Apple Sorry for Slowing Down Old iPhones, Cuts Battery Prices

The Cupertino-based giant was found slowing down the speed of old iPhones earlier this month.

Apple was found to be slowing down performance of old iPhones recently. 

(Photo: The Quint)

Apple has admitted its mistake of slowing down old iPhones, and to show it means business, the Cupertino-based giant will roll out a new iOS update in January to make battery information transparent and reduce the price of replacement battery for out-of-warranty iPhones.

The company has also announced that out-of-warranty iPhone users can get replacement batteries in India by paying Rs 2,000 plus taxes, which is much less than what Apple dealers generally charge for an iPhone battery. The battery will be made available from late January, up until December 2018.

Here’s what Apple had to say on the matter on Friday.

We’ve been getting feedback from our customers about the way we handle performance of iPhones with older batteries, and how we have communicated that process. We know that some of you feel Apple has let you down and we apologise for the same.

<a href="https://www.apple.com/iphone-battery-and-performance/">Apple’s statement</a>&nbsp;

In addition, the upcoming iOS update will offer detailed information about the health of iPhone battery, keeping consumers in the loop, and giving them the chance to decide whether they want to stick with their old iPhone and replace the battery, or just get a new model.

What Apple Promises to Do:

• Reduce prices of iPhone replacement battery to $29 globally, Rs 2,000 plus taxes for buyers in India
• New iOS update to be rolled out in January 2018, with details of the iPhone battery health.

Also Read: Apple Admits to Slowing Down Older iPhones And That’s Not Cool!

Earlier this month, Primate Labs researchers found a major issue with the aging of iPhone batteries, which forced Apple to slow down the performance of these devices. To everyone’s surprise, Apple accepted its doing and went on to detail the reasons behind it.

As suggested by John Poole, founder of Primate Labs who had disclosed report, by rolling out the iOS update, they secretly managed to slow down the output of the device.

These findings prompted many people across the globe to file class-action lawsuits against the company. According to this Guardian report, plaintiffs from Chicago, Ohio and North Carolina among others, have claimed that Apple has been concealing big revelations such as this from its consumers, who spend their hard-earned money to buy its products.

They even feel that after what Apple has done to its iPhone consumers, the company is liable to pay compensation to the users, who’ve grossly overpaid for its products, that ends up slowing down the performance in just a few years.

While Apple didn’t respond to these claims and the case is still on the floor, their latest effort seems like a cleverly thought out ploy to thwart any big lawsuits coming its way. By reducing the price of iPhone battery for 6 and 6S buyers (models mostly affected), it seems Apple is trying to steer away from controversy.