Along with its apology for miscommunicating about the throttling of performance of iPhones with degraded battery, Apple lowered the price of battery replacements for qualifying devices and said this program would be available starting in early 2018.
The company has now confirmed that it is starting the battery replacement program now.
In a statement to Rene Ritchie on Saturday, Apple said “We expected to need more time to be ready, but we are happy to offer our customers the lower pricing right away. Initial supplies of some replacement batteries may be limited.”
Because of limited supply, you might want to check directly with your local Apple Store, or with Apple Support directly, to find out how quickly you can get your battery replaced.
The change of heart could be due to Apple just changing its mind, or maybe to the criticism it received for not getting this program up and running asap. Your guess is as good as mine?
What devices are concerned?
According to Apple, only iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, and iPhone SE qualify for the program. iPads are apparently exempt from performance throttling, so these devices aren’t part of the battery replacement program.
So anybody can get his battery replaced?
Nope! This isn’t that simple. Obviously, you need one of the devices mentioned above, and your device will most likely have to qualify for the battery replacement. Apple will probably run a diagnostic and assess whether or not your device’s battery qualifies for a replacement.
But how do I check myself if my battery needs to be replaced?
Right now, Apple only has one way of checking if your battery needs to be replaced, but we recently shared 3 other ways to check your iPhone battery health.
How much will that cost?
If you qualify, the cost of a replacement will be $29 in the US (check price in your own country). This price will be valid until the end of 2018.