March 28, 2024
Apple Admits to Secretly Slowing Down iPhones, Explains Why

Apple Admits to Secretly Slowing Down iPhones, Explains Why

Posted December 20, 2017 at 9:33pm by iClarified
Apple has issued an official statement to address recent speculation that it's been secretly slowing down older iPhones.

Here's the statement:

“Our goal is to deliver the best experience for customers, which includes overall performance and prolonging the life of their devices. Lithium-ion batteries become less capable of supplying peak current demands when in cold conditions, have a low battery charge or as they age over time, which can result in the device unexpectedly shutting down to protect its electronic components.


Last year we released a feature for iPhone 6, iPhone 6s and iPhone SE to smooth out the instantaneous peaks only when needed to prevent the device from unexpectedly shutting down during these conditions. We’ve now extended that feature to iPhone 7 with iOS 11.2, and plan to add support for other products in the future.”


For those unaware, here's the backstory. In 2016, iPhone 6s owners began complaining that their devices were unexpectedly shutting down. Apple issued a 'small' battery recall claiming a manufacturing defect.

"We found that a small number of iPhone 6s devices made in September and October 2015 contained a battery component that was exposed to controlled ambient air longer than it should have been before being assembled into battery packs. As a result, these batteries degrade faster than a normal battery and cause unexpected shutdowns to occur. It's important to note, this is not a safety issue."

Despite the recall, there were still iPhone 6s owners experiencing problems. Apple then issued a software update three months later that was able to mysteriously fix unexpected shutdowns for most users.


That was pretty much the last we heard about the issue until earlier this month when a reddit user noticed that benchmark scores were significantly higher after swapping the battery on an iPhone 6s.

The report led to some analysis by John Poole, founder of Geekbench, which appeared to confirm that Apple was slowing down iPhone 6s and iPhone 7 devices based on the condition of their battery.

Apple's statement today confirms that yes, it is intentionally slowing down iPhones but only when it attempts to draw more power than the battery can provide. It lays the blame on the nature of lithium-ion batteries. As batteries age they have increased internal series resistance that limits the amount of power you can pull out of them. What the company does not explain is why iPhone 6 and 6s weren't designed with enough headroom to prevent this from happening in such a short period of time. Given the recall and subsequent software update, it's fairly clear that this was an unexpected problem. Shouldn't we have seen the same issue will all previous iPhone models?

What will likely raise the most ire isn't the slowdown itself but the lack of transparency surrounding it. Customer's should know if the performance of their device is taking a hit due to its battery condition so that they can have the opportunity to replace it. Additionally, the shortsightedness of implementing this change in secret will likely contribute to the narrative that Apple slows down its devices purposely to drive upgrades.

Developer Marco Arment recently tweeted, "For years, we’ve reassured people that no, Apple doesn’t secretly slow down their older iPhones to make them buy new ones. If this must be done, it should be a setting. If it’s on by default, the user should be alerted the first time it happens. The reputation damage from secretly slowing down old iPhones, regardless of the reason, will likely linger for a decade."

Daring Fireball's John Gruber also addressed this belief saying, "I know for a fact that the widely-held belief that Apple booby-traps two-year-old iPhones drives Apple employees — ranging from engineers to senior executives — nuts, because the truth is the opposite. They really do knock themselves out trying to build and maintain products with lasting value."

What do you think? Are you okay with how Apple handled this situation? Do you notice any performance issues with your iPhone 6s or iPhone 7 on iOS 11.2? Let us know in the comments!

[via TechCrunch]


Apple Admits to Secretly Slowing Down iPhones, Explains Why
Add Comment
Would you like to be notified when someone replies or adds a new comment?
Yes (All Threads)
Yes (This Thread Only)
No
iClarified Icon
Notifications
Would you like to be notified when we post a new Apple news article or tutorial?
Yes
No
Comments (39)
You must login or register to add a comment...
Kenny
Kenny - December 28, 2017 at 9:58pm
I think ios11 has completely been designed to work around this by dumping ram. iPhones have always been speed Kings with much less ram than everyone else yet anyone that’s gone from previous iOS to 11 has seen performance and speed drop and now none of the new iPhones with massive increase in processors are close to the top of the speed charts now. My apps that used to stay open in the background now have to be reloaded way more frequently.
Aj
Aj - December 23, 2017 at 9:32pm
We need to decide this not apple!!!
renatouol
renatouol - December 22, 2017 at 8:12pm
please, put the option to user decid to slow or not slow
Jimmy764
Jimmy764 - December 22, 2017 at 5:16pm
Been an apple user since day 1. I have an iPhone 6s that was under the recall for the faulty battery. So I get the battery replaced. Everything was fine up UNTIL 11.2 Now I am noticing that the battery dies down very very fast. I mainly only use this particular phone for at most 4 hours a day while listening to a podcast and Notifications are off. So I'm just streaming podcasts. The phones screen is not on and the battery dies down fast after this 11.2 update.
Sean Hurley
Sean Hurley - December 22, 2017 at 11:28am
Yes I have noticed some battery issues with my phone to where it drains it way faster. Should I get my battery replaced? If so where? The Apple store? Also the performance has changed and I drop a lot of calls and the device doesn’t seem to be connecting to my provider well. I have an Apple Watch 3 series with cellular and receive no interruptions. Just this morning my phone said no service when my watch said it was connected to AT&T. Please advise on this matter.
Pedro Santos
Pedro Santos - December 22, 2017 at 8:22am
Yes! I notice the same degradation on my iphone 6 plus. It is regratable that Apple take this type of action, lacks a great deal of respect for their customers. For me that I’m a real Apple lover, this kind of action is like a shoot in the heart...
 Throttling speeds and Internet Connection
Throttling speeds and Internet Connection - December 22, 2017 at 7:43am
Throttling performance of Modem chip is the real deal I think people need to be concerned about their phones being throttled selling different versions where you’re not able to Rom on certain networks in the US Also throttling the speeds of the modem chips in the different iPhones to meet the standards of the regular Intel chip !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Forcing you to use Wi-Fi So you do not use network data ..... The iPhone 5s was fast very fast loading Facebook and other applications but very slow now Even with a new battery installed OEM !!!!!!! I think this needs to be addressed taking a vantage of consumers
AleemRazzaq
AleemRazzaq - December 22, 2017 at 5:55am
I have iPhone 6Plus when I use Picture Editing from Apple Photos Application, after 2 to 3 editing my phone become like 100years old man performing in Bed :p.
Ace*
Ace* - December 21, 2017 at 6:38pm
IPhone 5s running butter smooth here jailbroken on iOS 9.1 :) Too bad a lot of updates apps won't work though so I'm forced to stick with an old version. Was thinking about getting an iPhone 7s but I would want to run jailbroken iOS 10. I really don't want a device that's going to be controlled by Apple as it's impossible to know wtf they're doing. No one should need to upgrade past iOS 10 if they don't want to. A decent company would make the upgrade an option or would just make the upgrade fix security issues only. Not Apple.
Userone
Userone - December 22, 2017 at 5:51pm
They should have updates for iOS for features and updates for security separately. And those for security to be available for any iOS. In other words separate features from security. They control the iOS they should think better for us not for stock holders.
calogi
calogi - December 21, 2017 at 5:52pm
That's a blatant Lie, I have an ipad2 I bought around 2011 it worked flawlessly until the newer iphone was released, I kept delaying the software update until it downloaded and installed by itself, right after that 1st thing I noticed was the keyboard had a delay of about 1 second or more, apps would suddenly crash, and I would have to start over again what I was doing, I still own it to this day and the battery is perfect lasts around 3 weeks if I don't use it and I would say it lasts more than 10 hours of use on a single charge. So it is not the battery, apple might fool someone else with this ridiculous claim, but I knew they were playing dirty from that moment on....
iphone owner
iphone owner - December 21, 2017 at 6:08pm
IOS 11 definitely is more CPU intensive than IOS 10, but I think you are confusing two different things. Battery capacity is not the same as battery current. Your battery may have sufficient capacity to last 10 hours, but still have an issue with the voltage tanking when subjected to a heavy load. The specific problem that they say they addressed was the voltage falling too low under heavy load. V=IR. If you raise the R (internal resistance), then V (voltage) will drop when the load is increased. If the voltage drops too low, the device will reboot. Think of it like a garden hose. If the hose is made smaller (increased R), the amount of water coming out (V) will be less.
calog
calog - December 21, 2017 at 6:33pm
ok! whatever you say Apple employee, no one believes you, talking about garden hoses when the topic you want to correlate are milliamps, FYI capacity and current flow are directly related, and when current draw is high capacity will drain accordingly, its like when you pull the plug on your full tub:) if its partially clogged it will drain slowly, if its clear it will drain a lot quicker,
Omfi
Omfi - December 21, 2017 at 4:32pm
iPhone 7 slowing and crashing and turning off unexpectedly and glitching out after multiple restore attempts and apple kept sending me away for fresh restores every time I went in for a repair. ????
qba
qba - December 21, 2017 at 3:20pm
Tim Cook is the freaking reason, volume is what matters to them not quality anymore that’s why they kill The creator
iSheep
iSheep - December 21, 2017 at 2:53pm
Lol if that was true, then Apple should of said that from the beginning! Rotten Apple!!
Marty Vanek
Marty Vanek - December 21, 2017 at 2:20pm
I never noticed any slowing down of my iPhone 6s. I guess you need to "bench test" the device to actually see this, which begs the question-So what?
A-non-e-moose
A-non-e-moose - December 21, 2017 at 2:48pm
Cuz you think you are the only that matters and everyone else that does experience the issue don’t? Ok.
D4xM4Nx
D4xM4Nx - December 21, 2017 at 10:56am
Hope it'll take a long time until the battery in my iPhone X running iOS 11.1.2 starts showing signs of wear, and AppleCare is still available. No need to notice if the iPhone slows down, it's very easy to detect when a battery has aged by monitoring its drain. What Apple should do with this slowdown debacle however, is give us a switch in settings so we have full control on the feature. My iPhone 6 will be locked on iOS 10.2 if nothing else happens ;)
Userone
Userone - December 21, 2017 at 2:48pm
You will be forced to move to the next iOS by Apple. Some apps will not work on iOS 11.2 next year or in 24 months and your iPhone X will be slowly slowed down. Even though this year they announced that their processor is at PC level.
Userone
Userone - December 21, 2017 at 2:49pm
More money in their pocket ...
Captain Tugwash
Captain Tugwash - December 21, 2017 at 10:42pm
Same on my older devices and it’s horse crap.. even with a smart battery - it’s slowing...
Fred
Fred - December 21, 2017 at 8:30am
Really bad Apple! Is it to ”protect battery” or to make people buy new phones? To me is it definitely the latter that rings the bell!
1
Bruce McCaskey
Bruce McCaskey - December 21, 2017 at 5:41am
My wife and I both traded off our iPhone 6s Plus models for new model X's just a couple of weeks ago. We'd had our 6s Plus models for less than twenty months, but mine had become noticeably slow to open App's and perform certain operations, while hers was slow and also rebooted itself frequently while she used it, typically multiple times each day. Neither of us had heard anything about Apple offering any sort of battery replacement possibilities nor did we have any idea that a degrading battery might be causing our problems. We would have gladly paid to have the batteries replaced if we'd known that they were likely the heart of the problem. Instead we assumed that the demands of the newer iOS required newer model phones to regain satisfactory performance. Apple's decision to slow processor performance to compensate for design/battery issues without informing device owners feels like a breach of trust rather than a benevolent act to keep customer's phones operating.
D9
D9 - December 21, 2017 at 3:44am
All I know is that as soon as I upgraded my iPhone 6 from iOS 10.x to iOS 11.x, everything became noticeably slower...opening apps, texting, restarting, pages loading. 11.2 helped a little, but not significantly. As someone whose owned an iPhone since the original, I know when the phone is not working correctly. It may be a bit much to say this is conspiracy actions, but it is shoddy execution, at best. It just feels like an apathetic concern to customers of older products...the very ones who will consider their next purchase based on their current experience.
Yayaya
Yayaya - December 21, 2017 at 2:51am
Tardieee tardie
A-non-e-moose
A-non-e-moose - December 21, 2017 at 3:02pm
That means no one wins. And you’re not upset if consumers like you get shafted? Drone. Drone. Drone. Drone. Drone
 Iggy
Iggy - December 21, 2017 at 1:43am
Seriously, dude. Lay off the crack.
A-non-e-moose
A-non-e-moose - December 21, 2017 at 3:00pm
Nah he has a point. With some of the design choices in their products like how to plug the Apple Mouse 2 or the 2016 MacBook is incompatible with the iPhone 7 without a dongle/adapter, I think Ives need to lay off the crack.
iphone owner
iphone owner - December 21, 2017 at 5:51pm
Your 2016 MacBook can sync to your iPhone 7 without any cable at all. Wifi syncing has been available for ages, so it is not incompatible without a USB-C -> USB dongle.
A-non-e-moose
A-non-e-moose - December 22, 2017 at 8:24pm
5. They still haven’t fixed the special character issue displaying in all texts and apps. Outright lazy pos cash grabbing deceptive company.
More Comments
Recent. Read the latest Apple News.
RECENT
Tutorials. Help is here.
TUTORIALS
Where to Download macOS Sonoma
AppleTV Firmware Download Locations
Where to Download macOS Ventura
Where To Download iPad Firmware Files From
Where To Download iPhone Firmware Files From
Deals. Save on Apple devices and accessories.
DEALS