Apple to pay up to $500 mil over battery-related phone slowdown

Too bad most of us upgraded without making a claim.

Pretty poor of Apple to have done this.... should have fined them more, this wont even make a dent in their profits.

This is stupid. As batteries degrade, they can't do as much. Apple found a solution to keep the batter usable longer, now they have to pay for it.

This is stupid. As batteries degrade, they can't do as much. Apple found a solution to keep the batter usable longer, now they have to pay for it.

Because they didn't let people know about it, so people thought there was something wrong with their phones, paid money trying to fix it, or bought new phones

but many people claimed they had already spent hundreds of dollars to buy new phones because Apple didn't reveal the cause of the problem. If they had known they could just buy new batteries, they might not have bought new phones, some consumers in the case said.

Lesson: be upfront with people

Because they didn't let people know about it, so people thought there was something wrong with their phones, paid money trying to fix it, or bought new phones

The alternative would have been that their phones would have completely stopped working, sooner.

But people think that because Apple is a corporation, there must be some nefarious plot behind this, which is stupid, because as a software designer, this is the exact type of solution we look for to give users a longer service.

The alternative would have been that their phones would have completely stopped working, sooner.

The alternative is to tell people exactly what's happening and let people decide for themselves whether to keep their phone that's been slowed down but kept working, or spend money to replace the battery, or buy a new phone.

There is no reason to keep people in the dark and guessing why their phones slowed down. Instead of giving people the run around, just tell them exactly what's happening and let them decide.

There is no reason to keep people in the dark and guessing why their phones slowed down. Instead of giving people the run around, just tell them exactly what's happening and let them decide.

Sure there is. Software engineers say 'how can we make this last as long as possible', and others say 'at these points, we disable this rendering, and remove that processing.

Then they build it.

People act as if there were this secret Apple cabal, in a dark room with ominous under-lighting, deciding how they could screw their customers, whereas in the real-world, teams of engineers trying to build the best product they can.

Sure there is. Software engineers say 'how can we make this last as long as possible', and others say 'at these points, we disable this rendering, and remove that processing.

Why do ya keep comparing this to software engineering? This is just about people's phones.

So if ya can think of a reason to keep people in the dark about their phones, then give it - not about software engineering.

Why do ya keep comparing this to software engineering? This is just about people's phones.

Maybe because Apple engineered the software in question, that runs on the phones you just talked about.

So if ya can think of a reason to keep people in the dark about their phones, then give it - not about software engineering.

Um, people don't know 99% of how the software on the phone runs in the background. No company has ever made this information transparent to anyone anywhere. Why would they? How it's used is what is important.

You are trying to claim a decision was made to keep people in the dark. The way these things work is that Apple built something, and released it. People used it. People realized they didn't know what was happening in the background. Again, it's not like there was a secret cabal within apple that was saying 'should we keep them in the dark about this?'

@Strangerland : The problem is Apple didn't say "we are slowing down your phone because your battery is old", had they done that I don't think there would have been a problem.

@Strangerland : The problem is Apple didn't say "we are slowing down your phone because your battery is old", had they done that I don't think there would have been a problem.

Again, it's not like this would be something that was decided. You are right, they didn't say that. They also didn't say, literally, thousands of other things about the specs of the phone and how it works, if not tens and tens of thousands of things.

Here's iFixit's quick history:

2016

This is when the drama first started. Reports of older iPhones trickled in, citing reliability and usability problems such as sudden shutdowns. In November, Apple announced that this was an issue affecting only a “very small number” of iPhone 6s devices. Whether this was a little white lie or Apple’s ignorance, their “very small” problem proved to be a more widespread issue than initially admitted.

January 2017

Apple attempted to resolve the problem—secretly—via iOS update 10.2.1, which made changes to power delivery on all devices newer than the iPhone 6. This feature was obfuscated by a myriad of fixes for security and design bugs that were introduced by iOS 10.2 (released just 42 days prior). Apple remained tight-lipped about the full intent behind the update, but, inevitably, the internet jumped on Apple’s case: Tech journalists and Redditors alike speculated that the update was an attempt to prevent battery shutdowns.

Consequently, this throttling did fix most unexpected shutdowns, but at the hidden cost of reduced performance. Consumers were essentially led to believe that the update, and any resulting performance issues, were the sole solution for their ailing phones. They weren’t told that the fix was actually limiting battery overexertion, which reduced phone-crashing power spikes, until…

December 2017 (Almost a year later)

A Reddit post breaking down the aging process of Li-ion batteries, followed by research into the CPU of affected iPhones, found that the throttling was, in fact, a battery issue. Replacing the battery in a throttled phone resulted in increased performance, conclusively shining light on Apple’s throttling shenanigans. The phones weren’t the problem—old batteries were. Public outcry and lawsuits ensued. Finally, Apple publicly admitted to CPU throttling for aging batteries.

Apple was actively avoiding telling people - it was not just an omission; it was a run-around.

Apple are now trying to tell us that when we close apps, we are draining out Battery....

Uh, Apple.

Let's take a couple of examples.

I use the "Find My" application very regularly to track the where-abouts of the rest of my Family.

A recent update has not made that become like the casual "Find my Friends" app of prior iOS versions - the only way you can get it to update, is to restart the App!

Google News also, doesnt work well sometimes, the display seems to get messed up so the App needs closing - and that's not just limited to Google News alone... you need to close apps regularly.

Other apps seem to spend more time on the Battery life than they should, even when Background apps is disabled - according to the Stats screen - interestingly Apples own Lock Screen ranks high up there.

I dont know.... I dont trust Companies one bit in their Marketing rubbish... you need to look at things yourself and make your own mind up.

Apple has some good things, and some bad things, the rest seem to come and go. The problem is...in my view, is that Apple uses Legal silencing loopholes to stop people getting their rights as Consumers - and that... is a problem, regional Governments need to fix that! Not just for Apple, but for all Companies. Apple in my view is loosing "Trust" over legal Bullying on the small consumer... so we have a choice - ditch Apple and move on, or be sadistic and accept the punishment as it seems... it wasn't like this before, but now-a-days it is, and its a sorry state. Hopefully things will change there, and the complacent attitude will be dropped.

@lostrune2 - you pay 1000$ for a piece of equipment, you expect it to last a bit longer than a two or three years. Fundamentally, Apple are overcharging for the Tech that they sell us. We pay a premium for the Apple Name, and Apple expects us to buy the next new item as soon as we have paid off the former item - hence the 2 yearly contract periods from our vendors However as Costs rose, these 2 yearly contract renewals sort of mismatched the Apple-Care period (which they still do, so please check yours)... Its not surprising that Apple are now scrambling to produce and market a cheaper version... the question is.. how long will it last ?