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

[curtvaughan]

And now we know why.
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It’s entirely up to the app developer how far back they want their app to support.

The iPhone 5 was the last iPhone with a 32-bit architecture. Since all iPhones beginning with the 5s are 64-bit, many developers are abandoning 32-bit application development. This was one of the reasons Apple stopped updating the OS for older MacBook Pros - they were 32-bit machines. I still have a 32-bit Core Duo MBP (1,1) I bought in 2006 that still runs. Apple withdrew OS updates for it around 2012, so to still get any use out of it I installed a 32-bit Linux Mint distro that still gets security updates. Even Linux distros and applications are phasing out 32-bit support, so I mainly keep it around out of curiosity to see how long the hardware will actually last. I suspect the HDD or power supply will compete for failure dates. It is a prime example of how great Apple hardware used to be - 11 years and counting.
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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

One reason I own an Android phone is that its GoPro apps seem to work better on Android and PCs than on Apple hardware. Most Androids and PCs also have SD slots, making it more convenient to transfer GoPro videos to those devices. This is also an example of why a lack of ports and slots, and the consequent necessity of hauling around dongles and external interfacing devices is hurting Apple with people needing maximum portability with as little equipment as possible. For GoPro photography, my Android, with its SD slot and a few swappable batteries is all I need with me for offloading the videos from the camera when it gets full (while, let's say, I'm on a 5 hour bike ride).

 

[MH01]

Why do you think user replaceable batteries are going away as a concept of high end phones?

Same reason as fixed storage - greed -to get you to buy a new device.

Sadly , same thing is happening to macs...

 

[Wildkraut]

Over 2000 comments, hat down... regardless if Pro or Con, it’s polarizing.

 

[jhromeror]

About time. What they are doing is highly unethical. Their involvement with my property stops after payment.

It is you who upgrades the OS of your devices. It is part of the OS you agree to License and dont own.

 

[mi7chy]

Can someone who truly knows let us understand what makes the iOS 11 throttling algorithm kick into action?

Pretty soon the public will be completely blind when Apple switches to their own power management IC (PMIC). At least with Dialog Semiconductor you can go to them for data sheet and technical information.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.ma...0/apple-designing-own-iphone-power-chips/amp/

 

[A MacBook lover]

So if your Tesla slowed down just after a year you would be ok with that? And if you drove to the Tesla dealer and he would tell you after a check, that there is nothing wrong with your battery? Which of course won’t happen because your Tesla had a properly designedly power train to begin with.

No, you can go search if you like. I never specified any particular number, but Apple does claim one chip is X amount of speed faster than the last. But then you knew that already.

As they claim the car goes to 0-60 in 2.3 seconds. Point being?

 

[curtvaughan]

Pretty soon the public will be completely blind when Apple switches to their own power management IC (PMIC). At least with Dialog Semiconductor you can go to them for data sheet and technical information.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.ma...0/apple-designing-own-iphone-power-chips/amp/

Wow. That article becomes even more revealing in regard to this issue. I had not seen it. Thanks for posting.

 

[Altis]

It is you who upgrades the OS of your devices. It is part of the OS you agree to License and dont own.

Unless you need to restore the phone, during which it automatically puts you to the latest iOS.

Also, want to guess how many Apple users are remotely aware of it?

 

[Ladybug]

As they claim the car goes to 0-60 in 2.3 seconds. Point being?

There is no point other than to say its said to be X times faster than last years model when Apple does their events.

 

[danmaldesign]

Ever since Steve jobs passed away, Apple has experienced a loss of innovative agility while forcing their customers to pay top dollar for new products with only 1 or 2 new features. Now they're showing their true colors by not being transparent about throttling older devices. I've owned Apple products since the iPhone 1 and I just switched over to a SAMSUNG GALAXY S8 and although it is different...it's has WAY MORE FEATURES! Sorry Apple, you just lost a valued customer. Ta ta!

 

[Thierry ba]

Stefan Bogdanovich and Dakota Speas? Those are awesome stage names.

It's Bogdanović. Funny americans.

 

[EdT]

I can see having 4-5s phones becoming outdated, such that they can't keep up with iOS advancements but the reports of owners of iPhone 6 having very adverse effects to iOS updates is pretty lame. So, we just landfill millions of phones after two years? No thanks.

I own an iPhone 6, and it is having performance issues. But it’s also older than 2 years. I think it was originally released in September of 2014, so 3 years ago if you bought it then. I've also read that most cell phone batteries start to degrade significantly after 2 years regardless of the manufacturer.

Apples problem here, and in a lot of areas, is their addiction to secrecy. Make this an option, provide independent analysis that confirms their position, and this isn’t an issue. But since they already have a history of not informing customers even if what they are saying is true, and I don’t know if battery degradation happens to other high current cell phones one way or the other, lots of people will automatically assume they are lying. Because why hide the fact you are doing this if what is happening occurs with any Lion battery in a cell phone after a couple of years? If that is a true statement there is no reason to hide what Apple is doing. Make it a settings option. Or at least tell people you are doing this.

You want to keep future features secret, fine. Cost, method of production? Ok. Profit margin? Alright. Changing how an existing phone works long after someone has bought it and don’t tell them? Expect a (deserved) firestorm.

 

[itguy06]

Ever since Steve jobs passed away, Apple has experienced a loss of innovative agility while forcing their customers to pay top dollar for new products with only 1 or 2 new features. Now they're showing their true colors by not being transparent about throttling older devices. I've owned Apple products since the iPhone 1 and I just switched over to a SAMSUNG GALAXY S8 and although it is different...it's has WAY MORE FEATURES! Sorry Apple, you just lost a valued customer. Ta ta!

This is spot on. Re-Read Jobs' biography and you'll see where he talks about what almost killed Apple before his return. It's the same thing as now - lots of products, high products, and little innovation....

 

[617660]

If I just watch a 5 mins Youtube video on my 6s+, the battery would go down 5-10%.

To think I used to marvel at the

It is you who upgrades the OS of your devices. It is part of the OS you agree to License and dont own.

Pretty soon the public will be completely blind when Apple switches to their own power management IC (PMIC). At least with Dialog Semiconductor you can go to them for data sheet and technical information.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.ma...0/apple-designing-own-iphone-power-chips/amp/

"Whoever writes the software should design their own hardware"

Ouch!

 

[firewood]

Same reason as fixed storage - greed -to get you to buy a new device.

As if mobile phones manufactured by non-profit organizations sell really well.

If you really want, and think a non-greedy maker could do better, you could make a kit from a Raspberry Pi (developed by a non-profit) with a cellular add-on hat, plus your own choice of battery and antenna (that you don't have to hold correctly!), write your own no-throttle open source mobile OS, get it FCC and cellular provider certified, and try to sell your own non-profit mobile phone kits in your free time.

Good luck!

 

[itguy06]

User replaceable batteries are going away because the companies would rather sell a new $1000 phone than a new $80 battery. There is zero benefit for the consumer. It's all about maximizing profits to screw the customer.

That would be great except you can replace the battery in any iPhone pretty cheaply. Just did the wife's 6+ - took about 20 minutes, and the kit we bought included everything we needed. Had I not wanted to do it, there are plenty of places that replace phone batteries.

It's not an isuse, IMHO.

 

[EdT]

That would be great except you can replace the battery in any iPhone pretty cheaply. Just did the wife's 6+ - took about 20 minutes, and the kit we bought included everything we needed. Had I not wanted to do it, there are plenty of places that replace phone batteries.

It's not an isuse, IMHO.

I’ll agree with the lots of places option statement. Went to the mall yesterday and there were 2 or 3 actual stores and probably 6-8 kiosks advertising battery replacement for cell phones and they listed Samsung, Google and Apple phones specifically. I don’t know what warranty problems this might cause, though.

 

[Michael Goff]

User replaceable batteries are going away because the companies would rather sell a new $1000 phone than a new $80 battery. There is zero benefit for the consumer. It's all about maximizing profits to screw the customer.



Wow. I am so glad we don't live in the world you think we do, but I suspect you'd be right at home in North Korea.
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It depends how you use it. Now that you mention it, my iPad 4 is going strong too on iOS 6. I've gone through about 1 battery cycle per month average since it was new Li-ion batteries generally give you the expected life almost like clockwork and that's generally about 2 years on average for me for most things.

Same reason as fixed storage - greed -to get you to buy a new device.

Sadly , same thing is happening to macs...

Nope. Having a soldered in battery that isn’t easily replaced allows for them to design the phone differently. Take the design of the X where there are two batteries. They couldn’t have put them in there if they had to leave space for it to be user removable.

Also, wow, are you honestly comparing the idea of a tech company doing things to take the problems away from the user with a oppressive regime that kills their own people? Hyperbole is one hell of a drug.

 

[MH01]

Nope. Having a soldered in battery that isn’t easily replaced allows for them to design the phone differently. Take the design of the X where there are two batteries. They couldn’t have put them in there if they had to leave space for it to be user removable.

Also, wow, are you honestly comparing the idea of a tech company doing things to take the problems away from the user with a oppressive regime that kills their own people? Hyperbole is one hell of a drug.

And you don't think there is also a major benefit in selling new iPhones vrs people buying a replacement battery ? Really ? Okay....

Okay - second part , regime.... what? How did you come to that conclusion from my statement about internal or external battery .

 

[pdaholic]

The same car battery that is user replaceable and available at just about any shop that sells car parts? rotflmao

Yeah these car battery/Tesla analogies are idiotic. Not to mention the fact that I’ve currently gone 8 years without having to change my car battery!

 

[firewood]

Sorry Apple, you just lost a valued customer. Ta ta!

No problem for Apple. If you look at the market share numbers, Apple gains about one customer for every one they lose. Otherwise, the ratio of Samsung's market share to Apple's would be changing drastically.

What that means is that Apple doesn't have to make a thicker iPhone for the people here absolutely demanding one. Instead they can make a slim new iPhone for some brand new customers who prefer the new thin iPhone to the competitions clunkier slower-when-new product.

 

[MH01]

As if mobile phones manufactured by non-profit organizations sell really well.

If you really want, and think a non-greedy maker could do better, you could make a kit from a Raspberry Pi (developed by a non-profit) with a cellular add-on hat, plus your own choice of battery and antenna (that you don't have to hold correctly!), write your own no-throttle open source mobile OS, get it FCC and cellular provider certified, and try to sell your own non-profit mobile phone kits in your free time.

Good luck!

Bless, you took my statement to be extreme that I was suggesting non profit ? Really ? I do love sarcasm very much ..... but I doubt this is the case here. It's greed and even much more greed
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No problem for Apple. If you look at the market share numbers, Apple gains about one customer for every one they lose. Otherwise, the ratio of Samsung's market share to Apple's would be changing drastically.

What that means is that Apple doesn't have to make a thicker iPhone for the people here absolutely demanding one. Instead they can make a slim new iPhone for some brand new customers who prefer the new thin iPhone to the competitions clunkier slower-when-new product.

So you are saying Apple is fine by not gaining any markert share? I doubt that ....

 

[SSDGUY]

I own an iPhone 6, and it is having performance issues. But it’s also older than 2 years. I think it was originally released in September of 2014, so 3 years ago if you bought it then. I've also read that most cell phone batteries start to degrade significantly after 2 years regardless of the manufacturer.

Apples problem here, and in a lot of areas, is their addiction to secrecy. Make this an option, provide independent analysis that confirms their position, and this isn’t an issue. But since they already have a history of not informing customers even if what they are saying is true, and I don’t know if battery degradation happens to other high current cell phones one way or the other, lots of people will automatically assume they are lying. Because why hide the fact you are doing this if what is happening occurs with any Lion battery in a cell phone after a couple of years? If that is a true statement there is no reason to hide what Apple is doing. Make it a settings option. Or at least tell people you are doing this.

You want to keep future features secret, fine. Cost, method of production? Ok. Profit margin? Alright. Changing how an existing phone works long after someone has bought it and don’t tell them? Expect a (deserved) firestorm.

Well said. I'm a cheap skate so I got a used 5s that works well enough, so I can't remember when the 6 came out. Heck, maybe I'll pop in a new battery? I agree about the secrecy thing and misleading customers — just say it like it is and give people an option. But that's Apple. Nothing is ever wrong with anything they do, even when they contradict themselves time and again, ie. one button mouse, no one wants a tablet, smaller phones are better …)

 

[ajfahey]

Good. This could all be avoided if apple instead put in higher quality battery cells (apple watch's battery life is 1000 cycles), or if they make it easier to replace the batteries.

They would have to come up with a solution for ensuring water resistance after replacement of batteries by customers. This is unlikely to be trivial without also sacrificing size and weight. Size and weight would also be affected with an oversized battery. Then there's the old compensating with software gambit where they throttle power draw but it seems that isn't acceptable...

 

[DogHouseDub]

A company has no obligation to provide the customer anything more than what they purchased (i.e., you bought an iPhone 8 with iOS11 warranted to be functional for 12 months. You did not buy iOS12). I can't even upgrade the maps on my in-car GPS without spending another $300. Upgrading the entire OS? pffft...

The idea of a completely updated OS for free? Astounding. If these lawsuits are successful, prepare for your iPhone to be treated like your toaster.