Apple will pay up to $500 million in a class action settlement, ending a lawsuit in which the Cupertino company claimed that older iPhones slowed down when new models were released each year.

Customers had claimed that installing Apple's software updates, or new iOS editions, each year would degrade the performance of their iPhones. Therefore, he believed that his iPhone, which was only less than three years old, needed a new battery or a complete replacement.

The preliminary settlement still requires approval by a federal district court judge in California before a qualified iPhone owner can file a claim.

Currently, the settlement calls for Apple to pay $25 per iPhone, which could be adjusted depending on the total number of eligible iPhones. Apple must also make a minimum payment of $310 million.

The settlement is available to U.S. customers using an iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, or iPhone SE running iOS 10.2.1 or later.

In response to complaints of slow iPhone operation, Apple adjusted the price of replacement batteries from $79 to $29. However, the company denies any cheating or what some call "throttling" of older iPhones, blaming alternative factors such as temperature changes on performance problems.

According to Reuters, consumer lawyers described the settlement as "fair, reasonable, and adequate."

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