By now, you’ve probably heard that older iPhones are slowing down, and that Apple has said it is deliberate. Hackles have been raised. Consumers are up in arms. But what are the facts?
- Owners of older iPhones, such as the iPhone 6, have noticed a slowdown in CPU frequency. An example given was a slowdown from 1400 MHz to 600 MHz, according to a series of posts that appeared a few weeks back on Reddit.
- TechCrunch confirmed that Apple was deliberately slowing the performance of the iPhone as battery performance got worse.
- Replacing the battery with a fresh one apparently resolves the problem.
Now, the conspiracy theory: In an apparent money-grab, Apple deliberately slows down their older products so users would upgrade to new phones. It is so widely-believed that this is true, that lawsuits have begun against Apple in Paris, New York, and elsewhere.
Apple’s explanation? The company told TechCrunch: “Our goal is to deliver the best experience for customers, which includes overall performance and prolonging the life of their devices. Lithium-ion batteries become less capable of supplying peak current demands when in cold conditions, have a low battery charge or as they age over time, which can result in the device unexpectedly shutting down to protect its electronic components.
“Last year we released a feature for iPhone 6, iPhone 6s and iPhone SE to smooth out the instantaneous peaks only when needed to prevent the device from unexpectedly shutting down during these conditions. We’ve now extended that feature to iPhone 7 with iOS 11.2, and plan to add support for other products in the future.”
Translation? Old batteries cause problems, most notably the phone turning off suddenly. To prevent this from happening, Apple they added software that slowed down performance if it detected an aging battery, in order to save the phone. That same software can also detect when the user has replaced the aging battery with a new one.
If your iPhone is slowing down, replace the battery, and it should go back up to full speed. Simple as that.
Should Apple have said this sooner? Many iPhone users think so, and Apple has pretty much admitted they could have managed this better. They’re offering a replacement battery for any iPhone 6 or later model for $29 starting late January through December, a $50 discount. They also plan to update the OS to provide more information about battery performance.
