Apple Caught Throttling iPhones--Claims it's a Feature

Is your Apple iPhone 6 or 7 running a bit slow lately? It could be a "feature" that Apple pushed out in their latest iOS updates.

Cynics will say it is a underhanded ploy to get people to buy a new iPhone. "Hey, my iPhone is really sluggish lately, I guess it's time to get a new phone." When in reality, a new battery, at $79 including labor, would fix the problem good as new. Hmmm...$79 vs. $700 for new iPhone 8 or $1,000 for iPhone X?
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Following significant examination and documentation by third parties, Apple has confirmed that its software does degrade the performance of older iPhones. This is, according to the statement, undertaken in “a bid to deliver the best experience for its customers”. That may be the case, but it is a trick that Apple has not been open about.

Buried in iOS code is ‘Powerd’. Powerd is “responsible for controlling the CPU/GPU speed and power usage based on iPhone battery health”. More virtuously Powerd has a failsafe which makes sure your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch doesn’t catch fire, but it also will increasingly slow your device as your battery degrades and operates independently of the official Low Power Mode.

Apple has now confirmed that this software process is acting as intended… the software is tempering the peak performance of the CPU and GPU in devices with older batteries to ensure the device remains functional.

How difficult is a subtle message asking the user to consider installing a new battery if performance is key? And let’s not forget that Apple has implemented this for iPhone 7 users, a phone that was announced just over fourteen months ago and arguably was still Apple’s leading smartphone just four months ago. Can Apple really not guarantee battery performance for that length of time?

Apple Confirms It Degrades Your Old iPhone's Performance

 

I don't know. I know a lot of Android phones are going with sealed units, no easy user replacement batteries. Maybe Apples are like that as well.

 

Apple is being sued over this. Today they issued an apology and lowered the price to get a new battery installed from $79 to $29.

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL