Hyderabad, Oct. 19 -- A Rs 74,325 iPhone 17 that froze, lost focus and stuttered during video playback within days of purchase has cost Apple a replacement order and Rs 35,000 in penalties, after a Hyderabad consumer forum found the company never fixed it.

According to The Times of India, the district forum directed Apple to swap the handset for a new one and pay complainant CV Anil Kumar Rs 20,000 as compensation and Rs 15,000 towards costs.

The bench found that neither Apple nor its service provider, Aptronix, could say why a brand-new phone developed faults so quickly, or why it needed repeated troubleshooting. Telling the forum the problems had been dealt with was not enough, it said.

"A purchaser of a new product/device cannot be ...