Apple sued for misleading customers over storage capacities on iOS 8 iPhones, iPads and iPods

Apple is being sued by two consumers who believe the company gave misleading information about the amount of storage the iOS 8 operating system would use

Two Californian residents have filed a lawsuit against Apple for misleading them over iOS 8 (Image: Rex)

Apple is being sued by two consumers who believe the company gave misleading information about the amount of storage the iOS 8 operating system would use on devices with an 16GB hard drive.

When the Californian tech giant released iOS 8 in September 2014, many owners of iPads, iPods and iPhones with 16GB or 8GB of internal storage found themselves having to delete videos, photos and apps to make way for the new operating system.

Two Apple owners particularly incensed by the sizeable use of their devices' storage have taken the step of filing a class action lawsuit against Apple.

The complaint, filed on 29 December, suggests Apple misrepresented the storage available on 8GB and 16 GB devices after the iOS 8 was installed, stating that devices lost an "unexpectedly large percentage of the storage capacity" when they upgraded to the new operating system.

Made by California residents Paul Orshan and Christopher Endara, the lawsuit claims that up to 23.1 per cent of a 16GB hard drive can be used up by iOS 8 - far more than Apple suggests in notes accompanying the operating system's upgrade. Orshan and Endara were driven to further irritation when Apple's suggested solution to their newfound lack of storage involved "aggressively" marketing its iCloud storage service.

"Using these sharp business tactics, [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 or grandchild’s recital, basketball game or wedding," reads the complaint.

Apple, which is yet to comment on the complaint, faced a similar suit in 2007 when a Canadian law student sued the company for misleading him over the amount of storage available on his iPod Nano. The case was eventually dismissed.