Apple Admitted It’s Slowing Down Certain iPhones
Reddit users have noticed that Apple appears to be slowing down old iPhones that have low-capacity batteries.
Apple is effectively saying that it’s not slowing down older iPhones just to urge people to upgrade to newer devices. Rather, the company says it’s addressing an issue with devices containing older lithium-ion batteries that results in unexpected shutdowns. Because those older batteries are incapable of handling peak current draws with the same effectiveness of iPhones with newer batteries and more efficient processors, they run the risk of the device powering down to prevent damage to its internal components.
Apple said it wanted to “prolong the life” of customers’ devices. Apple has now confirmed that it made changes to the iOS operating system to manage ageing lithium-ion batteries in some devices, since the batteries’ performance diminishes over time.
Is Apple in the wrong ? Many people may wish it were true, this isn’t an evil marketing scheme. It’s just good engineering. A closer look at processor basics and lithium-ion battery technology tells us that Apple is simply doing what must be done to improve its users’ uptime—something we should all strive for.
Technical details via www.theverge.com
Duncan is a technology professional with over 20 years experience of working in various IT roles. He has a interest in cyber security, and has a wide range of other skills in radio, electronics and telecommunications.