Yes, it's real and it's plain funny that you discredit simple facts in a case as obvious and with as many data points as Apple.
From the 2005 iPods settlement [0], to the 113 Mio USD Batterygate [1], to Flexgate [2] where Apple only escaped settlement due to plausible deniability.
To quote from Batterygate:
> Apple has agreed to pay millions of dollars to 34 states over its controversial previous practice of deliberately slowing down older iPhones to extend their battery life.
> [...]
> Many believed it was an effort to encourage users to buy new iPhones.
I agree on all your "PS" points, where we seem to differ is that reading is a virtue and not knowing something because you haven't heard of it doesn't constitute a conspiracy theory.
From the 2005 iPods settlement [0], to the 113 Mio USD Batterygate [1], to Flexgate [2] where Apple only escaped settlement due to plausible deniability.
To quote from Batterygate:
> Apple has agreed to pay millions of dollars to 34 states over its controversial previous practice of deliberately slowing down older iPhones to extend their battery life.
> [...]
> Many believed it was an effort to encourage users to buy new iPhones.
I agree on all your "PS" points, where we seem to differ is that reading is a virtue and not knowing something because you haven't heard of it doesn't constitute a conspiracy theory.
0: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ipod-class-action-suit-settled/
1: https://edition.cnn.com/2020/11/19/tech/apple-battery-settle...
2: https://www.macrumors.com/2021/07/20/flexgate-class-action-l...