If you’ve got an older iPhone and you think it’s slowing down – it’s not your imagination. Apple admitted it had throttled back older iPhones because they put too much strain on their ageing batteries.
A Reddit post revealed benchmark tests of iPhones over time revealed processor performance decreased with battery degradation.
A popular conspiracy theory is that this is a move by Apple to force customers to buy a new device, but the tech giant denied this and released a statement.
“Our goal is to deliver the best experience for customers, which includes overall performance and prolonging the life of their devices.
“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 protect its electronic components.
“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 unexpectedly shutting down during these conditions.
“We have now extended that featured iPhone seven with IOS 11.2 and plan to add support for other products in the future.”
To put it simply, older iPhones when operating at peak processor capacity were demanding too much power from the ageing battery and was sometimes shutting down.
A lot of iPhone users don’t realise that rechargeable batteries degrade over time and don’t hold a charge as long as when they were brand-new.
The naysayers will proclaim this is an Apple scheme to force people to upgrade their devices.
But in my experience, Apple has always been a company that wants to provide the best possible experience for its customers.
In this case, a phone that’s two or three years old continually shutting down would have made the customer want to throw it out of the window.
What we have to understand is that a processor doesn’t degrade over time and it can become too fast for the battery.
It would be like never changing the tyres on a sports car. The engine will always be fast but as the tyres degrade over time it will affect the performance of the vehicle. Either slow down – or get new tyres.
The alternative, in the case of the iPhone, would be to pay to replace the battery – but how many customers would want to do that? And it wouldn’t be free.
And the iPhone is a sealed product and replacing the battery isn’t as simple as popping off the back cover and slotting in the replacement.
One would need to make an appointment at an Apple Store and let an expert handle it.
Apple will only replace your battery for free within the warranty period if it is found to be defective.
In the case of these older iPhones, Apple’s thinking was to slightly throttle back the processor to allow the device to function more efficiently.
Of all the smart phones on the market, iPhones appear to have longevity as they are often passed down to other family members and friends.
Compared to other brands, Apple’s iPhones would probably remain in market a lot longer.
While customers seem shocked at Apple’s admission of slowing down all the phones, the company’s motive was to offer an improved experience.
After the introduction of iOS 11, we had a few of our Tech Guide readers reporting the performance of their iPhones – mainly iPhone 6 and iPhone 6s – had suffered.
For those accusing Apple of doing this to force customers into buying a new device, consider the fact consider the fact a slower phone is better than a phone that shuts down constantly.
What Apple is trying to do is prolong the life of the phone by slowing it down slightly.
If it did nothing, and the device was constantly plagued by unexpected shutdowns – that would be more of a motivation for the customer to move on to a newer device.
And who’s to say that device would be an iPhone?
