Apple's Apology for Intentionally Slowing Down Your iPhone Will Cost You
By Mustafa GatollariUpdated Nov. 18 2019, 2:15 p.m. ET
There's a dirty little secret in the tech industry and it's called planned obsolescence.
It's a business tactic commonly implemented by tech companies and for huge cell phone manufacturers, it's a big part of their sales model.
Don't you ever notice how after the 18-month to two-year mark, your phone starts to inexplicably slow down? Sure, you follow tips and tricks to bring your phone back to that fresh-out-the-box fastness that you experienced during the honeymoon phase of your new device, but that only does so much.
It seems with every update on your shiny device, your phone is being intentionally slowed down, but that would be crazy, right? I mean a company wouldn't be so evil as to sell you a $600+ product that's only designed to be totally usable for 2 years.
Well, as it turns out, that's precisely what Apple was doing, and the Cupertino-based tech giant even admitted to it.
Update: Apple confirms it slows down old iPhones https://t.co/PLkBTscEi1 pic.twitter.com/ul6AMbvwvP
— The Verge (@verge) December 20, 2017Users flocked to the internet to prove that older models CPU speeds were being clocked at lower numbers, and they compared numbers and uploaded the screengrabs online.
So it's true Apple intentionally slow down old iPhones. Proof: My iPhone 6 was bought 3years ago and recently got really slow. APP 'CPU DasherX' shows iPhone CPU is under clocked running at 600MHz. After a iPhone battery replacement. CPU speed resumed to factory setting 1400MHz. pic.twitter.com/pML3y0Jkp2
— Sam_Si (@sam_siruomu) December 20, 2017In the above user's case, his iPhone was operating at less than half of its out-of-the-box speed.
People were obviously angry and felt betrayed by the manufacturer.
so it is true #Apple slows older phones down after updates with out letting you know.. ppl low key go out an buy brand new iPhones thinking there old ones burnt out..
— Tsuki Yomi (@IAm3Moon) December 21, 2017While others felt like their suspicions all this time have been rightfully confirmed.
just saying...about two years ago i was talking about how i thought apple intentionally slows down older iphones and this dude literally scoffed at me like i was one of the dumbest people on this earth. so who feels like a dumbass now!!!!
— Madd Hook (@maddshook) December 29, 2017Apple gave its reasoning for slowing down the older models: battery preservation.
Apple’s statement on iPhone 6, iPhone 6s, iPhone SE power management (the slowdown): pic.twitter.com/3RpE3fKCQc
— Rene Ritchie (@reneritchie) December 20, 2017Which means that if you want your iPhone to work like it did the day it came out of the box, you'd need to replace the lithium ion battery in order to do so.
People wanted to know just why the heck Apple didn't let users know about this in the first place, because it's kind of a huge problem.
For years, we’ve reassured people that no, Apple doesn’t secretly slow down their older iPhones to make them buy new ones.
If this must be done, it should be a setting. If it’s on by default, the user should be alerted the first time it happens.https://t.co/kRRmd7mN72
— Marco Arment (@marcoarment) December 20, 2017Which didn't sit well with a lot of people.
This will be seen by many as a new Apple tax - forcing users to upgrade early, pay for a replacement battery... or be stuck with a slow phone.
— Jim (@JimConnolly) December 20, 2017Many thought it was a shady way of Apple keeping information away from customers, which influenced them opting for a new phone upgrade rather than just fixing a tiny component on a device they already shelled out a ton of money for.
If Apple is going to slow down an old phone so the battery can handle it, you should receive several alerts about it. They're coercing people to buy something new, even if they want to pretend that isn't their intention.
— Nicole Cozma (@c0z) December 20, 2017Let's be honest, there are tons of us out there who've purchased new phones because they "got slow", even if they weren't always that way.
They argue they're protecting users by optimizing their battery 'magically' -- so be up front about it and tell them about it.
Anything less is not excusable if you're lead to believe it's slow.. when a replacement battery will do the trick.
— ⚡️ Owen (@ow) December 20, 2017So here's Apple's attempt at making things "right" for basically lying to its consumers about a huge concern iPhone users have had for years: the tech manufacturer is offering $29 battery replacements for older models at its Apple stores for the next year.
Apple issues apology and drops price of out-of-warranty iPhone battery replacement from $79 to $29.
Earlier stories on Apple slowing iPhone usage as the battery ages and related lawsuits: https://t.co/ybfMmRTyWK pic.twitter.com/CQHYUoav8v
— The Seattle Times (@seattletimes) December 28, 2017That's a $50 drop in its usual price and seems like a bargain, but it doesn't change the fact that people are still feeling a bit back-stabbed by the practice.
So @apple slows down the older iphones and now wants to charge money to fix it? pic.twitter.com/qiHd4zSH74
— eLDee (@eLDeeTheDon) December 29, 2017Sure, there are some iPhone users who believe that the way the company managed battery life was kinda cool.
This is actually a pretty cool way of managing battery life as a phone ages, but it's also pretty disingenuous to not tell the user about it, and let them assume their phone just got slow pic.twitter.com/mc9TDi6EH7
— ⚡️ Owen (@ow) December 19, 2017But it is kind of strange that you'll receive a million alerts about purchasing iCloud storage and setting up your Apple Pay and freeing up space on your phone, but no alerts that your battery is degrading an affecting phone performance.
Will you be replacing your battery for the new reduced cost? Or do you think Apple should be replacing them for free?
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