"We’ve been hearing feedback from our customers about the way we handle performance for iPhones with older batteries and how we have communicated that process. We know that some of you feel Apple has let you down. We apologise," the company said.
The company said it does not intentionally shorten the life of any Apple product, or degrade the user experience to drive customer upgrades. "Our goal has always been to create products that our customers love, and making iPhones last as long as possible is an important part of that," said Apple in the statement.
According to Apple, iOS dynamically manages the maximum performance of some system components when needed to prevent unexpected shutdowns, such as with ageing batteries. The new feature was introduced in iOS release 10.2.1. "While these changes may go unnoticed, in some cases users may experience longer launch times for apps and other reductions in performance," the company said. "Customer response to iOS 10.2.1 was positive, as it successfully reduced the occurrence of unexpected shutdowns. We recently extended the same support for iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus in iOS 11.2."
The feature does not need to kick in if an aged battery is replaced with a new one, so "iPhone performance returns to normal when operated in standard conditions", leading to suspicions that Apple was trying to get users to replace their batteries. Discussions on the Apple support forums note that the problem was noticed from iOS 11, when an update bricked certain phones or worsened battery life.
Apple acknowledged feedback from users seeing slower performance in recent months, and attributed it to three factors:
- A normal, temporary performance impact when upgrading the operating system as iPhone installs new software and updates apps
- Minor bugs in the initial release which have since been fixed
- Continued chemical aging of the batteries in older iPhone 6 and iPhone 6s devices, many of which are still running on their original batteries
- Continued chemical aging of the batteries in older iPhone 6 and iPhone 6s devices, many of which are still running on their original batteries
To emphasise that it recognises customers' loyalty and "to regain the trust of anyone who may have doubted Apple’s intentions", Apple will:
- Reducing the price of an out-of-warranty iPhone battery replacement by US$50 — from US$79 to US$29 — for anyone with an iPhone 6 or later whose battery needs to be replaced, starting in late January and available worldwide through December 2018. Details will be provided on apple.com, though it is not clear exactly where on the website the information may be found.
Forum discussions have so far established that the battery replacement programme will exclude devices earlier than the iPhone 6, and that there are currently no refunds in place for anyone who has already replaced their battery.
- Early in 2018, Apple will issue an iOS software update with new features that give users more visibility into the health of their iPhone’s battery, so they can see for themselves if its condition is affecting performance.
"At Apple, our customers’ trust means everything to us. We will never stop working to earn and maintain it. We are able to do the work we love only because of your faith and support — and we will never forget that or take it for granted," the company concluded.
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