Apple Watch Swollen Battery Settlement Payments Arriving This Week
U.S. Apple Watch owners who signed up to receive a payment from an Apple lawsuit settlement over swollen batteries have started receiving their money this week.
The lawsuit was filed in 2021, but Apple agreed to pay a $20 million settlement in January of this year to avoid further legal fees. Apple Watch Series 1, Series 2, and Series 3 owners had until April 10 to submit claims, but anyone who had reported a battery swelling issue to Apple was automatically eligible for a payment.
Payments are being distributed in the form of a prepaid Mastercard, so if you receive an unexpected email about the Smith et.al v. Apple Inc. Settlement with an included prepaid card, that's what it is. Apple Watch owners were supposed to receive $20 minimum with the potential for more based on the number of claims, and one Reddit user said they received a little over $25.
The lawsuit suggested that early Apple Watch models had a design defect with the battery and the display. Battery swelling could put pressure on the Apple Watch face, causing the display to detach. The plaintiffs claimed that this led to operational failures and injuries from the "razor-sharp edges" of broken screens.
Apple was accused of knowing about the defect and selling the Apple Watch models anyway, with the plaintiffs seeking general, special, incidental, statutory, punitive, and consequential damages, as well as the costs for replacing their Apple Watches. While Apple settled, the company denies any wrongdoing and denies that the Apple Watches had issues.
Popular Stories
Last year, Apple launched CarPlay Ultra, the long-awaited next-generation version of its CarPlay software system for vehicles. Nearly nine months later, CarPlay Ultra is still limited to Aston Martin's latest luxury vehicles, but that should change fairly soon.
In May 2025, Apple said many other vehicle brands planned to offer CarPlay Ultra, including Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis.
In his Powe...
Apple today confirmed to Reuters that it has acquired Q.ai, an Israeli startup that is working on artificial intelligence technology for audio.
Apple paid close to $2 billion for Q.ai, according to sources cited by the Financial Times. That would make this Apple's second-biggest acquisition ever, after it paid $3 billion for the popular headphone and audio brand Beats in 2014.
Q.ai has...
The calendar has turned to February, and a new report indicates that Apple's next product launch is "imminent," in the form of new MacBook Pro models.
"All signs point to an imminent launch of next-generation MacBook Pros that retain the current form factor but deliver faster chips," Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said on Sunday. "I'm told the new models — code-named J714 and J716 — are slated...
Apple recently updated its online store with a new ordering process for Macs, including the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, iMac, Mac mini, Mac Studio, and Mac Pro.
There used to be a handful of standard configurations available for each Mac, but now you must configure a Mac entirely from scratch on a feature-by-feature basis. In other words, ordering a new Mac now works much like ordering an...
Apple is planning to launch new MacBook Pro models with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips alongside macOS 26.3, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
"Apple's faster MacBook Pros are planned for the macOS 26.3 release cycle," wrote Gurman, in his Power On newsletter today.
"I'm told the new models — code-named J714 and J716 — are slated for the macOS 26.3 software cycle, which runs from...
