Apple Addresses Alleged Throttling of iPhones With Degraded Batteries

[cale508]

They got caught no matter how you put it. A phone if it’s a “power management feature” shouldn’t die with 20 or more percent of battery left. Why is the 7 included in this? The phone’s battery should last 2 years.

 

[Baseballdad]

This is the type of issue that completely undermines trust in a company. Goodbye Apple. This will be the last product either myself OR my family will purchase. Your overrated and, of late, poor performance and now OUTRIGHT TRICKERY is the straw that broke the camel’s back. My iPhone 7 IS NOT AN OLD DEVICE AND DOESNT NEED YOU TO F*** AROUND WITH SLOWING IT DOWN. If I need a new battery I’d rather pay for that than buy a new phone. What ********! So pissed!

 

[firewood]

What's the conspiracy? That they are slowing down the phone so you have to buy a new one? Is that even debatable now that Apple admits this?

Nobody has to buy a new one (ok a few do, as all consumer products do have some statistical failure rate). According to AAPL stock analysts, the replacement cycle hasn't spiked significantly over the last several quarters during the time Apple has been updating the OS on iPhone 6 and 6s devices.

 

[Baseballdad]

A lawsuit for what? Keeping my phone from unexpectedly dying when the processor wants to draw more power than is available? Using batteries that aren't magic and have to conform to the laws of physics?

Good answer Fanboy....

 

[Leomon84]

I have to agree with this. In my experience android do not offer updates past a 2 or 3 year cycle and although users bemoan this, it is imho for the best. At the point of a final update from Samsung my device has always been left running at its peak performance. I love this approach as I would much prefer my phone be running at its best ever than be forced through updates the hardware may struggle with. It will still continue receiving security patches but just will not be eligible for the latest system update.

I would love Apple to implement something similar as I don’t feel the jump from one iOS to another offers much in the way of features and/or improvement.

Also android does have the custom rom/root option, should a user want the latest and greatest software in place at which point is fully down to the owner of the device’s discretion and not the manufacturer. It may void warranty but is good that the manufacturers of android devices do not stand in the way of this. And also is fully reversible should a user need the warranty ;o

If they do this, then they cant slow your phone.. And then you will stop buying their phones.. Then they cant make as much money, then the investors arent as happy....

 

[dumastudetto]

For out of warranty customers, Apple offers a battery replacement service, with the company charging $79 for a battery replacement plus $6.95 in shipping or you can upgrade your phone and sign another 2yr contract like Apple wants you to do or they would not be messing with it in the first place this stinks Apple and you should not be allowed to do this I think this could end up in a class action suit .

It's a reasonable price, but Apple will only service your battery if it fails their diagnostic tests. Just because your iPhone may be throttled doesn't mean it will fail the diagnostic test unfortunately. I think this is something Apple needs to fix in the process.

 

[firewood]

This is the type of issue that completely undermines trust in a company. Goodbye Apple. This will be the last product either myself OR my family will purchase.

So say goodbye and buy a Samsung (et.al.), which has significantly slower single core geekbench numbers (if that's what you care about) to start with even when brand spankin' new.

 

[Aydy]

This only is done on phones with degrading worn batteries. It's to help those phones run as well as possible. I still use my 6s Plus I got September 25, 2015. I'm a heavy user. I haven't noticed any slowdown at all. What Apple has done is a good thing. It's been blown way out of proportion. Besides, most users upgrade every year or two. If your battery is that worn, and experiences the slowdown, just get a new battery. Then no more slowdown.

Perhaps you feel it’s a good thing because you haven’t been affected? When it happens it’s a pain. People are sore, specifically this week because they have learned that Apple have purposely crippled their phone and not just a natural aging process was at play which although is never welcome, is a much less bitter pill to swallow than finding out software engineers have essentially secretly hacked your phone to “apparently” fix one issue and conversely creating several others & overall poor performance.

Its the “Control” element of this that makes me most uncomfortable. How much control and potential manipulation they have over something I gave them $1000 for doesn’t sit right with me.

 

[dumastudetto]

Good answer Fanboy....

You have to respect different people have different priorities, but I think most people will prefer their phones don't suddenly shutdown unexpectedly.

 

[LIVEFRMNYC]

Maybe Apple should use Samsung's batteries, that they started using on the S8, which degrade slower.

 

[Act3]

You have to respect different people have different priorities, but I think most people will prefer their phones don't suddenly shutdown unexpectedly.

I think most people would like notification that they need a new battery and then give an option as running slower or taking chance with shutdowns.. Its not that hard of a concept to allow a choice. Just like the choice apple gives to enable low power mode and the popups asking if you want to turn it on when battery is low

 

[KingslayerG5]

Removable battery, FTW!

It's all over tech news and YouTube. Throttle-gate.

 

[dumastudetto]

I think most people would like notification that they need a new battery and then give an option as running slower or taking chance with shutdowns.. Its not that hard of a concept to allow a choice. Just like the choice apple gives to enable low power mode and the popups asking if you want to turn it on when battery is low

i think most users probably dismiss it and move on. Apple is a company that likes making the choices for its users, this is nothing new.

 

[Mal Blackadder]

And you know this to be a fact? How, what's your source?

Also, do you only refer to stock Android phones, or also to Android phones that have manufacturer modified (tweaked, skinned, etc) Android version running?

I think the chances of a Android manufacturer releasing an update to the software that the phone ships with that throttles the phone might be very unlikely, because very few android phones get software updates of any kind at all, apart from phones released by google themselves. I know my Nexus 5x is getting a bit long in the tooth now but that has received constant updates and has never felt slow afterwards, though there have been times when a update has adversely affected battery life, but generally the next update after that fixes it.

 

[Baseballdad]

So say goodbye and buy a Samsung (et.al.), which has significantly slower single core geekbench numbers (if that's what you care about) to start with even when brand spankin' new.

You only quoted PART of my post. If you’re going to use my post to make a reply, use the entire quote. Even if it bothers your Fanboyness. Here’s the rest of what I said folks “Your overrated and, of late, poor performance and now OUTRIGHT TRICKERY is the straw that broke the camel’s back. My iPhone 7 IS NOT AN OLD DEVICE AND DOESNT NEED YOU TO F*** AROUND WITH SLOWING IT DOWN. If I need a new battery I’d rather pay for that than buy a new phone”....Screw you Apple

 

[Act3]

i think most users probably dismiss it and move on. Apple is a company that likes making the choices for its users, this is nothing new.

I think all this exposure will have them change it and allow a choice. just my opinion. This has a lot of publicity now.

 

[firewood]

The question is why cant the battery offer the nominal voltage required for max frequency? It should always be able to provide that unless it was sized incorrectly. Its a given.

Nope. Almost every Intel, AMD and mobile chip for the past several years includes power management that varies the processor clock frequency and internal voltage rail all over the map, and almost never near the max possible (except maybe for overclocking gamers using liquid nitrogen cooling). Your laptop may well be varying the processor clock and voltage due to room temperature variations.

 

[Altis]

My relationship with Apple is my choice, not yours. You do you. It costs me absolutely nothing to counteract lies and please refer to my first reason. I have no issue with legitimate criticism of Apple. I’ve done my own. I disagree with your characterization of the method Apple used to maintain the usability of an iPhone when its battery has reached the end of its life.

The battery isn't "end of life". Many of these batteries pass all diagnostic tests at the Apple store and Apple will not swap out the battery.

 

[Aydy]

It’s called Lirum Info Lite. Very good device product as well. Specifically checks battery health under “tools” then “battery”. Free app in Apple store.

You better get it fast. Most likely all of these battery check info apps will be removed from AppStore in the coming days. I don’t know if this will shake Apple but it has gained momentum

 

[apolloa]

i think most users probably dismiss it and move on. Apple is a company that likes making the choices for its users, this is nothing new.

I think you’ll find that as this is all across mainstream news people will be very annoyed actually and some may take action in court.
If people changed an iPhone 6 or 6S that cost a lot of money, for another new iPhone costing a lot of money because Apple made their old device run slow, and they didn’t tell anyone, then funnily enough people might be annoyed with that!

I assume you have Apple stock?
[doublepost=1513896373][/doublepost]

The battery isn't "end of life". Many of these batteries pass all diagnostic tests at the Apple store and Apple will not swap out the battery.

Yes, the only choice you have is to pay for Apple care, pay for a new phone, get a third party to replace the battery.
Two of those options net Apple much more money then replacing your battery...

 

[Mal Blackadder]

Oh, release notes: https://support.apple.com/kb/DL1893

How does throttling the battery 16 months later strengthen your argument that they were throttling it after a year? You've yet to provide any evidence of bad batteries, you're just choosing to interpret everything as some kind of conspiracy. What I'm ok with is making the tradeoff between slowing some operations slightly as I reach end of life on my battery rather than hard resetting my phone. Personally, this allows me to go longer without replacing my battery, so it saves me money in the end.

The software throttles the cpu not the battery, this is to avoid the phone shutting down if the battery is unable to supply enough voltage to the cpu, as for evidence of bad batteries Apple did institute a battery replacement program for the 6s because phones were unexpectedly shutting down. https://www.apple.com/support/iphone6s-unexpectedshutdown/ . maybe this suggests the faulty battery issue was bigger than Apple admitted and by introducing the throttling they saved them the expense of replacing even more batteries.

 

[Puddled]

Apple throttle power consumption on iphones because the batteries do not age very well. This premature aging is because apple push batteries extremely hard to get good battery life out of smaller batteries. This smaller battery is crucial because of the inefficient use of space in the iphone. The cost of the increased battery stress is reduced battery life. Without throttling, per-charge battery life falls off a cliff and it severely impacts the user experience (usage per charge and black outs) , as well as media perception (iphone batteries are crap) and warranty costs ( replacement batteries ).

This why Android phones get bad press for battery physical size. Androids dont goose the battery like apple does and thus bigger batteries are needed. It would be interesing to see what the true mah of apple batteries actually are (ignoring the label) and gauge energy density vs android.

This leads to the big (huge) question of why, given the already significant noise on alleged planned obsolescence by apple, they have chosen to keep this "feature" secret?

It must be because something is way out of wack in comparison to other manufactures (as per my conclusions above) or that it is a nefarious and poorly excused attempt to have buyers buy new phones.

In my opinion, there is no others answers to why cpu throttling is needed or why is has been done in the clandestine manner it has.

"Battery management " is not a valid reason. The iphone isnt the only mobile device in existence and no other manufactures do this.

They have been caught with their trowsers down on this one.

 

[brandon.bob]

Over the course of the last week, there's been speculation that Apple is throttling the performance of older iPhones with degraded batteries, leading to resurgence of accusations that Apple is deliberately slowing down older iPhones that aren't operating at peak battery performance.

In a statement to TechCrunch on the results people are seeing when testing iPhones with older batteries, Apple says it is aiming to smooth out the high power draw peaks that can result in shutdowns and other problems in older devices to "deliver the best experience for customers."

Lithium-ion batteries degrade over time by nature, and there's nothing Apple can do to halt the process, so it uses power management techniques to attempt to prolong the life of the iPhone and its battery. Apple isn't denying that iPhones with older batteries can sometimes see slower performance, but power management is not a feature that's been implemented to force users to upgrade by deliberately slowing devices.The throttling accusations first surfaced last week, after a Redditor shared Geekbench results taken before and after the battery in his iPhone 6s was replaced. He claimed that performance on his iPhone 6s sped up drastically after replacing a battery with a wear level "around 20%."

Then, earlier this week, Primate Labs founder John Poole showed some aggregate Geekbench data that visualized a link between lower processor performance and degraded battery health. He compared iPhone 6s scores between iOS 10.2 and iOS 10.2.1, which showed variations in benchmarking scores following the update.

Apple in iOS 10.2.1 introduced an update designed to fix a bug that was causing iPhone 6s models to shut down unexpectedly, a problem attributed to uneven power delivery from older batteries. Apple says this feature has been implemented for iPhone 6, 6 Plus, 6s, 6s Plus, SE, and, as of iOS 11.2, the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus. It will be implemented in future iPhones going forward, too.

It's this power management feature causing the benchmark variations John Poole found in Geekbench scores between iOS 10 updates last year. As explained by TechCrunch's Matthew Panzarino:When an iPhone's battery ages, there may come a point when it can't provide the processor with enough power to reach a peak of power, and thus it spreads the requests out "over a few cycles," resulting in the peaks and perceived lower scores on benchmarking tests. As Panzarino points out, benchmarking tests are not reflective of real world usage and will artificially trigger the power management features in the iPhone.

"In other words, you're always going to be triggering this when you run a benchmark, but you definitely will not always trigger this effect when you're using your iPhone like normal," writes Panzarino.

Apple has clear battery replacement guidelines in place. The iPhone battery is designed to retain 80% of its original capacity at 500 complete charge cycles. A defective battery that does not meet those parameters can be replaced for free for customers who have AppleCare+ or who have devices still under warranty.

For out of warranty customers, Apple offers a battery replacement service, with the company charging $79 for a battery replacement plus $6.95 in shipping.

Apple's iPhones do send out a notification when a battery has degraded enough that it's going to impact performance, but it is "pretty conservative" according to Panzarino, and he recommends Apple make this notice more aggressive, in addition to providing customers with clearer information on the link between battery life and performance.

Article Link: Apple Addresses Alleged Throttling of iPhones With Degraded Batteries

 

[curtvaughan]

People complain about Apple as if it gives them an orgasm

My, that was insightful. People complain about Apple because they command high prices for ostensibly high quality product, and of late are failing in the high quality areas - less ports, shorter battery life, flawed accessories (iPad "smart keyboard" is particularly onerous. I had a friend who went through 4 smart keyboards for her new iPad Pro within 3 weeks. Apple finally gave up and gave her a dollar credit for the keyboard price on their website). Believe me, it isn't "orgasmic" to complain about disappointing product to a company, and get less than stellar response. Life's too short. The only recourse to large corporate screwups is to complain loudly and persistently until the corporation fixes the problem. That worked quite well with the Samsung Note 7.

 

[Leomon84]

Nope. Almost every Intel, AMD and mobile chip for the past several years includes power management that varies the processor clock frequency and internal voltage rail all over the map, and almost never near the max possible (except maybe for overclocking gamers using liquid nitrogen cooling). Your laptop may well be varying the processor clock and voltage due to room temperature variations.

no your mis-understanding what I am saying. I'm not talking about overclocking here. You don't overclock phones..

If you buy a 3.2 Ghz processor you would expect it to operate at 3.2Ghz nominal when needed. The battery / power supply should ALWAYS allow the processor to operate at the expected frequency

You certainly wouldn't expect it to be throttled just because of battery degredation.. The manufacturer showed you specs when your purchased it. You as a consumer are to expect that performance.