Take this in! Hell, you might as well bask in it! Apple has made a public apology to all iPhone owners out there. The company is sorry for deliberately slowing down your iPhone, to the extent you felt frustrated enough you went out and bought a new iPhone (the latest, pricier version).
That is right, Apple has been slowing down your old iPhone, and conveniently releasing new ones about every year or two. As it works out, you buy a new iPhone, after a couple of years, it ‘starts running slow,’ and you are frustrated into buying the latest iPhone, and the cycle repeats itself.
What reason does Apple give for slowing down old iPhones?
Apple admits that it has been releasing an update for old iPhone to make them run slow. They, however, say their intention was not to get you to buy new iPhone, but rather protect you from phone turning itself off because of low battery.
The company says Li-Ion batteries performance does deteriorate with time, and the older the iPhone is, the more likely the battery is not at peak performance. Thus may fail to supply enough energy whenever there is a surge in power demand; say you’re running heavy apps or using battery-draining features. That would require a momentarily higher than usual power supply from the battery to the hardware in use.
To prevent the iPhone from self-shutting down because your battery can’t supply enough power during such a surge in use. Apple releases an update to old iPhones to make things run slow, thus a more consistent power demand from the battery. That makes it not shut down abruptly, and also saves your hardware from potential damage.
But why not replace the battery instead of buying an expensive new iPhone?
You would notice iPhones don’t come with a removable back cover that makes changing the battery a simple DIY activity. However, you can actually replace your old battery with a new one, at the cost of $79. A cheaper option than going for the latest iPhone which starts in the range of $1,000.
Apple now drops the cost of changing old battery
Now that it has been established that Apple does indeed slow down old iPhone. The company has issued an apology, but with a ‘BUT’ as explained above. Nonetheless, as an expression of their apology, the company has cut down the price of changing your old battery from $79 to $29.
The $50-less battery replacement will be available worldwide starting late January next year. Apple will also release a new feature that will let users view the health of their batteries.
