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Apple Says It Slows Older iPhones to Save Their Battery Life

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Re: Apple Says It Slows Older iPhones to Save Their Battery Life

#231

Post by CaptSpify »

IBM wrote: post #189
CaptSpify wrote: post #166

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> That iPhones retain their value over time is a testament to the fact that Apple has not been slowing down old iPhones Not at all. It's a testament that there is a market for old iPhones, that is all. People are possibly buying used iPhones despite them being slowed down. > Apple actually has an incentive to create the longest lasting iPhone because the economics of the iPhone Upgrade Plan and every carrier upgrade…

The lower depreciation of an iPhone compared to any comparable smartphone is directly correlated to the quality of the iPhone. This isn't new, anyone who buys used cars understands this. More importantly, it's an independent (of Apple) market that is constantly repricing this. And the results have been clear: iPhones retain their value much better than anything else. Just as we can use the price of iOS zero-day explo…

> The lower depreciation of an iPhone compared to any comparable smartphone is directly correlated to the quality of the iPhone

That is not true, nor has it ever been for phones or cars. People buy each for all kinds of reasons: status symbols, ideals, etc. iPhones demonstrably do not retain their value as demonstrated by this battery fiasco.

After-Market value != quality

Re: Apple Says It Slows Older iPhones to Save Their Battery Life

#232

Post by JSONwebtoken »

metafunctor wrote: post #102
komali2 wrote: post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's a "regular maintenance" type thing - less common than an oil change, sure, but perhaps just as necessary. So why not make it as easy as an oil change?

Having done both, I can tell you that replacing the battery on an iPhone is already easier than an oil change on a typical car. The iPhone parts are expensive, but it's a relatively simple operation for a trained person.

Not to mention there are an infinite number of 5 minute tutorials on YouTube. You don't have to be trained, you just need a set of eyes and a brain. I'm glad an increasing number of phone manufacturers, not just Apple, put form factor and durability above user laziness.

Re: Apple Says It Slows Older iPhones to Save Their Battery Life

#233

Post by manmal »

valuearb wrote: post #179
sambe wrote: post #144

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That quote really hurts. My iPhone 6S has had spontaneous shutdowns since the first winter it was out (and is supposedly not in the replacement program). No previous Apple phones did. This winter it's the same. To me it suggests a more widespread defect that they do not wish to admit.

Why didn't you replace it the first winter you had it? Would have been free.

Had the same problem - they told me I‘d have to wait up to 8 weeks for them to return my phone. I instead chose to pay a local repair shop €50 to swap the battery within 30 minutes. For €80 they would have used an original Apple battery replacement.

Re: Apple Says It Slows Older iPhones to Save Their Battery Life

#235

Post by starky »

jtbayly wrote: post #70
walterbell wrote: post #64

Has it been confirmed whether Apple stops slowing the phone when the phone is plugged into AC power, i.e. the battery is not being used?

It has been anti-confirmed by me. My iPhone 6S continues running at 50% CPU speed, even when charging from the OEM adapter. Only thing that makes it run (a little bit) faster is if the battery charge gets above 97%. (Also worth noting that the battery in my phone still holds 87% original capacity.)

That this is happening when the cell is still at 87% capacity is really the problem here. How do you justify degrading your system's performance when the cell is still soundly in the healthy region?

Re: Apple Says It Slows Older iPhones to Save Their Battery Life

#236

Post by tcdent »

michrassena wrote: post #208
QuotedForTruth wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is replaceable, just not replaceable without expertise and tools. Would you say that most of your car parts aren't replaceable?

Sure, and so are the motherboard, screen, digitizer, etc. But that doesn't make it consumer-friendly. The battery in my phone is also user replaceable. A new battery costs almost $20, and requires me to pull the back cover off the phone with my fingernails. Whatever excuses a company makes for not offering that feature really just boils down to making money.

I'll take removing two screws to access the internals over having the entire thing fly apart when it's dropped on the ground any day. Do you remember removable batteries and cases from the early Nokia days? Even a minor jolt could interrupt the power supply and freeze the phone, so even if it didn't explode into four pieces, you still had to disassemble it and re-insert the battery.

Solid construction and mechanical fasteners are a feature. Servicing any part of an iPhone is not that hard; lack of serviceability is a myth.

Additionally, batteries are not the most commonly replaced part. So far my SE has had four screens and a lightning connector. I'll do the battery myself when I notice performance degrade, too.

Re: Apple Says It Slows Older iPhones to Save Their Battery Life

#237

Post by xenadu02 »

JustSomeNobody wrote: post #203
compiler-guy wrote: post #130

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The batteries handle the load just fine until they start wearing out around 500 cycles.

How are people getting to 500 cycles in one year?

It isn't purely about cycle count. If you ever forget and leave your phone on the car dash in the summer that heat has a permanent negative effect on your battery.

Re: Apple Says It Slows Older iPhones to Save Their Battery Life

#238

Post by bastijn »

abakker wrote: post #194
sambe wrote: post #144

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That quote really hurts. My iPhone 6S has had spontaneous shutdowns since the first winter it was out (and is supposedly not in the replacement program). No previous Apple phones did. This winter it's the same. To me it suggests a more widespread defect that they do not wish to admit.

FYI - https://www.apple.com/support/iphone6s-unexpectedshutdown/ that was effected by a recall. You should check your serial number.

Put in my number for fun, found out it is eligible for a replacement. Good things after 2 years a free new battery :).

Re: Apple Says It Slows Older iPhones to Save Their Battery Life

#239

Post by cjensen »

dbingham wrote: post #122
djrogers wrote: post #3

It's not only to make them run longer - they're reducing the peak demand on the batteries to avoid spontaneous shutdown when the aged battery can't handle the load. This seems like a good idea, and it appears to be well executed (ie it's not apparently based just on age or milage like a crappy car maintenance reminder), but Apple should probably have something in iOS that tells people their phone is running slow beca…

Or they could, you know, design the thing so that the battery is replaceable and provide easily accessible replacement batteries.

Apple will replace the battery for $79 [1]. When you consider the cost for a battery, the labor for replacement, the confidence that this is not a junk replacement, and the warranty for the service, that's a very reasonable price. There is no way Apple is making money on this.

[1] https://support.apple.com/iphone/repair/battery-power

Re: Apple Says It Slows Older iPhones to Save Their Battery Life

#240

Post by valuearb »

chrislomax wrote: post #221
valuearb wrote: post #209

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Was her replacement phone a refurbished or new unit? Either way, she can probably get a brand new battery just by taking it in to the Apple Store. Also, battery age isn't actually time based, it's cycle based. If your wife uses her phone so heavily that she has to recharge it multiple times a day, she's putting more cycles on the battery. Still should last more than 6 months though.

I’m not 100% on whether it was refurb or brand new. It came in a non branded box without a charger etc. The phone looked brand new. I’m going to install the app to check what the CPU is running at. It’s still ridiculous that she was running 10.x fine, she only updated because someone sent her some emojis that her phone didn’t understand and now is it’s running like crap

The last time I heard of someone buying an iPhone in a non branded box, she ended up getting a box filled with potatoes. Your wife is already ahead on that person.
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