What was long suspected has finally been confirmed – Apple has been making older iPhones run slower as an act to make spare battery power. The models in question that were hit with this deliberate decrease in performance (or “battery saving feature”, if you work at Apple) are primarily the iPhone 6, 6S, and SE running on iOS 10.2.1, as well as the iPhone 7 running on iOS 11.2.
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This process is something that many consumers have misunderstood, confusing it with planned obsolescence. As a result, many iPhone users perceived this as a sign that it was either time to buy a new battery, or even a new phone outright – two actions that come with a high price point. To try and defuse the controversy, Apple announced their plan moving forward to earn forgiveness from consumers.
In light of this revelation, the company has made a gesture to iPhone users to hopefully quell their anger by offering a heavy discount on replacement batteries. Apple has decided to greatly reduce the price by £37, giving the batteries a new price tag of £21. Not too shabby. This price reduction comes into effect immediately and is expected to last throughout 2018. The company also announced a new update that should better manage this battery saving process.
However, is this too little too late? Understandably consumers are outraged and there has been an outpour of negativity across social media. Even worse for Apple, multiple lawsuits are already being filed against the Cupertino company. Most notably, a French activist group launched a criminal lawsuit, claiming that they had knowingly participated in planned obsolescence – a crime in France.
