An Italian competition regulatory body has fined Apple and Samsung 10 million euros (RM48 million) and 5 million euros (RM24 million) respectively for antitrust issues. The Italy Competition Authority (AGCM) has discovered that software updates from both companies affected the performance of users’ devices.

According to AGCM, the software updates from both companies had negative effects on older smartphones, slowing down their performance. This encouraged owners of older models to go out and purchase new phones. Hence, the AGCM fined Apple and Samsung 5 million euros each. Apple received an additional fine of 5 million euros for not providing information on maintenance of its batteries.

In addition to the fine, both firms must publish a declaration on their Italian websites to inform consumers about the decision.

Samsung Galaxy Note 4 owners installed a new update of Google’s Android OS only to find their phones running slower. Similarly, owners of the iPhone 6 encountered some sluggishness after installing the latest update.

Last December, Apple was involved in a controversy regarding slowing down older iPhones to manage battery life. The company denied that this was done to encourage customers to buy new models. It issued out a letter of apology nonetheless. Samsung was not a part of this initial controversy.

A Samsung spokesperson stated that the company intends to appeal the fine. “Samsung did not issue any software update that reduced the Galaxy Note 4’s performance. In contrast, Samsung has always released software updates enabling our customers to have the best experience possible.”

(Source: CNET)