How can I tell if my iPhone is being throttled?

[JohnnyW2001]

Now we have hard data that iOS deliberately slows down iPhones, how can I tell if I'm suffering? My iPhone FEELS a lot slower than it used to be, but I want confirmation. Can I run an app to see if my CPU speed is lower than a new phone? Is there a database of scores to cross reference against?

Thanks.

UPDATE

So apparently the best way to find out is to check the CPU MHz frequency, which you can view in apps like CPU DasherX. Then just cross reference against the frequency Apple says it should be running at.

In my case, my iPhone SE is supposed to run at 1850 MHz.

In CPU DasherX I can see it’s actually running at 911 MHz !

To help you find out if your phone has been slowed down, here are the scores you *should* see for each phone (from Apple):

iPhone 6/6 Plus: 1400 Mhz
iPhone 6S/6S Plus: 1850 Mhz
iPhone SE: 1850 Mhz

 

[Paddle1]

Yes, you can check then compare with Geekbench or CPU DasherX on the App Store. They aren't free, there may be others but those are the ones I know.

 

[Plumber007]

if you don't mind trying antutu i'd like to compare it to my mom's windows nokia 635.

 

[kohlson]

I'm pretty sure CPU DasherX is free, or they have a free version. I downloaded it to test my iPhone 6, and in general I loathe paying for apps. It will provide a status on your actual CPU frequency, which can be compared to the spec. My phone is almost 3 years old, and measures 1.127 GHZ, while the spec is 1.4 GHz.

 

[Paddle1]

I'm pretty sure CPU DasherX is free, or they have a free version. I downloaded it to test my iPhone 6, and in general I loathe paying for apps. It will provide a status on your actual CPU frequency, which can be compared to the spec. My phone is almost 3 years old, and measures 1.127 GHZ, while the spec is 1.4 GHz.

Maybe it was temporarily free. I know Geekbench was.

 

[BugeyeSTI]

I use Geekbench.

 

[Saskat]

if you don't mind trying antutu i'd like to compare it to my mom's windows nokia 635.

I tested my phone on Antutu. How do you do comparison?

 

[Lop1]

CPU Dasher64 is free and give the same info for iPhone other than X

 

[Paddle1]

CPU Dasher64 is free and give the same info for iPhone other than X

It's not free as far as I see:

 

[Lop1]

It's not free as far as I see:

View attachment 743273[/QUOTE
Sorry, I have downloaded it 5 days ago for free in France ..

 

[kohlson]

I was just talking with a friend - who went from a 4 to an X - about battery life. He asked me why I just don't go and get a new battery for my 6. I told him I don't know if this is a fully understood phenomena yet. In my case, my battery is typically at 40-50% at the end of the day. But it is definitely sluggish. Like when I called my aforementioned friend, from the home screen I pressed the phone icon, and it was an easy 3-4 count before the phone screen came up. Switch to Firefox, same thing. So it's slow, and CPUDasherX says I am running slower, but I have lots of battery left. I don't mind spending the $80, but I would if it didn't fix it.

 

[georgejr]

I was just talking with a friend - who went from a 4 to an X - about battery life. He asked me why I just don't go and get a new battery for my 6. I told him I don't know if this is a fully understood phenomena yet. In my case, my battery is typically at 40-50% at the end of the day. But it is definitely sluggish. Like when I called my aforementioned friend, from the home screen I pressed the phone icon, and it was an easy 3-4 count before the phone screen came up. Switch to Firefox, same thing. So it's slow, and CPUDasherX says I am running slower, but I have lots of battery left. I don't mind spending the $80, but I would if it didn't fix it.

Same with my 6. I always have at least 50 percent left at the end of the day but my phone is definitely slower than what it used to be. I am satisfied with my battery life but the slowness irks me, especially since it only started doing this since 11 was released.

 

[geekiemac]

I checked the battery health on my iPhone 6S plus - which I'm preparing to give away to my sister - by means of the excellent coconut battery. Apparently, it is now on 76% of maximum capacity, after 537 charge cycles. It's running the latest iOS version (11.2.1).

I ran Geekbench tests on it and results are quite eloquent: my iPhone is still top notch.

Nonetheless, I'm having the battery replaced by Apple so as to make sure my sis gets a top device - both speed and battery life wise.

Below my Geekbench test results and comparison with standard values - before any battery replacement (which is due to take place after Christmas)

 

[ftaok]

I checked the battery health on my iPhone 6S plus - which I'm preparing to give away to my sister - by means of the excellent coconut battery. Apparently, it is now on 76% of maximum capacity, after 537 charge cycles. It's running the latest iOS version (11.2.1).

I ran Geekbench tests on it and results are quite eloquent: my iPhone is still top notch.

Does it feel fast? I wonder what the threshold is for the throttling to start.
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I was just talking with a friend - who went from a 4 to an X - about battery life. He asked me why I just don't go and get a new battery for my 6. I told him I don't know if this is a fully understood phenomena yet. In my case, my battery is typically at 40-50% at the end of the day. But it is definitely sluggish. Like when I called my aforementioned friend, from the home screen I pressed the phone icon, and it was an easy 3-4 count before the phone screen came up. Switch to Firefox, same thing. So it's slow, and CPUDasherX says I am running slower, but I have lots of battery left. I don't mind spending the $80, but I would if it didn't fix it.

Same with my 6. I always have at least 50 percent left at the end of the day but my phone is definitely slower than what it used to be. I am satisfied with my battery life but the slowness irks me, especially since it only started doing this since 11 was released.

The throttling doesn't happen due to how much battery you have left. It happens as the battery ages and can no longer hold a full charge. On the iPhone6, a fresh battery has a capacity of 1810 mAh. Let's say over the course of 2 years, the battery can only hold 900 mAh on a full charge. It will still show 100% when you fully charge it, but the battery is only 50% "healthy".

 

[geekiemac]

Does it feel fast? I wonder what the threshold is for the throttling to start.

Yep ! it certainly does. Of course if I compare it to my new iPhone X it feels a bit slower, but that's just the two generations of CPU between them ! There's no lag or anything like that. This 6s Plus is still in excellent shape, and the benchmarks just helped me confirm that feeling.

 

[JM]

Interesting threads coming out! Less than 80% and geekbench still good....

Curiouser and curiouser

 

[ftaok]

Interesting threads coming out! Less than 80% and geekbench still good....

Curiouser and curiouser

Well I don't need geekbench to tell me my iPhone6 is slow. I'm at 65% health. It's slower than an iPod touch 6

 

[JM]

Well I don't need geekbench to tell me my iPhone6 is slow. I'm at 65% health. It's slower than an iPod touch 6

My 5s on 10.3.3 was slow. Inspired me to get the 7 in september (wanted faster opening apps, and larger keyboard).

Makes me wonder if I had just gotten a new battery if I could have waited it out longer.... but, I got a 7 $200 off, so I went for it.

 

[BugeyeSTI]

I was just talking with a friend - who went from a 4 to an X - about battery life. He asked me why I just don't go and get a new battery for my 6. I told him I don't know if this is a fully understood phenomena yet. In my case, my battery is typically at 40-50% at the end of the day. But it is definitely sluggish. Like when I called my aforementioned friend, from the home screen I pressed the phone icon, and it was an easy 3-4 count before the phone screen came up. Switch to Firefox, same thing. So it's slow, and CPUDasherX says I am running slower, but I have lots of battery left. I don't mind spending the $80, but I would if it didn't fix it.

Iphone 6 or any iPhone with 1gb of ram is going to be sluggish. In my opinion, anything with 1gb of ram shouldn’t of received any updates past iOS 10.

 

[acorntoy]

Since it is linked to the battery though, I would download an app like coconut battery (on a mac and connect the phone). If you have 20% or more wear it's likely being throttled and will need a new battery.

In a way this could be a good thing, it's linked to the batteries, maybe it'll get people to simply replace their battery when their phone gets slow instead of the entire device. People are focusing on the wrong thing, yes the phones get slower -but they can be fixed-.

 

[ftaok]

Iphone 6 or any iPhone with 1gb of ram is going to be sluggish. In my opinion, anything with 1gb of ram shouldn’t of received any updates past iOS 10.

Perhaps, but you have to look at the entire product line before dropping support. Apple wants to sell watches. The way they did it, wOS4 requires ios11. They would lose a lot of goodwill if they had cut 5s and 6 users from AW3 and updating S1/2 to wOS4.

wOS4 was the only reason I updated my iPhone to 11. But seeing how my kid's ipod touch 6 runs ios11, gives me hope that all I have to do is replace the battery and I'm all set.

 

[acorntoy]

Perhaps, but you have to look at the entire product line before dropping support. Apple wants to sell watches. The way they did it, wOS4 requires ios11. They would lose a lot of goodwill if they had cut 5s and 6 users from AW3 and updating S1/2 to wOS4.

wOS4 was the only reason I updated my iPhone to 11. But seeing how my kid's ipod touch 6 runs ios11, gives me hope that all I have to do is replace the battery and I'm all set.

Eww does watch os 4 really require iOS 11? I'm gonna have to "accidentally" update my dads phone before Christmas then

 

[ftaok]

Eww does watch os 4 really require iOS 11? I'm gonna have to "accidentally" update my dads phone before Christmas then

And maybe swap his battery while you're at it.

 

[BugeyeSTI]

Perhaps, but you have to look at the entire product line before dropping support. Apple wants to sell watches. The way they did it, wOS4 requires ios11. They would lose a lot of goodwill if they had cut 5s and 6 users from AW3 and updating S1/2 to wOS4.

wOS4 was the only reason I updated my iPhone to 11. But seeing how my kid's ipod touch 6 runs ios11, gives me hope that all I have to do is replace the battery and I'm all set.

That is a valid point. My old iPad 3rd gen worked on 9.3.5 but, I really wished I never upgraded to iOS 9 because it never gave me a good experience..

 

[acorntoy]

And maybe swap his battery while you're at it.

He hasn't been complaining about it. I have no doubt if I told him it would get blown away. A few years back when the 2009 iMacs hard drives were recalled, I got mine replaced immediately even though it sounded fine and I used it for playing games and writing high school papers. His made an awful grinding noise and I knew it was destined to fail. I kept telling him to get it fixed, and how pissed he would be when his work computer crapped out on him.

What happened? Over a year passed, the program ended and his hard drive failed. Had to pay to fix it, was pissed.