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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

#271

Post by esmi »

davidzweig wrote: post #250
kregasaurusrex wrote: post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem isn't specifically Apple's batteries; it's with current Lithium-ion battery chemistry in general. As a whole, we've nearly reached the upper bound of where energy density and consumer safety are at for providing us with a good battery that doesn't easily explode and gives the phone a constant current. The documentary series NOVA had a good episode earlier in the year that showed some possible alternatives…

"The problem isn't specifically Apple's batteries; it's with current Lithium-ion battery chemistry in general." - I'm not a battery expert, but at least according to this page [0], if you were to fit a 30% larger capacity battery, and only charge to a maximum of 4.0V instead of 4.2V, you'd apparently get the same day-to-day battery life, but the overall life of the battery would be extended 4x (ie from 1 years to 4 y…

So you would be willing to have 30% less battery life everyday to avoid replacing the pack every couple of years? That’s a trade off I personally wouldn’t make.

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

#273

Post by shoobedowop »

scotty79 wrote: post #265
valuearb wrote: post #200

Earlier quoted context omitted.

All batteries wear out after a few years of use.

I understand lasting shorter on charge but shutting down when I turn on the camera while on 40% is uniquely apple experience.

nope.

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

#274

Post by nradov »

scotty79 wrote: post #265
valuearb wrote: post #200

Earlier quoted context omitted.

All batteries wear out after a few years of use.

I understand lasting shorter on charge but shutting down when I turn on the camera while on 40% is uniquely apple experience.

I've seen the same shutdown problem on multiple different Android devices with degraded batteries.

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

#275

Post by nradov »

mfoy_ wrote: post #111
Multicomp wrote: post #13

WOW. Conspiracy was real the whole time! Devil's Advocate to spark discussion (I'm not an iPhone owner so no dog in fight): Apple did the right thing by not putting a switch in to toggle this slowdown[1]. For many iPhone users, the phone is a magic box that gives them videos and apps and (unlike our HN audience) don't have a clue about how it works, nor do they care. If such a switch existed, these same people would…

Or make the battery replaceable... It pains me that I effectively have to choose between replaceable batteries and IPXX ratings.... T_T

The Samsung S5 is IP67 rated and has a user replaceable battery.

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

#276

Post by chrislomax »

valuearb wrote: post #240
chrislomax wrote: post #221

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

She didn’t buy an iPhone in a non branded box, it’s how Apple sent the replacement phone.

I thought it was weird when we got the replacement though.

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

#277

Post by vbezhenar »

Is it widespread issue with other phones? I have a suspicion that either they have faulty batteries or they just got bitten by their tiny batteries. I think that battery should have some real life time (not one year, at least 3 years, preferably 5 years) and should be able to provide all the energy phone needed for functioning. Sure, capacity might be reduced, it's understandable, but that's all.

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

#278

Post by vbezhenar »

ghaff wrote: post #216
valuearb wrote: post #182

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One of the reasons I upgraded to an iPhone X was that my 6 Plus was getting slow. I'm just now finding out that I could have replaced the battery for $85. Am I mad!? No, I'm not. 3 years is long enough for a smart phone, I probably would have replaced it anyways. And I like the X way more. My guess is most people plan to replace their phones after 2 years, and few have this problem before that. So disclosing probably…

I mostly agree although I don't really know if my iPhone 6 seemingly getting slower is due to power throttling or general software optimized for more performance over time. The geekbench numbers are still fine. I'd hesitate to get a new battery purely on speculation my phone would get faster. So it would be nice if there were some indication of where the battery is in its life. Though like you, I'm upgrading to an X…

Optimized for more performance is more like pessimized.

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

#279

Post by EpicBlackCrayon »

ouid wrote: post #153
forkerenok wrote: post #36

I'm somewhat impressed that such a detail hasn't leaked through Apple's walls in all these years. Tells a lot about secretive culture at Apple.

My reading of the article was that it's a pretty new "feature". I'm running iOS 9.1 on a 5s, and it neither shuts down in the cold, nor runs slower than it used to.

I have a hunch that it isn't, and they tweaked the algorithm around iOS 10, which made it a lot more noticeable.

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

#280

Post by scotty79 »

nradov wrote: post #274
scotty79 wrote: post #265

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I understand lasting shorter on charge but shutting down when I turn on the camera while on 40% is uniquely apple experience.

I've seen the same shutdown problem on multiple different Android devices with degraded batteries.

I must have been lucky then.
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