Apple Customers Sue Over Shortage of Storage Space in iOS 8

Apple Inc. misleads consumers about the amount of storage space used by its iOS 8 operating system in iPhones, iPods and iPads, two users claimed in a suit targeting the software, adding a new wrinkle to a product introduction that has been riddled with hiccups and missteps, reported Bloomberg.

Apple, the world’s most valuable technology company, doesn’t tell users that “as much as 23.1 percent of the advertised storage capacity of the devices will be consumed by iOS 8,” the two Florida men claimed in a suit filed yesterday in San Jose, California, federal court. Apple uses the space shortage to drive consumers to its fee-based iCloud storage system, they said.

Apple “gives less storage capacity than advertised, only to offer to sell that capacity in a desperate moment, e.g., when a consumer is trying to record or take photos at a child’s or grandchild’s recital, basketball game or wedding,” Paul Orshan and Christopher Endara said in their complaint. The men seek to recover millions of dollars on behalf of a nationwide class of Apple’s mobile-devices users.

Apple touted record sales of 10 million iPhones during the opening weekend release of the latest models in September but the celebration was cut short by an iOS software update that disabled cellular service. Users also complained a fingerprint-reading feature didn’t work after the update and the operating system was found to cause popular applications to crash more frequently than the previous system. Apple pulled the update and replaced it on Sept. 25.

Apple apologized for the early iOS glitches and said that fewer than 40,000 iPhone 6 and 6 Plus devices were affected by the iOS 8.0.1 problem that caused users to lose cellular reception.

Cupertino, California-based Apple didn’t immediately respond to phone and e-mail messages seeking comment on the suit.

The case is Orshan v. Apple Inc., 14-cv-05659, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California (San Jose).