Apple, earlier in the month, was in the eye of a storm, after the company confirmed that it deliberately throttled performance (CPU speed) of the older iPhones to extend the life expectancy. But, the consumers weren't too convinced about the Apple's excuse and accused it of being greedy and coercing them to buy newer iPhones.
Now, Apple has released a formal press note, which looks more like an apology letter to consumers asking for forgiveness.
But, Apple clearly states that it has and will never shorten the life of the product and the throttling of iPhone CPU speed had to be done to extend the life of the chemically degrading battery.
By reducing the CPU speed, there will be reduced negative impact on the ever degrading lithium-ion cell and avoid sudden shut down of the device, which were reported first in 2016 in select old models (iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, and iPhone SE) and it was, to an extent fixed with iOS 10.2.1 and was done same with the latest iOS 11.2 for iPhone 7 and the iPhone 7 Plus, which apparently led to the consumer backlash, we see today.
Apple's official statement on iPhone performance and battery issue:
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 apologize. There's been a lot of misunderstanding about this issue, so we would like to clarify and let you know about some changes we're making.
First and foremost, we have never — and would never — do anything to 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.
Apple has promised never to take customer's faith for granted and continue to offer best user experience in days to come.
As a warm gesture, Apple has reduced the prices of the new replacement batteries for iPhones. Now, an out-of-warranty iPhone battery costs $50 less — from $79 to $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 are slated to be announced soon on apple.com.
[Note: With newer batteries, the iPhone performance will return to its former best, particularly in terms of app launch speed]
The company has also promised to release a software update in early 2018 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 said.
This move is a very courageous and honest statement from a technology company, which has the potential to reach $1 trillion market capitalisation value in a year or two, risks its reputation by coming out clean on discrepancies in the iPhones, the company's cash cow division and affect its profit. [Apple's full statement: HERE]
Can we expect the same confessions from other rival companies, whether they too indulge in throttling performance to improve battery life?
