r2d2

alandail said:

So Apple fixes an issue where degraded batteries cause unexpected shutdowns and everyone is upset with them for fixing it?

As the article says, there is no slowdown with fully functioning batteries.

Instead of suing Apple, customers should be thanking them for fixing the random shutdown issue.

steven n. said:

Honestly, this was just the opposite (though communication was piss poor). It was easy to do a battery upgrade and get full speed back. For those that didn’t want to do that, it kept phones, and batteries, in use longer.

Apple’s communication on this, however, was atrocious. 

Rayz2016 said:

This is a significant point that seems to have been lost in the inevitably gleeful hysteria. The slowdown is not permanent. It only occurs if that battery is old AND there is danger that the phone is going to shut down. If the phone is constantly drawing power then you need to check to make sure that you haven't got a rogue app that is constantly talking to the internet or trying to get your location.

The other popular meme amongst the uniformed is that this slowdown is designed to fix a problem with the phone.

I don't think so. 

A quick search of the web reveals that phones shutting down randomly has been a problem since before phones got smart. And when someone asks about it on a forum, the first reply is 'have you tried getting a new battery?'

So, Apple is not trying to hide a design fault with the phone, they're trying to come up with a way of stopping the phone doing something it is always going to do. In much the same way, a car battery can no longer hold its charge, then the car will become increasingly unreliable.

And this is not just a quick hack to hide some problem; this is part of the same invisible AI initiative that Apple talked about earlier this year:

https://www.technologyreview.com/s/608051/tim-cook-technology-should-serve-humanity-not-the-other-way-around/

In an interview with MIT Technology Review conducted a few hours after the meeting with Picard, Cook ticks off a list: image recognition in our photos, for example, or the way Apple Music learns from what we have been listening to and adjusts its recommendations accordingly. Even the iPhone battery lasts longer now because the phone’s power management system uses machine learning to study our usage and adjust accordingly, he says.

Well, will you look at that. They don't just made adjustments when the battery is old; they do it all the time. 

So I think I'm going to ignore the folk who say I should boycott Apple products; this is exactly what I want my devices to do. I want them to use AI to make sure that I don't lose work for whatever reason. And I would prefer a slowdown (which I probably wouldn't notice) to having the phone switch off (which I definitely would).

Now, just imagine how much hassle Apple could have saved themselves if they'd mentioned this in the MIT Technology Review:

In an interview with MIT Technology Review conducted a few hours after the meeting with Picard, Cook ticks off a list: image recognition in our photos, for example, or the way Apple Music learns from what we have been listening to and adjusts its recommendations accordingly. Even the iPhone battery lasts longer now because the phone’s power management system uses machine learning to study our usage and condition of the battery, and adjust accordingly, he says.

One of Apple's increasingly common forehead slapping moments I'm afraid.

entropys said:

Out of warranty, I would not expect any company to give me new parts to replace worn out parts for free.

GeorgeBMac said:

r2d2 said:

Did you think before posting this?! Less work for Apple?!! It would mean less money for Apple. ...

ROFL...  Do just make this nonsense up as you go?