Apple responding to US government inquiries over iPhone throttling
Apple late Tuesday confirmed it received, and is currently responding to, questions from U.S. government agencies concerning the handling of iPhone battery issues through a software update that throttled the performance of some handsets.
Source: iFixit
In a statement to Axios, the company confirmed in part reports that U.S. regulatory agencies are seeking answers over the implementation of firmware designed to temporarily slow down iPhone units with depleted battery cells.
"We have received questions from some government agencies and we are responding to them," Apple said. Reporter Ina Fried published the brief statement in a tweet.
Earlier today, Bloomberg claimed the U.S. Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission were seeking answers from Apple in a bid to determine whether the company's actions are in violation of securities laws.
Apple admitted to throttling iPhone processor performance in December.
At the time, a Reddit user came forward with what appeared to be evidence that iOS intentionally slows down iPhones with degraded batteries. Testing by Geekbench's John Poole seemed to corroborate those claims, as the benchmark developer found a correlation between hardware slowdows, battery wear and iOS version.
Apple in a December statement explained the iOS 10.2.1 release in 2016 was designed to manage unexpected shutdowns afflicting iPhone 6, iPhone 6s and iPhone SE models, particularly those with chemically depleted batteries.
The firmware was issued to "smooth out the instantaneous peaks only when needed to prevent the device from unexpectedly shutting down during these conditions." Similar features were extended to iPhone 7 series handsets with iOS 11.2, and would continue to see implementation for future devices, Apple said.
CEO Tim Cook in an interview this month said Apple informed customers about the battery issue when it released iOS 10.2.1, but release notes issued at the time conflict with that assertion.
"When we put it out, we did say what it was, but I don't think a lot of people were paying attention. And maybe we should have been clearer, as well," Cook said.
While release documentation did reference a fix for unexpected shutdowns, it lacked detailed information as to how the problem was being addressed. In particular, the notes included no mention of performance throttling procedures.
It is for this lack of communication that Apple is now facing government scrutiny.
Facing public outcry, numerous class-action lawsuits and probes by foreign governmental bodies, Apple apologized to iPhone owners for its lack of transparency. As a consolation, the company cut the cost of out-of-warranty iPhone battery replacements from $79 to $29.
In a rare move, Apple will present users the option of disabling the controversial CPU throttling feature as part of the forthcoming iOS 11.3 update.
Source: iFixitIn a statement to Axios, the company confirmed in part reports that U.S. regulatory agencies are seeking answers over the implementation of firmware designed to temporarily slow down iPhone units with depleted battery cells.
"We have received questions from some government agencies and we are responding to them," Apple said. Reporter Ina Fried published the brief statement in a tweet.
Earlier today, Bloomberg claimed the U.S. Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission were seeking answers from Apple in a bid to determine whether the company's actions are in violation of securities laws.
Apple admitted to throttling iPhone processor performance in December.
At the time, a Reddit user came forward with what appeared to be evidence that iOS intentionally slows down iPhones with degraded batteries. Testing by Geekbench's John Poole seemed to corroborate those claims, as the benchmark developer found a correlation between hardware slowdows, battery wear and iOS version.
Apple in a December statement explained the iOS 10.2.1 release in 2016 was designed to manage unexpected shutdowns afflicting iPhone 6, iPhone 6s and iPhone SE models, particularly those with chemically depleted batteries.
The firmware was issued to "smooth out the instantaneous peaks only when needed to prevent the device from unexpectedly shutting down during these conditions." Similar features were extended to iPhone 7 series handsets with iOS 11.2, and would continue to see implementation for future devices, Apple said.
CEO Tim Cook in an interview this month said Apple informed customers about the battery issue when it released iOS 10.2.1, but release notes issued at the time conflict with that assertion.
"When we put it out, we did say what it was, but I don't think a lot of people were paying attention. And maybe we should have been clearer, as well," Cook said.
While release documentation did reference a fix for unexpected shutdowns, it lacked detailed information as to how the problem was being addressed. In particular, the notes included no mention of performance throttling procedures.
It is for this lack of communication that Apple is now facing government scrutiny.
Facing public outcry, numerous class-action lawsuits and probes by foreign governmental bodies, Apple apologized to iPhone owners for its lack of transparency. As a consolation, the company cut the cost of out-of-warranty iPhone battery replacements from $79 to $29.
In a rare move, Apple will present users the option of disabling the controversial CPU throttling feature as part of the forthcoming iOS 11.3 update.
Comments
The moment someone has to discover a correlation between battery health and phone speed, is the moment you are in legal trouble.
I'm curious.
When Apple said:
iOS 10.2.1 includes bug fixes and improves the security of your iPhone or iPad.
It also improves power management during peak workloads to avoid unexpected shutdowns on iPhone.
What did folk think they meant by 'power management'?
What should they have said?
I suspect that lots of other companies face similar claims, but nothing makes for click bait like the Apple logo.
'Cause if you were....
or
"It also improves power management which in some cases may mean reduced performance of your iPhone with heavy workloads"
I read most of the information Apple provides because it used to be part of my job but I would see what they wrote as a positive, not negative, improvement. I'd much rather have my phone slow down a little (and I can using the Settings/Battery/Low Power Mode) to save my battery until I can recharge it than simply have it die like my cordless drill does when its battery is exhausted. Oh, wait, I thought rechargeable batteries were supposed to last forever! /s
I also wonder how many actually read the update description and just install it?
There is a genuine backlash against the perceived arrogance of many of the large companies in Silicon Vlaley. This is going to be part of the narrative for a while.
Apple had better give some serious thought to the seemingly roughshod way in which it is seen to roll out it’s software updates. It will have to do a major reset on that front. IMHO, that is not such a bad thing.
- I prefer it to be a choice to throttle or not throttle
- once you've begun throttling, not clear if always throttling or performance is restored when you have a full charge
- rollout of battery program not up to usual level of service - made an appointment at Apple Store for battery replacement (first store claimed wouldn't have batteries in stock for weeks so made appointment at 2nd store that could take us earlier)
.... when arrived for appointment, they did a battery diagnostic - claimed 2.6 year old iPhone 6 was at 94% life which was deemed very healthy
.... phone needs to be charged 3 times per day, always set at minimum brightness - this is healthy?
.... then told didn't have battery in stock even though appointment was made weeks in advance - expected them to have one in stock to satisfy appointment
.... given excuse that everyone and their brother is coming in
... can't make appointment for when the replacement arrives
.... told to expect 2 hour wait once the battery comes in
- this whole experience should have been different, and better.
What they should have said was "Identified an issue where insufficient battery output causes unexpected shutdowns on iPhone. Peak performance may be reduced by up to 50% to avoid unexpected shutdowns."