Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Status
Not open for further replies.

bashman2020

macrumors regular
Original poster
Oct 17, 2017
147
65
somewhere on earth
December 28, 2017
APPLE TODAY RELEASED A STATEMENT ABOUT SLOWING DOWN IPHONES

A Message to Our Customers about iPhone Batteries and Performance
We’ve been hearing feedback from our customers about the way we handle performance for iPhones with older batteries and how we have communicated that process. We know that some of you feel Apple has let you down. We apologize. There’s been a lot of misunderstanding about this issue, so we would like to clarify and let you know about some changes we’re making.

First and foremost, we have never — and would never — do anything to intentionally shorten the life of any Apple product, or degrade the user experience to drive customer upgrades. Our goal has always been to create products that our customers love, and making iPhones last as long as possible is an important part of that.

How batteries age
All rechargeable batteries are consumable components that become less effective as they chemically age and their ability to hold a charge diminishes. Time and the number of times a battery has been charged are not the only factors in this chemical aging process.

Device use also affects the performance of a battery over its lifespan. For example, leaving or charging a battery in a hot environment can cause a battery to age faster. These are characteristics of battery chemistry, common to lithium-ion batteries across the industry.

A chemically aged battery also becomes less capable of delivering peak energy loads, especially in a low state of charge, which may result in a device unexpectedly shutting itself down in some situations.

To help customers learn more about iPhone’s rechargeable battery and the factors affecting its performance, we’ve posted a new support article, iPhone Battery and Performance.

It should go without saying that we think sudden, unexpected shutdowns are unacceptable. We don’t want any of our users to lose a call, miss taking a picture or have any other part of their iPhone experience interrupted if we can avoid it.

Preventing unexpected shutdowns
About a year ago in iOS 10.2.1, we delivered a software update that improves power management during peak workloads to avoid unexpected shutdowns on iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, and iPhone SE. With the update, iOS dynamically manages the maximum performance of some system components when needed to prevent a shutdown. While these changes may go unnoticed, in some cases users may experience longer launch times for apps and other reductions in performance.

Customer response to iOS 10.2.1 was positive, as it successfully reduced the occurrence of unexpected shutdowns. We recently extended the same support for iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus in iOS 11.2.

Of course, when a chemically aged battery is replaced with a new one, iPhone performance returns to normal when operated in standard conditions.

Recent user feedback
Over the course of this fall, we began to receive feedback from some users who were seeing slower performance in certain situations. Based on our experience, we initially thought this was due to a combination of two factors: a normal, temporary performance impact when upgrading the operating system as iPhone installs new software and updates apps, and minor bugs in the initial release which have since been fixed.

We now believe that another contributor to these user experiences is the continued chemical aging of the batteries in older iPhone 6 and iPhone 6s devices, many of which are still running on their original batteries.

Addressing customer concerns
We’ve always wanted our customers to be able to use their iPhones as long as possible. We’re proud that Apple products are known for their durability, and for holding their value longer than our competitors’ devices.

To address our customers’ concerns, to recognize their loyalty and to regain the trust of anyone who may have doubted Apple’s intentions, we’ve decided to take the following steps:

  • Apple is reducing the price of an out-of-warranty iPhone battery replacement by $50 — from $79 to $29 — for anyone with an iPhone 6 or later whose battery needs to be replaced, starting in late January and available worldwide through December 2018. Details will be provided soon on apple.com.
  • Early in 2018, we will issue an iOS software update with new features that give users more visibility into the health of their iPhone’s battery, so they can see for themselves if its condition is affecting performance.
  • As always, our team is working on ways to make the user experience even better, including improving how we manage performance and avoid unexpected shutdowns as batteries age.
At Apple, our customers’ trust means everything to us. We will never stop working to earn and maintain it. We are able to do the work we love only because of your faith and support — and we will never forget that or take it for granted.

Read more here : https://www.apple.com/iphone-battery-and-performance/

Thank God for the lawsuits against apple they knew they did the wrong thing and now accepting their wrongs we're hoping for the fix in ios 11.3 version amen !
 

1050792

Suspended
Oct 2, 2016
2,515
3,991
This is their way of excusing because they got caught. Still if it's going to make them improve their software performance and how it manages the battery, it wasn't actually that bad at all.
 

Armen

macrumors 604
Apr 30, 2013
7,408
2,274
Los Angeles
It doesn't matter what Apple does because it's user base has such a sense of entitlement they could never do anything right.

Apple could have included a feature in iOS that would warn users to have the battery replaced soon and people would complain about how they shouldn't have to pay for a battery after paying so much for the phone, continue using the phone until the phone started shutting down on its own (like in the warning) and then bitch about how the phone shuts down and how the iPhone is bad.

Personally, I'd pay $80 to extend my phone's performance for another 2 years because you know, batteries get old and it's understandable even though my iPhone cost me $900.00.
 
  • Like
Reactions: jonblatho

joetavola

macrumors newbie
Sep 24, 2017
16
3
Love how it’s “$29” but doesn’t mention any service charges, only part. It will cost another $79 for the service so over $100 for replacement regardless. Better getting new phone every 2 years on a contract.

Plus why would people expect new software to run great on older hardware for years? Makes no sense...
 

Mlrollin91

macrumors G5
Nov 20, 2008
14,172
10,181
Love how it’s “$29” but doesn’t mention any service charges, only part. It will cost another $79 for the service so over $100 for replacement regardless. Better getting new phone every 2 years on a contract.

Plus why would people expect new software to run great on older hardware for years? Makes no sense...
What are you talking about? It’s a flat $29 dollar fee. Just like it’s been a flat $79 dollar fee. They don’t even charge tax on the battery service (at least in CA).
 
  • Like
Reactions: jonblatho

PeaceMonger

Suspended
Nov 27, 2017
61
153
The executives making the battery gate decision profited hugely in bonuses for their 'performance.'

Giving customers cheap battery replacements may pull the heat off them but it is at the expense of Apple's owners, ordinary stock holders.

The bastards who made the battery gate decisions should foot the cost, personally. It is called accountability.

Otherwise they win - and everyone else loses. They are killing Apple one short sighted greedy cut at a time..
 

JDabney24

macrumors regular
Sep 24, 2014
191
148
Love how it’s “$29” but doesn’t mention any service charges, only part. It will cost another $79 for the service so over $100 for replacement regardless. Better getting new phone every 2 years on a contract.

Plus why would people expect new software to run great on older hardware for years? Makes no sense...
Cynical much?
 

jonblatho

macrumors 68030
Jan 20, 2014
2,529
6,239
Oklahoma
The executives making the battery gate decision profited hugely in bonuses for their 'performance.'

Giving customers cheap battery replacements may pull the heat off them but it is at the expense of Apple's owners, ordinary stock holders.

The bastards who made the battery gate decisions should foot the cost, personally. It is called accountability.

Otherwise they win - and everyone else loses. They are killing Apple one short sighted greedy cut at a time..
I’m not sure if you’re suggesting that Apple just let its phones shut down spontaneously when the system demands too much power for the degraded battery to provide, or whether you’re asking Apple to bypass chemistry and make a wonder-battery that doesn’t degrade over time.

Either way, it’s unreasonable.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Armen

PeaceMonger

Suspended
Nov 27, 2017
61
153
I’m not sure if you’re suggesting that Apple just let its phones shut down spontaneously when the system demands too much power for the degraded battery to provide, or whether you’re asking Apple to bypass chemistry and make a wonder-battery that doesn’t degrade over time.

Either way, it’s unreasonable.


I am asking Apple to be honest, open, and ethical. You offer a false dichotomy. They altered the physical functioning of MY PROPERTY without my consent, knowledge, or demonstrated need.

They rely on ignorance and apathy to get away with it.
 

Makayla

macrumors 6502
Dec 20, 2016
278
300
Well the lower price is a nice gesture but should I assume my 8 plus is still subject to throttling next year? Also is there any explanation as to why some people took their slowed down phones to Apple Store but they were told their batteries were fine?

Because that is the scenario I really want to avoid. Should I take a slow phone to Apple Store and they proceed to run their test and the result is fine and I would be stuck.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.