Apple admitted to slowing down older Iphones as their batteries degrade. The Verge reported yesterday:
Geekbench developer John Poole has mapped out performance for the iPhone 6S and iPhone 7 over time, and has come to the conclusion that Apple’s iOS 10.2.1 and 11.2.0 updates introduce this throttling for different devices. iOS 10.2.1 is particularly relevant, as this update was designed to reduce random shutdown issues for the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6S. Apple’s fix appears to be throttling the CPU to prevent the phone from randomly shutting down. Geekbench reports that iOS 11.2.0 introduces similar throttling for iPhone 7 units with older batteries.
Some Reddit users report that replacing their batteries has returned performance and CPU clock speeds back to normal. The reports are particularly troubling because any perceived slowdowns by iPhone users might tempt owners to upgrade their entire device instead of replace the battery. “This fix will also cause users to think, 'my phone is slow so I should replace it' not, 'my phone is slow so I should replace its battery,’” says Geekbench’s John Poole. Article
Apple confirmed the findings to the tech website:
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 to 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 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.
Apple deserves some plaudits for trying to extend the life of older Iphones. However, it dropped the ball when it didn't notify Iphone owners that it was doing so and that replacing the battery would restore the phone to its normal speed. Forking over $79 at the Apple Store is much cheaper than a few hundred dollars for a new Iphone.
6 comments:
Trying to extend the life of older phones.
Yeh, that is the story, trying to help us out. Yes, that is it.
In other news, the sky is blue.
When your market is saturated you'll do anything to create new demand.
Apple robs people of money? Imagine that!
Tim Cook is a scumbag.
Well considering half the browsers used to read this website are safari, this story probably is of interest to quite a few of my readers.
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