Unless you have been living under a rock during the past few weeks, you probably know by now that Apple have admitted throttling overall performance for phones that have an "old" battery.

After years of rumours, Apple has confirmed that it does indeed slow down older iPhones, a feature introduced last year to protect against problems caused by ageing batteries.

The feature was implemented on the iPhone 6, 6S and SE last year during a software update, and on the iPhone 7 as of December with the release of iOS 11.2. The feature is planned to be rolled out to newer devices in the future. [...]

The reason invoked by Apple is to prevent phones from shutting down completely when batteries don't have enough power.

The company explained that when a battery is in a poor condition it may not be able to supply the required maximum current demanded by the phone’s processor at full speed. If that happens, the iPhone can shut down unexpectedly to protect the internal components.

Where do you stand on the matter? Do you believe this makes sense from a technical standpoint? Or do you think it is an elaborate scheme to get people to buy new phones every couple of years? Vote and tell us what you think.

 

[_v3]

Who cares if they throttle their phones, sheep will still buy them.

 

[joepassive]

It's very wrong in my opinion. I spent a lot of money on my phone and I want to use it well until it starts to malfunction due to old age not because of software by the developer. that's some bull. It's only to sell us new "better" products. It doesn't happen with most androids and even if it does just root it

 

[Meteor7]

I might see it as both. It seems like something that could be handy for phones with older batteries, but I also don't see any reason that this "feature" couldn't be something within the user's control to toggle on or off at their discretion. What I'd say is that, if this were done to my phone (or any device, really) without my consent, I'd be reasonably upset.

 

[smilodon]

Give me the option to manually throttle the phone and I'll be fine with this. Silently slowing a device is silly imo.

 

[Reploid]

Apple-sempai likes to stoop his slaves.

 

[SG854]

Ha, I just read this a couple of hours ago.

Can't they just add settings for a slower low power mode to extend battery life in the settings menu.
Even have it on by default if they were so concerned about this.
And give people the option to shut it off. No need to not give people a choice unless they want to sell more phones.

 

[migles]

well until it starts to malfunction due to old age

Guess what, theese devices don't die of old age, unless user abuse is under old age..
Unless the manufacter uses tricks to make it die of old age
Except for the battery, which Apple makes it really hard to replace in purpose

All this is just a bullshit excuse thrown at ya faces, if the throttle is to protect the phone because a old battery, let me ask ya this, why Apple makes it so hard and doesn't want you to replace it? And if the phone gets a new battery, is the throttle removed? Apple probably by admiring the throttle just skipped a lawsuit or something like that

 

[DarkenedMatter]

Should be illegal IMO. Glad they're getting sued. Same goes for any Android phone maker.
It makes sense to become technologically obsolete when newer hardware is released but not forcibly made obsolete in a firmware update so you will feel like you have to buy a new phone.

 

[Deleted User]

It's very wrong in my opinion. I spent a lot of money on my phone and I want to use it well until it starts to malfunction due to old age not because of software by the developer. that's some bull. It's only to sell us new "better" products. It doesn't happen with most androids and even if it does just root it

I heard reports from people irl with old-er apple phones who said their phones would just stop working sometimes. Black screen. And had to boot them again. And that happend more often when they ran games or other software which needed performance. I would be against it if they would do that for their greed only, with no functional advantage to the consumer. It would of course be better if they put some way to disable it if you want but with the people who buy apple products- i see the incoming problem(s)

 

[Dialexio]

While I think that the slight throttling is better than your phone randomly cutting out at say, 36% battery life, I think that this should have been communicated better, or perhaps implemented a little differently. (For example, the phone could ask to enter Low Power Mode— or do so automatically— when the system thinks the battery might not be able to handle the workload. The user can see that the phone's under throttling, and turn it off if they don't care.)

Guess what, theese devices don't die of old age, unless user abuse is under old age..
Unless the manufacter uses tricks to make it die of old age
Except for the battery, which Apple makes it really hard to replace in purpose

All this is just a bullshit excuse thrown at ya faces, if the throttle is to protect the phone because a old battery, let me ask ya this, why Apple makes it so hard and doesn't want you to replace it? And if the phone gets a new battery, is the throttle removed? Apple probably by admiring the throttle just skipped a lawsuit or something like that

As stated in the linked Guardian article: "The problem can be fixed by replacing the phone’s battery."

One thing to note: A third-party battery will address the throttling issue, but Apple has been known to flat-out refuse servicing iPhones with a third-party battery, regardless of what needs repairing. (This policy is not related to the throttling issue— I want to say it's to avoid issues with cheap third-party batteries that may be prone to exploding.)

 

[FAST6191]

I have been burned too many times by overzealous marketing types noting the charge cycles in a little eeprom and suddenly declaring it dead one day when all the cells still function enough to be usable. This feels like that, or would if I was foolish enough to use Apple hardware.

Hope someone twists the screws if indeed it is that.

Throttling to increase apparent battery life and maybe also cause an upgrade... uncool if it is not an option.

Throttling because the internal resistance is so high that it drops the voltage below critical, something akin to a modern car's "limp home mode", is not the worst thing to have as an option but again I want selection switches and messages on the display saying "change yer battery".

I shall add it to the diagnostics/repair/refresh flow chart though. Hopefully I can otherwise decent batteries for otherwise workable phones. Unsure if I need to start pulling devices apart, sticking them on the bench supply and playing with the frequency counter for reviews.

 

[Deleted User]

Definitely against. Particularly where no consent is given or even the decency to let the users know.
People think there phone has aged and will be looking to get a new one when their current one is fine except for being purposely slowed.
If Apple had at least told the users, they will probably get their battery replaced instead of buying a new phone.

 

[_______]

As someone who works in the mobile industry I’d say as manufacturer’s perspect, I’d do the same. It’s better have a slow working device than an unstable device. It’s not just about selling more newer devices, but lower down the customer service cost and maintaining reputation of a brand. You see lots of Android phones just give up on phone, but iPhones can last a lot longer due to lots of reason.

Some people just hate Apple, I didn’t say they are saint but they are not as evil as many Android companies than you think.

 

[leon315]

As a android user i'm fuking enjoying when bunch of sheep get butchered by apple when they want and how they want....

 

[FAST6191]

As someone who works in the mobile industry I’d say as manufacturer’s perspect, I’d do the same.

There is a large difference between having a limp home mode or harsher battery conservation mode you can select as an option and display the results of prominently for those that want it, and having it as a hidden mode that can not be select and seemingly not as much as mentioning it in the manual.

 

[fatsquirrel]

As a android user i'm fuking enjoying when bunch of sheep get butchered by apple when they want and how they want....

No, its just because you are too busy trying to delete viruses from your beloved Android.

 

[tech3475]

I had the shutdown problem with an iphone 6, the battery could be at 50% and it would shut down.

I knew Apple said they had done something, but I never knew they were gimping the phone.

Definitely against. Particularly where no consent is given or even the decency to let the users know.
People think there phone has aged and will be looking to get a new one when their current one is fine except for being purposely slowed.
If Apple had at least told the users, they will probably get their battery replaced instead of buying a new phone.

What annoyed me more was that Apple refused to acknowledge the problem with the batteries in store.

I travelled to get my iphone 6 battery replaced by Apple (not a fan of third party repairs), but was told that as it was above a certain threshold I wouldnt have the option of a battery replacement and would have to pay hundreds of times more to get it replaced (i didnt), even though this was after they knew about the problem.

I hope Apple do lose the case and have to offer battery replacement service as an option for affected devices.

I also hope Google fix some of the problems I have with Android such as introducing a better backup/restore system like iOS has (adb can be problematic), etc. If they do Im more than willing to switch back for my daily driver as theyre what preventing me from switching back on my next phone.

As a android user i'm fuking enjoying when bunch of sheep get butchered by apple when they want and how they want....

No, its just because you are too busy trying to delete viruses from your beloved Android.

Can we please stop this kind of childish behaviour? I have used both platforms over a number of years and they both have their problems in terms of hardware, software and ‘corporate overlords’.

 

[fatsquirrel]

Can we please stop this kind of childish behaviour? I have used both platforms over a number of years and they both have their problems in terms of hardware, software and ‘corporate overlords’.

Im just stating the obvious. I couldnt give less shit about any of the platforms really. I have bigger problems in my life than fanboying a mobile platform (which disgust me really as a retro gamer).

 

[Cylent1]

You might as well start stealing what you want, because you are never gonna get what you pay for as long as these high tech silicon valley companies have these powers!
People need to start taking a list of their terms and conditions to retailers and make them sign it like a contract, and if they refuse, you know they are crooked and should not buy from them!
Us people need to start holding those accountable!
Give me my atari back!!!!