, according to the lawsuit. Lawyers also reject Apple’s claims that the Powerbeats Pro is sweat and water resistant, arguing that sweat corrodes the charging contacts.
The lawsuit asks Apple to “correct” the situation, compensate affected users and pay unspecified damages. If the lawsuit is fully certified as a class action, it would cover both New York and Georgia, Michigan, Montana, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Dakota and Virginia clients.
We asked Apple for comments. As with many of these lawsuits, there is no certainty that it will achieve class action status or result in damages. And don’t expect a windfall even if the case is successful – with a few exceptions, class actions tend to result in small payouts. Either way, the process can affect design choices more than the bank accounts of Powerbeats Pro buyers.
All products recommended by Ploonge are selected by our editorial team, independent of our parent company. Some of our stories include affiliate links. If you buy something through one of these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.