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Apple admits to deliberately slowing down older iPhone models

December 21, 2017 | | Print Article

Amid endless conspiracy theories that Apple deliberately slows down old phones to force customers to buy new ones, the tech giant has issued a rare admission and explanation.

While Apple admitted its software updates have considerably slowed the speed of older iPhones, the reason behind the move is not what angry customers suspected.

Image: Wikimedia

Lithium-ion batteries, degrading over time, may be causing phones to unexpectedly shut down in a self-protective mode, something Apple claims its updates are aimed at preventing, according to Business Insider. The limiting of the peak performance of the iPhone’s processor because of Apple’s control of how much power the processor can draw ends up slowing down the phones while preventing a sudden shut down.

“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,” the company said in a statement. “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.”

Image: Google images Pexels

But the updates come at the cost of disappointingly slower speeds.

A Reddit post last week ignited a wave of discussions about the performance of iPhones with older batteries, leading a developer with Geekbench to run performance tests that confirmed the claims.

Many iPhone users were not happy with the slowdowns – and even less happy that Apple admitted the reason behind the problem.

“I think users who experience significant slowdowns due to battery wear would want Apple to be more transparent about this issue,” John Poole said, according to TechCrunch. “A notification stating that the battery needs service would be a simple way to reduce users’ concerns and help them address this problem.

There was an outcry on Twitter over the revelations as users reacted to Apple’s statement.

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Frieda Powers
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