Apple Being Sued for 'Purposefully Slowing Down Older iPhone Models' [Updated]

[Act3]

(1). There is no public API in iOS or ARM user mode instruction that reports the actual processor clock frequency.
(2). The Apple admission says nothing about clock frequency. Go back and read it.

So, yes, possibly fake.

so Apple continues to allow these "fake apps" that show issues with THEIR products in THEIR own app store?

If they were fake numbers, I'd bet the apps would be pulled and Apple would have made a statement stating that the Apps were reporting incorrectly to help quiet down this PR nightmare.

 

[alexgowers]

Honestly apple should be providing batteries that don't require CPU throttling to maintain stability. A bigger battery that has performance enough to prevent the need for a slow down. While I don't approve of legal action in general this is well within what I would class a reasonable class action suit. Unfortunately the only people who will really benefit financially are the lawyers, whilst those affected will have to waist time just to prove their costs and have them covered. It hardly seems worth it from a consumer POV it should just be automatic.

 

[linkboy]

You misread what Apple confirmed. Try to find anything they said about CPU clock frequency. There are no such words from Apple.

People seem to conclude that a possibly made-up number displayed by some apps is a confirmation from Apple.

Apple can't do no wrong, right.

The fact remains that Apple was intentionally throttling people's phones without telling them, while at the same time, denying them a replacement battery due to an arbitrary threshold.

It doesn't matter what numbers Geekbench had. If Apple wasn't throttling the phones, they wouldn't have confirmed that they were.

 

[mmm1345]

Can someone PLEASE post a video?

It would be nice if someone post side by side video of a throttled phone and a not-throttled phone so that the world can see the difference.

Imagine... all this drama over a nearly imperceptible reality.

The geek bench math is irrelevant to me if the user experience is hardly changed.

for me its not about speeds its about apps crashing, my gps maps no longer working, battery readings sometimes going all over the place

 

[Gruntersdad12]

So thousands of iPhone owners will be checking their batteries and finding out they aren't up to par, and doubting a law suit will produce results, will spend $79.00 on a replacement and put even more money in Apple's cash registers. Win for Apple.

 

[blackdogaudio]

Did a anyone demand phones to get this thin? Or just one person: ivy.

Dunno...but does anyone want them thick as a brick again?

 

[albebaubles]

If I had known this, I would not have broken my boycott of the no 3.5mm headphone jack iPhones. I foolishly updated to iOS 11 on my 6S Plus. I had never noticed the sluggishness that others reported with previous updates because I was always using the iPhone that was one generation prior to the newest release (4S > 5S > 6S Plus). I didn't buy the 7 and planned to not buy the 8 because of the lack of 3.5mm jack (I hate wireless headphones).

If I had known, I would have simply replaced the battery in my 6S Plus.

Dude you an still use wired headphones....

 

[Akagi]

Dunno...but does anyone want them thick as a brick again?

The Samsung s8 has a 3000mAh battery. Almost double the capacity of the 6s but still very slim. Not sure how Samsung managed to do it.

 

[Bacillus]

The Samsung s8 has a 3000mAh battery. Almost double the capacity of the 6s but still very slim. Not sure how Samsung managed to do it.

Xiaomi is now readying 5300mAH batts (while Apple is deceiving and being sued and Joni is whispering with ApplePark trees...)

 

[albebaubles]

Prove it.

I can also say many posters here for years have and probably are paid by the competition. Can't prove it either.

Horse Hockey.

 

[Mark Booth]

Regardless whether Apple is being honest with its users or not, the owners of the products should have been told about it from the beginning and given a CHOICE as to whether they'd rather "live dangerously" with their iOS device operating at maximum speed.

I'm sick of companies "babysitting" their customers in ways that affect the use of the products. I used to be a huge fan of GoPro's products. I supported GoPro by intentionally avoiding knock-off accessories and always buying genuine GoPro accessories. I wanted the company to thrive and prosper. Then, sadly, GoPro decided to release an updated version of the GoPro iOS app (which was relabeled "Capture" for awhile) that had one VERY annoying feature. That release made it mandatory that you have a GoPro account AND that your GoPro camera was logged into the account (through your mobile phone, etc.) before you could use the camera. This created all sorts of problems for folks that liked to use their GoPro cameras in wilderness areas or other areas that don't have cell service. The change caused a revolt among avid GoPro users and reddit and forums are filled with complaints. GoPro admitted the reason they did it was so they could track when and how their products are being used and that would allow them to make better products. Which is fine, but their users should have been given a CHOICE whether or not they are being tracked.

GoPro gave no warning. If you updated their app on your iOS device, one day you had the app you'd known for years and the next day you had an app that required you to sign into an account to be able to use your GoPro. A totally idiotic decision on GoPro's part.

In my mind, Apple's move with this throttling is just as egregious. It should be users' CHOICE whether their phone gets throttled. Apple should have explained the risks and let users make the choice via a simple settings switch.

I will never give GoPro another dime of my money. I am fast approaching the same feeling about Apple.

Mark

 

[vooke]

I don't know who wrote this MacRumors article but I'm bothered by the author's statements of supposed fact when, in reality, the "facts" aren't fully known at this time. MacRumors should strive to remain more impartial when reporting Apple related news.

Mark

That’s asking to much from them. They can’t move their own cheese

 

[albebaubles]

My battery has not just got worse in the last hour?

This is what I don't understand.

iOS11 is throttling you where ios10 did not. They over 'optimized' your phone.

 

[blackdogaudio]

The Samsung s8 has a 3000mAh battery. Almost double the capacity of the 6s but still very slim. Not sure how Samsung managed to do it.

Impressive...and only 1MM thicker than iPhone. I could live with that.

EDIT: happiness comes and happiness goes..see post below this one. Oh well...

 

[Michael Goff]

The Samsung s8 has a 3000mAh battery. Almost double the capacity of the 6s but still very slim. Not sure how Samsung managed to do it.

Let’s go through a few things that take up more space in an iPhone than the S8:
The actual SoC is bigger. It uses more silicon than competing snapdragon processors.
Taptic Engine in newer phones (6S and up, made bigger in the 7/8/X)


https://www.androidauthority.com/apple-a10-fusion-chip-performance-723918/

People always assume the problem comes in depth and forget there are other dimensions they need to take into account.

 

[mi7chy]

Dunno...but does anyone want them thick as a brick again?

Like 3.5" was too small, 7mm is too thin with battery too small. The sweet spot is 8mm which is still thin but with 4000mAh battery.

 

[blackdogaudio]

Like 3.5" was too small, 7mm is too thin with battery too small. The sweet spot is 8mm which is still thin but with 4000mAh battery.

Who am I kidding..I'd buy another iPhone if it was thick as a brick. (I actually like them)

 

[Mork23]

Apple just did what most software developers are also likely to do so to force the users to give up their old units and buy their new software or product. What matters is that Apple-Users do not only have the financial capability but also have the courage and time to sue a gigantic company - a very strong point that Windows-Users do not possess !

 

[BigDO]

Who am I kidding..I'd buy another iPhone if it was thick as a brick. (I actually like them)

I love them and have had multiple units of every single model ever released.

This kind of consumer hostile attitude is driving me away, and I feel quite stupid for spending my $1200 on a phone which will be intentionally crippled this time next year.

 

[mi7chy]

Who am I kidding..I'd buy another iPhone if it was thick as a brick. (I actually like them)

Do you know the thickness of a credit card is .75mm? 8mm compared to 7mm isn't a brick.

 

[blackdogaudio]

I love them and have had multiple units of every single model ever released.

This kind of consumer hostile attitude is driving me away, and I feel quite stupid for spending my $1200 on a phone which will be intentionally crippled this time next year.

I've had a bad habit for the past 60 years while on this planet of not giving a rat's ass what anyone else thinks. I prefer to "know" (based on personal experience or hard evidence) rather than "hope" (based on what someone else thinks). That bad habit has served me well more than not ;-)

In short, my iPhone X isn't going anywhere even a year from now unless it takes a toilet dive, gets hit by a car, etc.

 

[SactoGuy18]

Why this message thread hasn't moved to PRSI is beyond me.

Like I said a couple of times, I think Apple will settle this issue in two parts:

1. Apple will offer to any owner of an iPhone that runs a 64-bit SoC (A7 and newer, which means iPhone 5S and later) that is more than two years old (for the time the customer buys the phone as new) a low-cost battery upgrade, about $35 in retail cost.

2. Apple will upgrade iOS 11.x itself so if it detects the replacement battery, it will return the iPhone to full speed operation.

 

[blackdogaudio]

Do you know the thickness of a credit card is .75mm? 8mm compared to 7mm isn't a brick.

Never meant to imply it was.

 

[Michael Goff]

Why this message thread hasn't moved to PRSI is beyond me.

Like I said a couple of times, I think Apple will settle this issue in two parts:

1. Apple will offer to any owner of an iPhone that runs a 64-bit SoC (A7 and newer, which means iPhone 5S and later) that is more than two years old (for the time the customer buys the phone as new) a low-cost battery upgrade, about $35 in retail cost.

2. Apple will upgrade iOS 11.x itself so if it detects the replacement battery, it will return the iPhone to full speed operation.

If you replace the battery today the performance comes back, so obviously 2 would happen.

 

[firewood]

The fact remains that Apple was intentionally throttling people's phones without telling them,

Read the Release Notes for iOS updates. Apple told anyone who actually cared to read their T&C and release notes way back in some iOS 10.x update, over a year ago. And it's not as if what Apple did wasn't industry standard practice, as a similar fix was mentioned Android release notes several years ago.