All the conspiracies about Apple slowing down old iPhones seemed confirmed last week when Apple admitted that they “throttle” the speed of older iPhones. How? By programming them into iOS updates.
Apple claims that the slowdown preserves the life of older batteries and prevents your phone from shutting down unexpectedly, and has nothing to do with planned obsolescence. Which, if you believe them, seems like a decent explanation.
The problem is that Apple has never given disclosure for the updates. If this was a normal thing, you’d expect them not to be so secretive about it, and maybe give users the choice to opt-in or opt-out of whether they want their phone to operate slower or risk the chance that they might fry their battery. Because Apple doesn’t disclose this, what most people think is, “My phone is slowing down, it must need to be replaced,” and go out and buy a new phone.
Additionally, if the problem is a mere battery issue, Apple could have designed the phone so that the battery could be replaced more easily. Instead, they have actively fought “right to repair” laws that would enable people outside the Apple store to repair iPhones. Instead, you have to have it done in the Apple Store, which costs $79.
Whether or not you’re an iPhone fan, this looks pretty shady on Apple’s part, and may make consumers wonder if Apple really has their best interests in mind, or if it’s all just a money grab. What do you think- will this have any negative effect on Apple, or will the iPhone continue its unmitigated reign in the world of smartphones?