Apple was fined $12 million for misleading claims about how waterproof its iPhones are

• Italy's competition regulator on Monday hit Apple with a 10 million euro ($12 million) fine over claims the tech giant made about iPhones' water resistance.
• The regulator said Apple's claims about how deep and long its iPhones could go in water without sustaining damage were only true under laboratory conditions.
• It also said Apple's warranty failed to help customers whose phones had been water-damaged.

Italy's competition regulator has hit Apple with a 10 million euro ($12 million) fine for making false claims about how waterproof its iPhones are.

The Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato (AGCM) announced the fine on Monday, saying Apple misled the public on two counts.

Firstly, in promotional materials the company claimed various iPhone models — from the iPhone 8 through to the iPhone 11 — were water resistant at a depth of between 1 and 4 metres (3 and 13 feet) for up to 30 minutes, depending on the model.

The AGCM said this was only the case under controlled laboratory conditions, with completely still and pure water, and wasn't true in real-world scenarios where consumers might drop their phones in water.

It also said Apple's warranty terms were misleading, as they were voided if the phone was damaged by liquids. It said Apple failed to repair iPhones that had been water-damaged.

Apple declined to comment when contacted by Business Insider.