toddzrx

napman said:

Apple urged the previous administration to allow a "tax holiday" so they could repatriate these funds but it was refused.  So this move is unquestionably the result of the recent tax bill.

http://appleinsider.com/articles/12/03/20/apples_calls_for_repatriation_tax_holiday_gain_no_traction_with_white_house/

SpamSandwich said:

None of this would’ve happened unless the tax plan had been passed. 👍

gmgravytrain said:

I watch a lot of new movies every month or so and Apple products definitely have a lot of presence on movie sets (even in So. Korean movies and dramas). The characters seem to be always using iPhones, iMacs and MacBooks, so Apple gets a lot of free advertising. I wonder why movie set directors choose Apple products as they're always said to be so much more expensive. Are they trying to give the characters a touch of class? The Apple logo certainly is distinctive.

andrewj5790 said:

This is incredibly stupid.

rob53 said:

Here we go again, someone who knows next to nothing about how rechargeable batteries work. Why is it nobody cares about all their battery operated devices needing new batteries? We hardly ever hear about those but everyone is complaining about Apple's batteries as if they expect them to last forever. People need to get a grip and realize we're not using Star Trek era power sources that last longer but also don't last forever. As for Apple being required to give people free replacement batteries, if the courts demand this then I'm suing every manufacturer of battery operated devices for a lifetime supply of batteries, starting with my rechargeable batteries in my power tools. It's the same thing and don't get me started on Apple changing software to slow their devices down a bit to extend the life of the power in their batteries. This makes sense and people should appreciate it. As for the law firms going after Apple, I think Congress should investigate them and all the other ambulance chasing lawyers. Get rid of them. 

cornchip said:

Oh my lord. Guess I shoul have seen this one coming...

foggyhill said:

More grandstanding from political shitheads, but in another country. That is something that unites the world: technical idiocy.

Rayz2016 said:

Apple needs to send him the explanation as a picture book. 

radster360 said:

This is really getting ridiculous! First of, I do feel what Apple did, slowing down the phone, was to provide better value for the customer. It allows them to push their buying decision for new phone further down the line. Rechargeable batteries do have some end of life. As far as the speed goes, let's get real - Phones are communication and utility device, they are not solving some mission critical problem where a slowness is impacting the owners need. Yes, Apple did one thing wrong. Not informing their customer that they are switching into that mode. Couldn't they have used the "Power Save" mode to do exactly what they were doing otherwise? 

In any case, Apple apologized and I think they have provided a generous deal for battery replacement. What I don't like is some French government action prompted this administration to question Apple and that too from an official who doesn't understand technology. Maybe, we should have out representative go question auto car manufacturer - It is commonly known that there are speed governors in car with electronics where it controls your max speed limit. The car can really go much more faster. Obviously the car companies do it so for the safety of the owner of the car, but also so that it doesn't destroy the engine due to prolonged running of engine at higher speed. Kind of sound familiar, doesn't it.

skaduusch said:

Not telling consumers about this behavior has nothing to do with "transparency." If Apple were to point out every little detail about how iOS works it would be too long for anyone to actually read. This isn't a "feature" nor is it a fault. Electronic devices in general are not going to function as optimally when their power source weakens. That's the way electronics work. The fact that they had to make this compromise in order to keep the phone running smoothly (even if a little slower) is a much better solution than just letting the phone crash all the time. My car battery weakens over time too and eventually can't start my car any more. At that point I have to get a new battery, that's just life.

maestro64 said:

Did anyone not predict this.

I was reading all the headline on this subject, in typical media fashion these days, they make it sound like Apple only did it to force people to update their phones. Verses the real reality, they were trying to extend the useful life of the phone under low battery conditions. It was clear the phone was not slow down all the time only when the battery level hit a certain point.

it made total sense what they did, reduce the current spikes on low battery condition which kept the battery voltage from dipping below the low voltage cut off. Customer could get a new phone or new battery, I have replaced batteries on a number of iPhone after 3 yrs to get rid of the problem of it shutting down too quickly on low battery. I am not sure if we really notice the slow performance.

The issue now it the media has spun this so bad that people are piss even if they never saw an issue or upgrade just because they wanted a new phone. As person who used an Android for long time and saw real performance hits after 6 to 9 months of using the phone, Apple slow down does not compare.