When my iPhome 6 was 18 months old and still under AppleCare it started spontaneously dying when the battery remaining was 40% and I did something like shoot a video. Apple wouldn’t replace the battery because I wasn’t on the current OS and because the battery did not “test” out of spec according to the Genius Bar. Sure enough months later when I finally gave up my jailbreak and updated iOS the sudden shutdowns stopped too, but now the phone was slow as heck.... so... I replaced it.
This is the key thing people are missing. Is this isn’t just 4 year old phones. Let’s talk about what an old battery is... in my case it should have been a manufactures defect under warranty replacement at 18 months and wasn’t because the software crippled it instead. .
Phones should operate normally, full power, for at least their warranty duration, don’t you think?
So my thought on your last question is: my car doesn’t throttle my engine when I am low on gas. To my knowledge, my MacBook doesn’t throttle my chips as the battery is aging. What makes the iPhone so special?
I bought a device that is expected to produce a certain level of preformance, I expect it to continue that level at all times unless otherwise told. Why cover up a failing battery? If it’s a serious problem, I will replace it, as most consumers would once it’s condition is poor. There is no defending Apple on this one.
Not sure how big of a deal this is but the iOS versions here lately have been horrid on my iPhone 7. So bad, I am restarting or hard restarting my phone at least once per day, often multiple times per day. It’s like using a beta iOS or a Samsung. Really annoying. Generally it happens when using built in Apple apps too. Anyone else having a similar experience?
No, but it may have a "limp home" mode in the event of some kind of problem. That's what this is. And, in the case of a depleted battery in at least the white plastic MacBooks, and MacBook Pros before 2010 for sure, and possibly more models, if it isn't capable of delivering enough power, or is not installed, the machine clocks itself down to properly operate.
I'm certainly not defending Apple's lack of response to the situation. However, there are chemical and physical realities associated with batteries, and the throttling in response to a depleted one is fine. Just not the lack of disclosure.
Again, the choices here are a crashing phone that shuts off randomly, or one that is slower and still works.
Everyone knows that batteries fail, that’s not the problem. The problem is Apple’s response in concealing it was asinine.
If you buy an IPhone with the expectation of 4 years of use, by the end of the devices life you can expect battery life to be 25% to 50% of when it was new. It isn’t reasonable to expect the reduced battery life to result in Apple throttling performance. Other components on the phone will eventually degrade in a way that effects performance. Also, it’s reasonable to expect that newer versions of the OS (designed for newer hardware) will reduce speeds on older devices. Eventually old hardware will no longer be supported... that’s totally reasonable.
Instead of communicating with owners of the devices, Apple attempted to sweep the issue under the rug. Apple made a design decision to make batteries difficult to be replaced, and that turned out to be a marketing problem. Samsung for example, was sure to point it out embarrassing Apple.
Samsung essentially use the same batteries, but as far anyone knows that’s not resulting in the devices unexpectantly shutting down. And, Samsung isn’t throttling performance because of batteries. All devices throttle processor speeds/cores to regulate temperature, but that’s known and expected.
The vast majority of Apple’s devices didn’t have unexpected shutdowns, or batteries underperforming expectations. Apple made a mountain out of a molehill. If Apple just told those small number of people experiencing issues that they were throttling performance, and replacing the battery was recommended. People would have responded “thanks, I’ll add that to my schedule”. Instead people were probably wiping their phones thinking it was a problem with the OS update. And people were thinking “why the F is my phone so slow?”
Now people know why, and are going “Apple, why did you waste hours of my life?” And, “why did I spend many, many hundreds of dollars for a new phone when all I needed to spend was $79?” A simple heads up would have been great you $g&h&! Also, “Apple, why did you put profits before me. Haven’t I been a loyal customer?”
Apple fanboys like to pretend Apple is perfect. Apple isn't, know one (or company) is... everyone should just admit Apple put their ‘foot in it’ and wonder how they’re going to make it right. If Apple does nothing there will be people pissed (rightfully so) and will explore the other options. We as Apple customers pay a premium for superior devices and support, it’s a two way street.
If you buy a premium vehicle, you expect a superior vehicle... the same is true for all purchases. A “Name Brand” should be superior to a “Knock-off” otherwise you should buy the Knock-off.
When my iPhome 6 was 18 months old and still under AppleCare it started spontaneously dying when the battery remaining was 40% and I did something like shoot a video. Apple wouldn’t replace the battery because I wasn’t on the current OS and because the battery did not “test” out of spec according to the Genius Bar. Sure enough months later when I finally gave up my jailbreak and updated iOS the sudden shutdowns stopped too, but now the phone was slow as heck.... so... I replaced it.
This is the key thing people are missing. Is this isn’t just 4 year old phones. Let’s talk about what an old battery is... in my case it should have been a manufactures defect under warranty replacement at 18 months and wasn’t because the software crippled it instead. .
Phones should operate normally, full power, for at least their warranty duration, don’t you think?
So my thought on your last question is: my car doesn’t throttle my engine when I am low on gas. To my knowledge, my MacBook doesn’t throttle my chips as the battery is aging. What makes the iPhone so special?
I bought a device that is expected to produce a certain level of preformance, I expect it to continue that level at all times unless otherwise told. Why cover up a failing battery? If it’s a serious problem, I will replace it, as most consumers would once it’s condition is poor. There is no defending Apple on this one.
Not sure how big of a deal this is but the iOS versions here lately have been horrid on my iPhone 7. So bad, I am restarting or hard restarting my phone at least once per day, often multiple times per day. It’s like using a beta iOS or a Samsung. Really annoying. Generally it happens when using built in Apple apps too. Anyone else having a similar experience?
No, but it may have a "limp home" mode in the event of some kind of problem. That's what this is. And, in the case of a depleted battery in at least the white plastic MacBooks, and MacBook Pros before 2010 for sure, and possibly more models, if it isn't capable of delivering enough power, or is not installed, the machine clocks itself down to properly operate.
I'm certainly not defending Apple's lack of response to the situation. However, there are chemical and physical realities associated with batteries, and the throttling in response to a depleted one is fine. Just not the lack of disclosure.
Again, the choices here are a crashing phone that shuts off randomly, or one that is slower and still works.
Where exactly those disclosures should be would be my question. There might be numerous fairly arcane situations that would need to be disclosed, if such disclosure is truly required.
In the previous article, about the first lawsuit, a commenter pointed out that the OS throttles the clock speed to prevent thermal issues. Should that be disclosed? Where, and when?
What about other issues that affect performance? Running 32-bit apps, back before they were culled? Should that have been disclosed at the time of a sale of an iPhone 5S, 6, 6S?
How about the minor difference in processor performance between the Samsung and TMSC A10’s? Should that have been printed on the back of each iPhone, like the P, (Philadelphia), D (Denver) or S (San Francisco) mint marks on old pennies?
Then there’s the Intel versus Qualcomm modem speeds. Again, print that on the back of the iPhone too? Let users make a choice?
The fact is, Apple doesn’t sell their iPhones on those specs. They don’t promise or represent that the CPU will always run at a certain clock speed. They do represent that each new CPU is faster than the previous generations, but that’s a relative comparison. If two generations of CPU are each downclocked under similar conditions (to prevent a thermal issue, for example), then the relative performance claims will remain true. The fact Apple doesn’t make a claim about absolute performance is, in my opinion, why these lawsuits will fail.
Where is it that Apple should be so transparent regarding all these esoteric device management issues?
Dialog box, the first time it happens.
"Your battery is depleted and is affecting device performance. Make an appointment at a Genius Bar for testing and possible replacement."
This is why I don't like Apple. They think they know what's best for their customers and also they have an amazing talent to cover their deficiencies up and repackage it to make them look like they are positive improvement. I gotta give a big applause to their PR team. Amazing people who can sell ice to Eskimos.
Any person with some brain knows the Li batteries lose it's charge capacities after certain number of charges, like 500 times or so then slowly after that it only charges up to 90 80 70 and so on then at some point if you can't stand less battery capacities then you get new batteries. Same with any rechargeable tools or electronic devices. It's a given fact.
I buy androids only because I don't like Apple's business philosophy. Regardless I understand both Iphones and Android phones will face the same battery degradation over time.
I had HTC, LG V20, GS3, Note 2, ZTE, 5 of GS7 Edges, and several tablets and notebooks from different manufacturers. Some removable batteries and some built in. My biggest worry about GS7 Edge was that when the battery gets old it is not as easy as the previous phones where I could simply replace the battery on my own besides the convenience of swapping batteries when the batteries dead.
Apple charges quite more than it's competitors because they claim it's premium phone. And they list many things as it's features but the thing they boast most is it's faster apu and their customers buy the phones for that reason among the others.
Well, I would think if it's a premium phone and they know the limitation of the battery technology they would design their apu so that it would be robust enough to operate even when the battery level is low or charge current is low. But they didn't.
So now customers complain that the phone shuts off at 40% battery level after using a couple of years or so then they throttle the apu speed so it does not shut off as frequent yet somewhat usable for most tasks just slower. "To protect the components and for the better user experience"
And they didn't let their customers know what's going on until they cannot keep it quiet anymore.
I don't know about the owners of other products but with me I never once had issues with phone shutting off until the battery level is 2 or even 1 percent especially with Samsungs. The screen might be really really dim below 5% battery level but kept going at full throttle. Yes the battery was draining faster than if it was throttled down but I wouldn't like it even if it had throttle down mode. I just control my use of the phone. Just use less if I need to prolong the battery time. But when I use it I want 100% performance out of it.
Many times I used my phones until the battery level gets down to zero over and over when I charge the phones then none of them stopped working! They always get charged back to 100% and so far there isn't a phone that became unusable because I used them until battery drains completely.
So I was kind of scratching my head "Iphone shuts down to protect the phone itself at 40% or so? So they slow down the apu if the battery gets old and hold less charge?" So what's the point of paying extra $$$ for fast apu phone if you don't get that full throttle speed after a while. To me regardless of how you want to look at it if it shuts off at 40% then it should say 0% because the phone does not work anymore at that point.
Well, if the Apple disclosed that after a couple of years of use their phones will shut off at 40% battery level to save the phones then far less people would buy them and that also a proof that there is a serious design flaw that low battery/voltage level can damage the phone whereas other phones don't.
Back to their marketing. Apple is the master of positioning of their products. They are genius at marketing and PRs. But I think they reach the point where those cannot carry them any farther. Like all the other big companies Apple is following Nokia's footstep and it's ironic that it was Apple who brought down Nokia.
It would have been fine if they admitted that with the older batteries the performance can be degraded and gave the choice to the customers full throttle all the way or less throttle for longer usage per battery charge instead of made that choice and shoved it down their customers throats. Pure arrogance......
But seriously the Iphones did shut off at 40% battery level?????? smh I don't see any premium-ness in it.
Android phones will never have this problem. Because you can’t update to the next major revision of the OS, and the phones are useless before the battery gets old. How convenient, eh?
When my iPhome 6 was 18 months old and still under AppleCare it started spontaneously dying when the battery remaining was 40% and I did something like shoot a video. Apple wouldn’t replace the battery because I wasn’t on the current OS and because the battery did not “test” out of spec according to the Genius Bar. Sure enough months later when I finally gave up my jailbreak and updated iOS the sudden shutdowns stopped too, but now the phone was slow as heck.... so... I replaced it.
This is the key thing people are missing. Is this isn’t just 4 year old phones. Let’s talk about what an old battery is... in my case it should have been a manufactures defect under warranty replacement at 18 months and wasn’t because the software crippled it instead. .
Phones should operate normally, full power, for at least their warranty duration, don’t you think?
So my thought on your last question is: my car doesn’t throttle my engine when I am low on gas. To my knowledge, my MacBook doesn’t throttle my chips as the battery is aging. What makes the iPhone so special?
I bought a device that is expected to produce a certain level of preformance, I expect it to continue that level at all times unless otherwise told. Why cover up a failing battery? If it’s a serious problem, I will replace it, as most consumers would once it’s condition is poor. There is no defending Apple on this one.
Not sure how big of a deal this is but the iOS versions here lately have been horrid on my iPhone 7. So bad, I am restarting or hard restarting my phone at least once per day, often multiple times per day. It’s like using a beta iOS or a Samsung. Really annoying. Generally it happens when using built in Apple apps too. Anyone else having a similar experience?
No, but it may have a "limp home" mode in the event of some kind of problem. That's what this is. And, in the case of a depleted battery in at least the white plastic MacBooks, and MacBook Pros before 2010 for sure, and possibly more models, if it isn't capable of delivering enough power, or is not installed, the machine clocks itself down to properly operate.
I'm certainly not defending Apple's lack of response to the situation. However, there are chemical and physical realities associated with batteries, and the throttling in response to a depleted one is fine. Just not the lack of disclosure.
Again, the choices here are a crashing phone that shuts off randomly, or one that is slower and still works.
Where exactly those disclosures should be would be my question. There might be numerous fairly arcane situations that would need to be disclosed, if such disclosure is truly required.
In the previous article, about the first lawsuit, a commenter pointed out that the OS throttles the clock speed to prevent thermal issues. Should that be disclosed? Where, and when?
What about other issues that affect performance? Running 32-bit apps, back before they were culled? Should that have been disclosed at the time of a sale of an iPhone 5S, 6, 6S?
How about the minor difference in processor performance between the Samsung and TMSC A10’s? Should that have been printed on the back of each iPhone, like the P, (Philadelphia), D (Denver) or S (San Francisco) mint marks on old pennies?
Then there’s the Intel versus Qualcomm modem speeds. Again, print that on the back of the iPhone too? Let users make a choice?
The fact is, Apple doesn’t sell their iPhones on those specs. They don’t promise or represent that the CPU will always run at a certain clock speed. They do represent that each new CPU is faster than the previous generations, but that’s a relative comparison. If two generations of CPU are each downclocked under similar conditions (to prevent a thermal issue, for example), then the relative performance claims will remain true. The fact Apple doesn’t make a claim about absolute performance is, in my opinion, why these lawsuits will fail.
Where is it that Apple should be so transparent regarding all these esoteric device management issues?
Dude...esoteric? Get real.This isn't a minor variance in battery or processor performance, as we've seen in the past. This is Apple deliberately slowing down older phones, ostensibly to preserve battery life. They did it without telling anyone until now. This means that people experienced slowdowns and didn't know why. How many people upgraded to a new phone when they may not have needed to?
This is a big deal, and Apple is going to take a real hit from it. Mark my words.
When my iPhome 6 was 18 months old and still under AppleCare it started spontaneously dying when the battery remaining was 40% and I did something like shoot a video. Apple wouldn’t replace the battery because I wasn’t on the current OS and because the battery did not “test” out of spec according to the Genius Bar. Sure enough months later when I finally gave up my jailbreak and updated iOS the sudden shutdowns stopped too, but now the phone was slow as heck.... so... I replaced it.
This is the key thing people are missing. Is this isn’t just 4 year old phones. Let’s talk about what an old battery is... in my case it should have been a manufactures defect under warranty replacement at 18 months and wasn’t because the software crippled it instead. .
Phones should operate normally, full power, for at least their warranty duration, don’t you think?
So my thought on your last question is: my car doesn’t throttle my engine when I am low on gas. To my knowledge, my MacBook doesn’t throttle my chips as the battery is aging. What makes the iPhone so special?
I bought a device that is expected to produce a certain level of preformance, I expect it to continue that level at all times unless otherwise told. Why cover up a failing battery? If it’s a serious problem, I will replace it, as most consumers would once it’s condition is poor. There is no defending Apple on this one.
Not sure how big of a deal this is but the iOS versions here lately have been horrid on my iPhone 7. So bad, I am restarting or hard restarting my phone at least once per day, often multiple times per day. It’s like using a beta iOS or a Samsung. Really annoying. Generally it happens when using built in Apple apps too. Anyone else having a similar experience?
No, but it may have a "limp home" mode in the event of some kind of problem. That's what this is. And, in the case of a depleted battery in at least the white plastic MacBooks, and MacBook Pros before 2010 for sure, and possibly more models, if it isn't capable of delivering enough power, or is not installed, the machine clocks itself down to properly operate.
I'm certainly not defending Apple's lack of response to the situation. However, there are chemical and physical realities associated with batteries, and the throttling in response to a depleted one is fine. Just not the lack of disclosure.
Again, the choices here are a crashing phone that shuts off randomly, or one that is slower and still works.
Where exactly those disclosures should be would be my question. There might be numerous fairly arcane situations that would need to be disclosed, if such disclosure is truly required.
In the previous article, about the first lawsuit, a commenter pointed out that the OS throttles the clock speed to prevent thermal issues. Should that be disclosed? Where, and when?
What about other issues that affect performance? Running 32-bit apps, back before they were culled? Should that have been disclosed at the time of a sale of an iPhone 5S, 6, 6S?
How about the minor difference in processor performance between the Samsung and TMSC A10’s? Should that have been printed on the back of each iPhone, like the P, (Philadelphia), D (Denver) or S (San Francisco) mint marks on old pennies?
Then there’s the Intel versus Qualcomm modem speeds. Again, print that on the back of the iPhone too? Let users make a choice?
The fact is, Apple doesn’t sell their iPhones on those specs. They don’t promise or represent that the CPU will always run at a certain clock speed. They do represent that each new CPU is faster than the previous generations, but that’s a relative comparison. If two generations of CPU are each downclocked under similar conditions (to prevent a thermal issue, for example), then the relative performance claims will remain true. The fact Apple doesn’t make a claim about absolute performance is, in my opinion, why these lawsuits will fail.
Where is it that Apple should be so transparent regarding all these esoteric device management issues?
Dude...esoteric? Get real.This isn't a minor variance in battery or processor performance, as we've seen in the past. This is Apple deliberately slowing down older phones, ostensibly to preserve battery life. They did it without telling anyone until now. This means that people experienced slowdowns and didn't know why. How many people upgraded to a new phone when they may not have needed to?
This is a big deal, and Apple is going to take a real hit from it. Mark my words.
While we're being precise:
This is Apple deliberately slowing down a phone to prevent random shutdown and keep it functional in the case of an expendable component reaching the end of its operational life.
Low-voltage situations happen on Android too. You know what happens? The device crashes.
Yeah, It's a big deal. But, not for the reasons you want it to be.
Nobody and no jury is going to believe this steaming pile of bullshit from Apple, and rightly so. They would be well served to state the truth from here on - rather than keep feeding this bullshit narrative.
They throttled performance to encourage upgrading. They wrote this code as a narrative in case they were ever found out. Never because they wanted to prolong the period of people buying new phones and hurting profits. They deceived everyone because they wanted a better customer experience??? What kind of drooling morons do they take us for?
They are going to get absolutely destroyed in courts all over the globe and in the US congress.
If that were the case than why would performance return to normal after a battery replacement? The only bullshit narrative is the one you are trying so hard to create. The shutting down and battery drain are the same symptoms that the batteries that were replaced under Apple's replacement program showed. My GF's son's iPhone 6 had the same issue recently 79.00 + tax for a new battery and the phone runs like new again. Took an hour we had lunch next door while we waited...
So you are saying that if someone takes their device into the apple store and it is displaying this behavior ( random shut downs and battery drain and shutting down with 30 % etc..) the only fix they offer is to replace the phone? If anything is bullshit it's the belief by yourself and others that are apparently afraid to speak up on an issue when in the Apple store and believe that a device needs to be replaced because the battery has gone bad..
It's nonsense like this that disappoints me with how Apple handled this.. People have been chomping at the bit for years trying to prove the forced obsolescence narrative and they pull this? Apple had to know that this had been a rumor circulating for years prior to this leak coming out.
When my iPhome 6 was 18 months old and still under AppleCare it started spontaneously dying when the battery remaining was 40% and I did something like shoot a video. Apple wouldn’t replace the battery because I wasn’t on the current OS and because the battery did not “test” out of spec according to the Genius Bar. Sure enough months later when I finally gave up my jailbreak and updated iOS the sudden shutdowns stopped too, but now the phone was slow as heck.... so... I replaced it.
This is the key thing people are missing. Is this isn’t just 4 year old phones. Let’s talk about what an old battery is... in my case it should have been a manufactures defect under warranty replacement at 18 months and wasn’t because the software crippled it instead. .
Phones should operate normally, full power, for at least their warranty duration, don’t you think?
So my thought on your last question is: my car doesn’t throttle my engine when I am low on gas. To my knowledge, my MacBook doesn’t throttle my chips as the battery is aging. What makes the iPhone so special?
I bought a device that is expected to produce a certain level of preformance, I expect it to continue that level at all times unless otherwise told. Why cover up a failing battery? If it’s a serious problem, I will replace it, as most consumers would once it’s condition is poor. There is no defending Apple on this one.
Not sure how big of a deal this is but the iOS versions here lately have been horrid on my iPhone 7. So bad, I am restarting or hard restarting my phone at least once per day, often multiple times per day. It’s like using a beta iOS or a Samsung. Really annoying. Generally it happens when using built in Apple apps too. Anyone else having a similar experience?
No, but it may have a "limp home" mode in the event of some kind of problem. That's what this is. And, in the case of a depleted battery in at least the white plastic MacBooks, and MacBook Pros before 2010 for sure, and possibly more models, if it isn't capable of delivering enough power, or is not installed, the machine clocks itself down to properly operate.
I'm certainly not defending Apple's lack of response to the situation. However, there are chemical and physical realities associated with batteries, and the throttling in response to a depleted one is fine. Just not the lack of disclosure.
Again, the choices here are a crashing phone that shuts off randomly, or one that is slower and still works.
Where exactly those disclosures should be would be my question. There might be numerous fairly arcane situations that would need to be disclosed, if such disclosure is truly required.
In the previous article, about the first lawsuit, a commenter pointed out that the OS throttles the clock speed to prevent thermal issues. Should that be disclosed? Where, and when?
What about other issues that affect performance? Running 32-bit apps, back before they were culled? Should that have been disclosed at the time of a sale of an iPhone 5S, 6, 6S?
How about the minor difference in processor performance between the Samsung and TMSC A10’s? Should that have been printed on the back of each iPhone, like the P, (Philadelphia), D (Denver) or S (San Francisco) mint marks on old pennies?
Then there’s the Intel versus Qualcomm modem speeds. Again, print that on the back of the iPhone too? Let users make a choice?
The fact is, Apple doesn’t sell their iPhones on those specs. They don’t promise or represent that the CPU will always run at a certain clock speed. They do represent that each new CPU is faster than the previous generations, but that’s a relative comparison. If two generations of CPU are each downclocked under similar conditions (to prevent a thermal issue, for example), then the relative performance claims will remain true. The fact Apple doesn’t make a claim about absolute performance is, in my opinion, why these lawsuits will fail.
Where is it that Apple should be so transparent regarding all these esoteric device management issues?
Dialog box, the first time it happens.
"Your battery is depleted and is affecting device performance. Make an appointment at a Genius Bar for testing and possible replacement."
Done.
It already says that in the Settings app: Your battery need to be serviced. Better than a one time dialog since it is permanently there in the Settings app.
And once that notice appears, what you need is service, not transparency.
Tech news sites, infected with mostly trolls these days, run around with their hair on fire with their reporting. Some start to see dollar signs and file lawsuits. In a few days this will all go away and on we will go on to the next trumped up scandal. A few more months or years down the road we will hear the lawsuits were dismissed with prejudice because there was no ‘crime’ committed by Apple. By then no one will care and it will be just a mention in a blog somewhere. You know you’ve seen these scenarios before. Anybody talking about Samsung’s Note 7 scandal these days? Any news on the lawsuits filed over that? What ever happened to the lawsuits filed over Antenna-gate? Will this time be any different? Many are rambling on about Apple’s reputation and transparency and how this is the end,,, finally the end of Apple. Trolls are having wet dreams over this just like Apple fanboys did over the Samsung Note 7 explosions.
The problem is that we no longer live in a society where facts, reason, or rational explanations matter. Personal beliefs and perceptions, no matter how naive or subjective, are the only reality. Apple can try to explain this with sound engineering, scientific, and customer value principles and logic but it will not change the minds of those who have already decided that this incident fully confirms everything negative they already believe about Apple. There are many commenters who now attribute every perceived performance degradation on their device to be an intentional act by Apple to trick them into buying a new device, regardless of the health of their battery. Unfortunately it all starts at the top and there is no cure in sight.
Here are my facts: My wife iPhone 5S on iOS 7 after 4 years runs as smooth as my iPhone 7 on iOS 10! I was very close to update the software on her 5S recently but glad I didn't. Based on my experience I'm inclined to believe what I suspected of apple for a while: they are shameless lying hypocrites and charlatans like most if not all large corporations!
Dude, more new software ,means more complex code, with more features & animations.Your Hardware is not upgraded, like your software. So , generally your phone will slow down with the progression of time. But personally I found little difference between iOS 6 iPhone 5 & iOS 10.3.2 iPhone 5
Why do so many older models get the latest software? So Apple can put up a slide showing most of the install base on the latest software and make fun of Google’s so-called fragmentation? What good is being on the latest software if it makes your phone experience not great? I know Apple says it’s worked on making the latest software better for older devices but every year Ars Technics tests this out and the experience is still not that great.
My iPad Mini 2 (A7) performs better under iOS 11 than your iPad Pro with almost no lag. I turned off many features, notably transparency, motion, many of background app refreshes; disabled recent apps on the dock, disabled video overlay, keeping only a couple of Safari tabs open... I always close unused apps via app switcher, closing them releases significant memory. I suggest to do the same on your iPad Pro.
What I mean, owners of older devices can optimize the operating system along with their usage patterns and can still benefit from the deeper enhancements brought by the latest versions and my iPad Mini 2 battery lasts longer under iOS 11. OS X Leopard 10.5.8 still keeps an iBook G4 (a 2005 PowerPC machine) functioning as a media server via iTunes Home Sharing. I am very glad Apple supports older devices with the new OS releases and this is one reason many people commits to Apple. And Apple doesn't force anyone to install the latest OS version. If the government would keep your five years old car out of traffic you would be enraged. That is the point.
Who wants to have to do all that? No Apple doesn’t force OS upgrades but I’m sure like my 75 year old mother a lot of people do when they get the notification. They’re not thinking oh if I do this it will slow down my device. They’re thinking if Apple is telling me new software is available I better update.
When my iPhome 6 was 18 months old and still under AppleCare it started spontaneously dying when the battery remaining was 40% and I did something like shoot a video. Apple wouldn’t replace the battery because I wasn’t on the current OS and because the battery did not “test” out of spec according to the Genius Bar. Sure enough months later when I finally gave up my jailbreak and updated iOS the sudden shutdowns stopped too, but now the phone was slow as heck.... so... I replaced it.
This is the key thing people are missing. Is this isn’t just 4 year old phones. Let’s talk about what an old battery is... in my case it should have been a manufactures defect under warranty replacement at 18 months and wasn’t because the software crippled it instead. .
Phones should operate normally, full power, for at least their warranty duration, don’t you think?
So my thought on your last question is: my car doesn’t throttle my engine when I am low on gas. To my knowledge, my MacBook doesn’t throttle my chips as the battery is aging. What makes the iPhone so special?
I bought a device that is expected to produce a certain level of preformance, I expect it to continue that level at all times unless otherwise told. Why cover up a failing battery? If it’s a serious problem, I will replace it, as most consumers would once it’s condition is poor. There is no defending Apple on this one.
Not sure how big of a deal this is but the iOS versions here lately have been horrid on my iPhone 7. So bad, I am restarting or hard restarting my phone at least once per day, often multiple times per day. It’s like using a beta iOS or a Samsung. Really annoying. Generally it happens when using built in Apple apps too. Anyone else having a similar experience?
No, but it may have a "limp home" mode in the event of some kind of problem. That's what this is. And, in the case of a depleted battery in at least the white plastic MacBooks, and MacBook Pros before 2010 for sure, and possibly more models, if it isn't capable of delivering enough power, or is not installed, the machine clocks itself down to properly operate.
I'm certainly not defending Apple's lack of response to the situation. However, there are chemical and physical realities associated with batteries, and the throttling in response to a depleted one is fine. Just not the lack of disclosure.
Again, the choices here are a crashing phone that shuts off randomly, or one that is slower and still works.
Where exactly those disclosures should be would be my question. There might be numerous fairly arcane situations that would need to be disclosed, if such disclosure is truly required.
In the previous article, about the first lawsuit, a commenter pointed out that the OS throttles the clock speed to prevent thermal issues. Should that be disclosed? Where, and when?
What about other issues that affect performance? Running 32-bit apps, back before they were culled? Should that have been disclosed at the time of a sale of an iPhone 5S, 6, 6S?
How about the minor difference in processor performance between the Samsung and TMSC A10’s? Should that have been printed on the back of each iPhone, like the P, (Philadelphia), D (Denver) or S (San Francisco) mint marks on old pennies?
Then there’s the Intel versus Qualcomm modem speeds. Again, print that on the back of the iPhone too? Let users make a choice?
The fact is, Apple doesn’t sell their iPhones on those specs. They don’t promise or represent that the CPU will always run at a certain clock speed. They do represent that each new CPU is faster than the previous generations, but that’s a relative comparison. If two generations of CPU are each downclocked under similar conditions (to prevent a thermal issue, for example), then the relative performance claims will remain true. The fact Apple doesn’t make a claim about absolute performance is, in my opinion, why these lawsuits will fail.
Where is it that Apple should be so transparent regarding all these esoteric device management issues?
Dialog box, the first time it happens.
"Your battery is depleted and is affecting device performance. Make an appointment at a Genius Bar for testing and possible replacement."
Done.
Well it would have to be slightly different wording since not everyone has an Apple store near them. But yes something like this seems appropriate.
When my iPhome 6 was 18 months old and still under AppleCare it started spontaneously dying when the battery remaining was 40% and I did something like shoot a video. Apple wouldn’t replace the battery because I wasn’t on the current OS and because the battery did not “test” out of spec according to the Genius Bar. Sure enough months later when I finally gave up my jailbreak and updated iOS the sudden shutdowns stopped too, but now the phone was slow as heck.... so... I replaced it.
This is the key thing people are missing. Is this isn’t just 4 year old phones. Let’s talk about what an old battery is... in my case it should have been a manufactures defect under warranty replacement at 18 months and wasn’t because the software crippled it instead. .
Phones should operate normally, full power, for at least their warranty duration, don’t you think?
So my thought on your last question is: my car doesn’t throttle my engine when I am low on gas. To my knowledge, my MacBook doesn’t throttle my chips as the battery is aging. What makes the iPhone so special?
I bought a device that is expected to produce a certain level of preformance, I expect it to continue that level at all times unless otherwise told. Why cover up a failing battery? If it’s a serious problem, I will replace it, as most consumers would once it’s condition is poor. There is no defending Apple on this one.
Not sure how big of a deal this is but the iOS versions here lately have been horrid on my iPhone 7. So bad, I am restarting or hard restarting my phone at least once per day, often multiple times per day. It’s like using a beta iOS or a Samsung. Really annoying. Generally it happens when using built in Apple apps too. Anyone else having a similar experience?
No, but it may have a "limp home" mode in the event of some kind of problem. That's what this is. And, in the case of a depleted battery in at least the white plastic MacBooks, and MacBook Pros before 2010 for sure, and possibly more models, if it isn't capable of delivering enough power, or is not installed, the machine clocks itself down to properly operate.
I'm certainly not defending Apple's lack of response to the situation. However, there are chemical and physical realities associated with batteries, and the throttling in response to a depleted one is fine. Just not the lack of disclosure.
Again, the choices here are a crashing phone that shuts off randomly, or one that is slower and still works.
Where exactly those disclosures should be would be my question. There might be numerous fairly arcane situations that would need to be disclosed, if such disclosure is truly required.
In the previous article, about the first lawsuit, a commenter pointed out that the OS throttles the clock speed to prevent thermal issues. Should that be disclosed? Where, and when?
What about other issues that affect performance? Running 32-bit apps, back before they were culled? Should that have been disclosed at the time of a sale of an iPhone 5S, 6, 6S?
How about the minor difference in processor performance between the Samsung and TMSC A10’s? Should that have been printed on the back of each iPhone, like the P, (Philadelphia), D (Denver) or S (San Francisco) mint marks on old pennies?
Then there’s the Intel versus Qualcomm modem speeds. Again, print that on the back of the iPhone too? Let users make a choice?
The fact is, Apple doesn’t sell their iPhones on those specs. They don’t promise or represent that the CPU will always run at a certain clock speed. They do represent that each new CPU is faster than the previous generations, but that’s a relative comparison. If two generations of CPU are each downclocked under similar conditions (to prevent a thermal issue, for example), then the relative performance claims will remain true. The fact Apple doesn’t make a claim about absolute performance is, in my opinion, why these lawsuits will fail.
Where is it that Apple should be so transparent regarding all these esoteric device management issues?
Dialog box, the first time it happens.
"Your battery is depleted and is affecting device performance. Make an appointment at a Genius Bar for testing and possible replacement."
Done.
It already says that in the Settings app: Your battery need to be serviced. Better than a one time dialog since it is permanently there in the Settings app.
And once that notice appears, what you need is service, not transparency.
Yeah, I know, but as this issue is proving that some users can be really dumb about it, I think the main screen without delving into a menu is appropriate.
And, let's be perfectly clear about this. This isn't a binary on/off toggle. This isn't a "Well, your battery is X depleted, so we're going to constantly cripple it." This is a transient situation, and only happens when the phone is under heavy load, and the battery can't keep up the voltage.
When my iPhome 6 was 18 months old and still under AppleCare it started spontaneously dying when the battery remaining was 40% and I did something like shoot a video. Apple wouldn’t replace the battery because I wasn’t on the current OS and because the battery did not “test” out of spec according to the Genius Bar. Sure enough months later when I finally gave up my jailbreak and updated iOS the sudden shutdowns stopped too, but now the phone was slow as heck.... so... I replaced it.
This is the key thing people are missing. Is this isn’t just 4 year old phones. Let’s talk about what an old battery is... in my case it should have been a manufactures defect under warranty replacement at 18 months and wasn’t because the software crippled it instead. .
Phones should operate normally, full power, for at least their warranty duration, don’t you think?
So my thought on your last question is: my car doesn’t throttle my engine when I am low on gas. To my knowledge, my MacBook doesn’t throttle my chips as the battery is aging. What makes the iPhone so special?
I bought a device that is expected to produce a certain level of preformance, I expect it to continue that level at all times unless otherwise told. Why cover up a failing battery? If it’s a serious problem, I will replace it, as most consumers would once it’s condition is poor. There is no defending Apple on this one.
Not sure how big of a deal this is but the iOS versions here lately have been horrid on my iPhone 7. So bad, I am restarting or hard restarting my phone at least once per day, often multiple times per day. It’s like using a beta iOS or a Samsung. Really annoying. Generally it happens when using built in Apple apps too. Anyone else having a similar experience?
No, but it may have a "limp home" mode in the event of some kind of problem. That's what this is. And, in the case of a depleted battery in at least the white plastic MacBooks, and MacBook Pros before 2010 for sure, and possibly more models, if it isn't capable of delivering enough power, or is not installed, the machine clocks itself down to properly operate.
I'm certainly not defending Apple's lack of response to the situation. However, there are chemical and physical realities associated with batteries, and the throttling in response to a depleted one is fine. Just not the lack of disclosure.
Again, the choices here are a crashing phone that shuts off randomly, or one that is slower and still works.
Where exactly those disclosures should be would be my question. There might be numerous fairly arcane situations that would need to be disclosed, if such disclosure is truly required.
In the previous article, about the first lawsuit, a commenter pointed out that the OS throttles the clock speed to prevent thermal issues. Should that be disclosed? Where, and when?
What about other issues that affect performance? Running 32-bit apps, back before they were culled? Should that have been disclosed at the time of a sale of an iPhone 5S, 6, 6S?
How about the minor difference in processor performance between the Samsung and TMSC A10’s? Should that have been printed on the back of each iPhone, like the P, (Philadelphia), D (Denver) or S (San Francisco) mint marks on old pennies?
Then there’s the Intel versus Qualcomm modem speeds. Again, print that on the back of the iPhone too? Let users make a choice?
The fact is, Apple doesn’t sell their iPhones on those specs. They don’t promise or represent that the CPU will always run at a certain clock speed. They do represent that each new CPU is faster than the previous generations, but that’s a relative comparison. If two generations of CPU are each downclocked under similar conditions (to prevent a thermal issue, for example), then the relative performance claims will remain true. The fact Apple doesn’t make a claim about absolute performance is, in my opinion, why these lawsuits will fail.
Where is it that Apple should be so transparent regarding all these esoteric device management issues?
Dialog box, the first time it happens.
"Your battery is depleted and is affecting device performance. Make an appointment at a Genius Bar for testing and possible replacement."
Done.
It already says that in the Settings app: Your battery need to be serviced. Better than a one time dialog since it is permanently there in the Settings app.
And once that notice appears, what you need is service, not transparency.
Why not both? How many people know to look in the settings app? Heck prior to this week how many people thought/knew their device slow down was due to the battery?
Tech news sites, infected with mostly trolls these days, run around with their hair on fire with their reporting. Some start to see dollar signs and file lawsuits. In a few days this will all go away and on we will go on to the next trumped up scandal. A few more months or years down the road we will hear the lawsuits were dismissed with prejudice because there was no ‘crime’ committed by Apple. By then no one will care and it will be just a mention in a blog somewhere. You know you’ve seen these scenarios before. Anybody talking about Samsung’s Note 7 scandal these days? Any news on the lawsuits filed over that? What ever happened to the lawsuits filed over Antenna-gate? Will this time be any different? Many are rambling on about Apple’s reputation and transparency and how this is the end,,, finally the end of Apple. Trolls are having wet dreams over this just like Apple fanboys did over the Samsung Note 7 explosions.
Here's how this is going to go:
1) Apple will say "we don't guarantee performance in any way" and the suit will die.
2) Apple will say "replace the battery, and the transient device management situation won't happen" and the suit will die. 3) Apple will say that there is a way to monitor the battery and the battery is a consumable, and the suit will die. 4) Apple will say that a consumer choice to replace a device hasn't been forced, and the suit will die.
(But, regarding the rest, the Note 7 lawsuits really don't have resolution yet. Most have hearings in 2018. I wasn't doing forward-facing reporting at the time on Antenna-gate, but we got bumpers for it)
The problem is that we no longer live in a society where facts, reason, or rational explanations matter. Personal beliefs and perceptions, no matter how naive or subjective, are the only reality. Apple can try to explain this with sound engineering, scientific, and customer value principles and logic but it will not change the minds of those who have already decided that this incident fully confirms everything negative they already believe about Apple. There are many commenters who now attribute every perceived performance degradation on their device to be an intentional act by Apple to trick them into buying a new device, regardless of the health of their battery. Unfortunately it all starts at the top and there is no cure in sight.
Here are my facts: My wife iPhone 5S on iOS 7 after 4 years runs as smooth as my iPhone 7 on iOS 10! I was very close to update the software on her 5S recently but glad I didn't. Based on my experience I'm inclined to believe what I suspected of apple for a while: they are shameless lying hypocrites and charlatans like most if not all large corporations!
Dude, more new software ,means more complex code, with more features & animations.Your Hardware is not upgraded, like your software. So , generally your phone will slow down with the progression of time. But personally I found little difference between iOS 6 iPhone 5 & iOS 10.3.2 iPhone 5
Why do so many older models get the latest software? So Apple can put up a slide showing most of the install base on the latest software and make fun of Google’s so-called fragmentation? What good is being on the latest software if it makes your phone experience not great? I know Apple says it’s worked on making the latest software better for older devices but every year Ars Technics tests this out and the experience is still not that great.
The fact that so many android users are on old software also implies that their old phones are still running 3 or 4 years later. I have a friend with a galaxy S3. Still loves it and doesn't want a new phone despite the fact he could get a free upgrade from our company,
Dude...esoteric? Get real.This isn't a minor variance in battery or processor performance, as we've seen in the past. This is Apple deliberately slowing down older phones, ostensibly to preserve battery life. They did it without telling anyone until now. This means that people experienced slowdowns and didn't know why. How many people upgraded to a new phone when they may not have needed to?
This is a big deal, and Apple is going to take a real hit from it. Mark my words.
While we're being precise:
This is Apple deliberately slowing down a phone to prevent random shutdown and keep it functional in the case of an expendable component reaching the end of its operational life.
Low-voltage situations happen on Android too. You know what happens? The device crashes.
Yeah, It's a big deal. But, not for the reasons you want it to be.
We are long past sensible discussion here. The FUD being spread around is drowning out any logic. Conspiracy theory is taking over as the new reality. Apple has been tried, convicted, and executed in the court of blog opinion. No need to respond to this tripe. Just let the wildfire burn itself out and try to protect your house. You’ve already been labeled an Apple apologist. You can’t fix stupid.
This is why I don't like Apple. They think they know what's best for their customers and also they have an amazing talent to cover their deficiencies up and repackage it to make them look like they are positive improvement. I gotta give a big applause to their PR team. Amazing people who can sell ice to Eskimos.
Any person with some brain knows the Li batteries lose it's charge capacities after certain number of charges, like 500 times or so then slowly after that it only charges up to 90 80 70 and so on then at some point if you can't stand less battery capacities then you get new batteries. Same with any rechargeable tools or electronic devices. It's a given fact.
I buy androids only because I don't like Apple's business philosophy. Regardless I understand both Iphones and Android phones will face the same battery degradation over time.
I had HTC, LG V20, GS3, Note 2, ZTE, 5 of GS7 Edges, and several tablets and notebooks from different manufacturers. Some removable batteries and some built in. My biggest worry about GS7 Edge was that when the battery gets old it is not as easy as the previous phones where I could simply replace the battery on my own besides the convenience of swapping batteries when the batteries dead.
Apple charges quite more than it's competitors because they claim it's premium phone. And they list many things as it's features but the thing they boast most is it's faster apu and their customers buy the phones for that reason among the others.
Well, I would think if it's a premium phone and they know the limitation of the battery technology they would design their apu so that it would be robust enough to operate even when the battery level is low or charge current is low. But they didn't.
So now customers complain that the phone shuts off at 40% battery level after using a couple of years or so then they throttle the apu speed so it does not shut off as frequent yet somewhat usable for most tasks just slower. "To protect the components and for the better user experience"
And they didn't let their customers know what's going on until they cannot keep it quiet anymore.
I don't know about the owners of other products but with me I never once had issues with phone shutting off until the battery level is 2 or even 1 percent especially with Samsungs. The screen might be really really dim below 5% battery level but kept going at full throttle. Yes the battery was draining faster than if it was throttled down but I wouldn't like it even if it had throttle down mode. I just control my use of the phone. Just use less if I need to prolong the battery time. But when I use it I want 100% performance out of it.
Many times I used my phones until the battery level gets down to zero over and over when I charge the phones then none of them stopped working! They always get charged back to 100% and so far there isn't a phone that became unusable because I used them until battery drains completely.
So I was kind of scratching my head "Iphone shuts down to protect the phone itself at 40% or so? So they slow down the apu if the battery gets old and hold less charge?" So what's the point of paying extra $$$ for fast apu phone if you don't get that full throttle speed after a while. To me regardless of how you want to look at it if it shuts off at 40% then it should say 0% because the phone does not work anymore at that point.
Well, if the Apple disclosed that after a couple of years of use their phones will shut off at 40% battery level to save the phones then far less people would buy them and that also a proof that there is a serious design flaw that low battery/voltage level can damage the phone whereas other phones don't.
Back to their marketing. Apple is the master of positioning of their products. They are genius at marketing and PRs. But I think they reach the point where those cannot carry them any farther. Like all the other big companies Apple is following Nokia's footstep and it's ironic that it was Apple who brought down Nokia.
It would have been fine if they admitted that with the older batteries the performance can be degraded and gave the choice to the customers full throttle all the way or less throttle for longer usage per battery charge instead of made that choice and shoved it down their customers throats. Pure arrogance......
But seriously the Iphones did shut off at 40% battery level?????? smh I don't see any premium-ness in it.
Android phones will never have this problem. Because you can’t update to the next major revision of the OS, and the phones are useless before the battery gets old. How convenient, eh?
People buy IPhones over Android Phones because they are superior (vastly) in getting out OS updates to older devices. That’s absolutely true!
But that doesn’t mean Apple didn’t mess up (royally) in not informing their customers of a problem with the batteries.
These lawsuits are often “ambulance chasers” but that doesn’t mean Apple didn’t cause “harm” to their customers. People spent time and money on a problem where there was a relatively easy and inexpensive fix. Apple concealed information from them preventing them from making and educated decision. The reason Apple concealed the information looks suspiciously like Apple valuing profits over their customers.
When my iPhome 6 was 18 months old and still under AppleCare it started spontaneously dying when the battery remaining was 40% and I did something like shoot a video. Apple wouldn’t replace the battery because I wasn’t on the current OS and because the battery did not “test” out of spec according to the Genius Bar. Sure enough months later when I finally gave up my jailbreak and updated iOS the sudden shutdowns stopped too, but now the phone was slow as heck.... so... I replaced it.
This is the key thing people are missing. Is this isn’t just 4 year old phones. Let’s talk about what an old battery is... in my case it should have been a manufactures defect under warranty replacement at 18 months and wasn’t because the software crippled it instead. .
Phones should operate normally, full power, for at least their warranty duration, don’t you think?
Hmm, I wonder what happens with Apple’s battery management software when you jailbreak an iPhone.
Or what happens to the warranty, for that matter. There are legitimate transparency issues with this situation, but I feel no remorse for someone who jailbreaks their phone, and then still expects service on their hacked device. You intentionally broke it, you fix it.
The OP reminds me of a guy from my old tech support days. He brought in a ~10 year old HP desktop that hadn’t been cleaned or serviced in years, and upon drive inspection had GBs worth of... we’ll just say NSFW things. Once I told him it would cost him money to do anything with his computer, he lost his mind and claimed he’d call my bosses and have me fired within the week. Some people just feel so entitled to whatever they whine about, it’s ridiculous.
When my iPhome 6 was 18 months old and still under AppleCare it started spontaneously dying when the battery remaining was 40% and I did something like shoot a video. Apple wouldn’t replace the battery because I wasn’t on the current OS and because the battery did not “test” out of spec according to the Genius Bar. Sure enough months later when I finally gave up my jailbreak and updated iOS the sudden shutdowns stopped too, but now the phone was slow as heck.... so... I replaced it.
This is the key thing people are missing. Is this isn’t just 4 year old phones. Let’s talk about what an old battery is... in my case it should have been a manufactures defect under warranty replacement at 18 months and wasn’t because the software crippled it instead. .
Phones should operate normally, full power, for at least their warranty duration, don’t you think?
So my thought on your last question is: my car doesn’t throttle my engine when I am low on gas. To my knowledge, my MacBook doesn’t throttle my chips as the battery is aging. What makes the iPhone so special?
I bought a device that is expected to produce a certain level of preformance, I expect it to continue that level at all times unless otherwise told. Why cover up a failing battery? If it’s a serious problem, I will replace it, as most consumers would once it’s condition is poor. There is no defending Apple on this one.
Not sure how big of a deal this is but the iOS versions here lately have been horrid on my iPhone 7. So bad, I am restarting or hard restarting my phone at least once per day, often multiple times per day. It’s like using a beta iOS or a Samsung. Really annoying. Generally it happens when using built in Apple apps too. Anyone else having a similar experience?
No, but it may have a "limp home" mode in the event of some kind of problem. That's what this is. And, in the case of a depleted battery in at least the white plastic MacBooks, and MacBook Pros before 2010 for sure, and possibly more models, if it isn't capable of delivering enough power, or is not installed, the machine clocks itself down to properly operate.
I'm certainly not defending Apple's lack of response to the situation. However, there are chemical and physical realities associated with batteries, and the throttling in response to a depleted one is fine. Just not the lack of disclosure.
Again, the choices here are a crashing phone that shuts off randomly, or one that is slower and still works.
Where exactly those disclosures should be would be my question. There might be numerous fairly arcane situations that would need to be disclosed, if such disclosure is truly required.
In the previous article, about the first lawsuit, a commenter pointed out that the OS throttles the clock speed to prevent thermal issues. Should that be disclosed? Where, and when?
What about other issues that affect performance? Running 32-bit apps, back before they were culled? Should that have been disclosed at the time of a sale of an iPhone 5S, 6, 6S?
How about the minor difference in processor performance between the Samsung and TMSC A10’s? Should that have been printed on the back of each iPhone, like the P, (Philadelphia), D (Denver) or S (San Francisco) mint marks on old pennies?
Then there’s the Intel versus Qualcomm modem speeds. Again, print that on the back of the iPhone too? Let users make a choice?
The fact is, Apple doesn’t sell their iPhones on those specs. They don’t promise or represent that the CPU will always run at a certain clock speed. They do represent that each new CPU is faster than the previous generations, but that’s a relative comparison. If two generations of CPU are each downclocked under similar conditions (to prevent a thermal issue, for example), then the relative performance claims will remain true. The fact Apple doesn’t make a claim about absolute performance is, in my opinion, why these lawsuits will fail.
Where is it that Apple should be so transparent regarding all these esoteric device management issues?
Dialog box, the first time it happens.
"Your battery is depleted and is affecting device performance. Make an appointment at a Genius Bar for testing and possible replacement."
Done.
Every time you use data? It should pop up a dialog box telling you the Intel modem in your phone is slower than the Qualcomm modem in your wife’s iPhone? And that’s the reason she’s watching GoT while you’re buffering the same episode? Ok, I’m kidding.
Yes, at some point, a notification regarding battery performance is warranted. And there is such notification under Settings, Battery. But that hasn’t triggered for my iPhone 6 when I go to that settings page, yet I have witnessed slowdowns in performance when my battery charge is less than 80%, so maybe there are different triggers and Apple doesn’t want to raise a flag before their own diagnostics determine it’s time to get your battery tested. Maybe under the conditions this throttling is warranted there’s typically six more good months on the battery before diagnostics would trigger that message. I think Apple looked at this and decided this is the best way to go. So maybe the message is just “Your battery is depleted and is affecting device performance.” But that’s alarmist without being actionable. And so they just went ahead and did the throttling, same as they do under thermal conditions, with neither giving an unactionable alert to the user.
Tech news sites, infected with mostly trolls these days, run around with their hair on fire with their reporting. Some start to see dollar signs and file lawsuits. In a few days this will all go away and on we will go on to the next trumped up scandal. A few more months or years down the road we will hear the lawsuits were dismissed with prejudice because there was no ‘crime’ committed by Apple. By then no one will care and it will be just a mention in a blog somewhere. You know you’ve seen these scenarios before. Anybody talking about Samsung’s Note 7 scandal these days? Any news on the lawsuits filed over that? What ever happened to the lawsuits filed over Antenna-gate? Will this time be any different? Many are rambling on about Apple’s reputation and transparency and how this is the end,,, finally the end of Apple. Trolls are having wet dreams over this just like Apple fanboys did over the Samsung Note 7 explosions.
Here's how this is going to go:
1) Apple will say "we don't guarantee performance in any way" and the suit will die.
2) Apple will say "replace the battery, and the transient device management situation won't happen" and the suit will die. 3) Apple will say that there is a way to monitor the battery and the battery is a consumable, and the suit will die. 4) Apple will say that a consumer choice to replace a device hasn't been forced, and the suit will die.
(But, regarding the rest, the Note 7 lawsuits really don't have resolution yet. Most have hearings in 2018. I wasn't doing forward-facing reporting at the time on Antenna-gate, but we got bumpers for it)
Here's how I think it will go: Apple will announce guaranteed battery replacement within the first two years for free when Cook has to testify before Congress (or something else to take the heat off him and the company)
Comments
If you buy an IPhone with the expectation of 4 years of use, by the end of the devices life you can expect battery life to be 25% to 50% of when it was new. It isn’t reasonable to expect the reduced battery life to result in Apple throttling performance. Other components on the phone will eventually degrade in a way that effects performance. Also, it’s reasonable to expect that newer versions of the OS (designed for newer hardware) will reduce speeds on older devices. Eventually old hardware will no longer be supported... that’s totally reasonable.
Instead of communicating with owners of the devices, Apple attempted to sweep the issue under the rug. Apple made a design decision to make batteries difficult to be replaced, and that turned out to be a marketing problem. Samsung for example, was sure to point it out embarrassing Apple.
Samsung essentially use the same batteries, but as far anyone knows that’s not resulting in the devices unexpectantly shutting down. And, Samsung isn’t throttling performance because of batteries. All devices throttle processor speeds/cores to regulate temperature, but that’s known and expected.
The vast majority of Apple’s devices didn’t have unexpected shutdowns, or batteries underperforming expectations. Apple made a mountain out of a molehill. If Apple just told those small number of people experiencing issues that they were throttling performance, and replacing the battery was recommended. People would have responded “thanks, I’ll add that to my schedule”. Instead people were probably wiping their phones thinking it was a problem with the OS update. And people were thinking “why the F is my phone so slow?”
Now people know why, and are going “Apple, why did you waste hours of my life?” And, “why did I spend many, many hundreds of dollars for a new phone when all I needed to spend was $79?” A simple heads up would have been great you $g&h&! Also, “Apple, why did you put profits before me. Haven’t I been a loyal customer?”
Apple fanboys like to pretend Apple is perfect. Apple isn't, know one (or company) is... everyone should just admit Apple put their ‘foot in it’ and wonder how they’re going to make it right. If Apple does nothing there will be people pissed (rightfully so) and will explore the other options. We as Apple customers pay a premium for superior devices and support, it’s a two way street.
If you buy a premium vehicle, you expect a superior vehicle... the same is true for all purchases. A “Name Brand” should be superior to a “Knock-off” otherwise you should buy the Knock-off.
Dude...esoteric? Get real. This isn't a minor variance in battery or processor performance, as we've seen in the past. This is Apple deliberately slowing down older phones, ostensibly to preserve battery life. They did it without telling anyone until now. This means that people experienced slowdowns and didn't know why. How many people upgraded to a new phone when they may not have needed to?
This is a big deal, and Apple is going to take a real hit from it. Mark my words.
And once that notice appears, what you need is service, not transparency.
Here's how this is going to go:
1) Apple will say "we don't guarantee performance in any way" and the suit will die.
3) Apple will say that there is a way to monitor the battery and the battery is a consumable, and the suit will die.
4) Apple will say that a consumer choice to replace a device hasn't been forced, and the suit will die.
(But, regarding the rest, the Note 7 lawsuits really don't have resolution yet. Most have hearings in 2018. I wasn't doing forward-facing reporting at the time on Antenna-gate, but we got bumpers for it)
The fact that so many android users are on old software also implies that their old phones are still running 3 or 4 years later. I have a friend with a galaxy S3. Still loves it and doesn't want a new phone despite the fact he could get a free upgrade from our company,
But that doesn’t mean Apple didn’t mess up (royally) in not informing their customers of a problem with the batteries.
These lawsuits are often “ambulance chasers” but that doesn’t mean Apple didn’t cause “harm” to their customers. People spent time and money on a problem where there was a relatively easy and inexpensive fix. Apple concealed information from them preventing them from making and educated decision. The reason Apple concealed the information looks suspiciously like Apple valuing profits over their customers.
The OP reminds me of a guy from my old tech support days. He brought in a ~10 year old HP desktop that hadn’t been cleaned or serviced in years, and upon drive inspection had GBs worth of... we’ll just say NSFW things. Once I told him it would cost him money to do anything with his computer, he lost his mind and claimed he’d call my bosses and have me fired within the week. Some people just feel so entitled to whatever they whine about, it’s ridiculous.
Yes, at some point, a notification regarding battery performance is warranted. And there is such notification under Settings, Battery. But that hasn’t triggered for my iPhone 6 when I go to that settings page, yet I have witnessed slowdowns in performance when my battery charge is less than 80%, so maybe there are different triggers and Apple doesn’t want to raise a flag before their own diagnostics determine it’s time to get your battery tested. Maybe under the conditions this throttling is warranted there’s typically six more good months on the battery before diagnostics would trigger that message. I think Apple looked at this and decided this is the best way to go. So maybe the message is just “Your battery is depleted and is affecting device performance.” But that’s alarmist without being actionable. And so they just went ahead and did the throttling, same as they do under thermal conditions, with neither giving an unactionable alert to the user.
Here's how I think it will go: Apple will announce guaranteed battery replacement within the first two years for free when Cook has to testify before Congress (or something else to take the heat off him and the company)