Apple Replaced 11 Million iPhone Batteries in 2018, Up From 1 to 2 Million

[MacRumors]

Apple replaced a total of 11 million iPhone batteries under the $29 battery replacement program that was introduced at the end of 2017 and ran through 2018 before ending on December 31, 2018.

The tidbit was shared by Tim Cook at a recent all-hands meeting with Apple employees and relayed by Daring Fireball's John Gruber, who heard the information from an unnamed source.

Apple replaced approximately 9 to 10 million more batteries than it would have during a normal year, said Cook. Apple normally replaces 1 to 2 million batteries each year.

Cook cited the battery replacement program as one of the reasons why Apple's Q1 2019 guidance was cut earlier this month after poorer than expected iPhone sales. Apple now expects revenue of $84 billion, down from a November estimate of $89 to $93 billion.

It's not entirely clear why Apple didn't know how the battery replacement program would impact sales earlier in the year given that it ran throughout 2018, but Gruber speculates that while Apple knew battery replacements were higher than normal, the true effect of the replacement program did not become known until the new iPhone XS and XR models were released and fewer people upgraded.

Apple initiated the $29 battery replacement program after outcry over an iOS 10 update introduced a power management feature that slowed the performance of some older iPhones with degrading batteries. The power management features were designed to prevent unexpected shutdowns and prolong the iPhone's life, but some customers saw it as proof of planned obsolescence.

Apple apologized for the misinformation and introduced the discounted battery replacement program to appease customers. In a device with a degraded battery that is experiencing slowdown issues because of performance management software, replacing the battery restores full functionality, which undoubtedly led some customers to stick with an older iPhone rather than upgrade.

In February 2018, Cook said that Apple had not considered how the battery replacement program would impact iPhone upgrade rates, but it's clear it ultimately had an impact on Apple's bottom line.

"We did it because we thought it was the right thing to do for our customers," said Cook at the time. "I don't know what effect it will have for our investors. It was not in our thought process of deciding to do what we've done."

Article Link: Apple Replaced 11 Million iPhone Batteries in 2018, Up From 1 to 2 Million

 

[martyjmclean]

"We did it because we were caught slowing down phones without telling users, and had our arses sued to hell and back". Fixed that for you Timmy.

 

[1rottenapple]

Word wish they would have just admitted this in the beginning.

 

[jpn]

"
Cook cited the battery replacement program as one of the reasons why Apple's Q1 2019 guidance was cut earlier this month after poorer than expected iPhone sales. Apple now expects revenue of $84 million, down from a November estimate of $89 to $93 million.
"

billions not millions, pls correct it.

 

[PieTunes]

Cook cited the battery replacement program as one of the reasons why Apple's Q1 2019 guidance was cut earlier this month after poorer than expected iPhone sales. Apple now expects revenue of $84 million, down from a November estimate of $89 to $93 million.

I do believe that's supposed to be billion, with a B, or else they're *really really* off the mark!

 

[interessiert]

We all can understand, why Apple started this battery replacement program:
1. Apple faced to change iOS software for iPhone7, 7+, 8, 8+ and X to escape the QUALCOMM court case to a heavy shorter battery time
2. Same reason for the price cut of the charged replacement

Surely not gift or mercy or heart to customer's wallet

...And not this fake explanation of an excuse for low battery shut off in iOS
(Cook, what a silly game!)

Last but not least: Maybe there are other secrets hidden in battery technique – remember it was started not long after the battery explosions in Samsung note 7.

3. This fake explanation helps him/Apple to cover the real reason of selling decline why customers hesitate to buy and change to a new: Too hight price levels reached to realize these expensive iPhones XS, XS max and XR filled with Face ID and OLED...

 

[NinjaHERO]

Or maybe the battery replacement helped keep IPhone users from jumping ship to cheaper non Apple devices. I know they want to point the finger at this being bad for future IPhone sales, but perhaps it kept some people in the Apple family who otherwise couldn’t afford to upgrade. Just a thought. I have no facts.

 

[Tork]

I’m surprised the iPhone X battery was included in the $29 offer. I took advantage and replaced the battery in my day 1 X on 12/31. Was at 88% health, now obviously like new again, and I might just keep it another year because of it. Wouldn’t have done it at the old $80 price. Odd decision.

 

[jclo]

"
Cook cited the battery replacement program as one of the reasons why Apple's Q1 2019 guidance was cut earlier this month after poorer than expected iPhone sales. Apple now expects revenue of $84 million, down from a November estimate of $89 to $93 million.
"

billions not millions, pls correct it.

It's corrected.
[doublepost=1547534613][/doublepost]

I do believe that's supposed to be billion, with a B, or else they're *really really* off the mark!

Yes, I've fixed it. Thanks. Sorry for the error, it's late here!

 

[NetMage]

Wouldn’t have done it at the old $80 price. Odd decision.

Better to spend $1,000 on a new phone then $79 on a new battery? Odd decision.

 

[sinsin07]

Tim: “Hey we’re gonna take a hit on this iPhone battery replacement program so let’s be magical and raise the price of iPhones to new heights to compensate.”

Oops

 

[ibphd]

Well, one good thing from Apple’s battery woes: the battery health indicator. My battery health indicator is showing that the Audible app is, in the background, using 26% of my new batteries power. The Audible app must be listening to the audio books in the background because i damn sure don’t use it that much. Time to drop Jeff Bezos a note.

 

[Delgibbons]

"We did it because we were caught slowing down phones without telling users, and had our arses sued to hell and back". Fixed that for you Timmy.

Amen.
[doublepost=1547536310][/doublepost]

"
Cook cited the battery replacement program as one of the reasons why Apple's Q1 2019 guidance was cut earlier this month after poorer than expected iPhone sales. Apple now expects revenue of $84 million, down from a November estimate of $89 to $93 million.
"

billions not millions, pls correct it.

Ha! That really would be a bit of a problem otherwise

 

[allenvanhellen]

"We did it because we were caught slowing down phones without telling users, and had our arses sued to hell and back". Fixed that for you Timmy.

My iPhone 6S Plus was shutting down and rebooting when the battery was low and the ambient temperature was very hot or very cold, until the update that "slowed down phones". Once I had installed that update, those issues stopped, but the phone ran slower. That's nothing to sue over.

 

[macduke]

I had the battery replaced in my wife’s SE at the end of 2018. It will now last her a couple more years. I thought Apple came to their senses when they released the SE, but apparently they haven’t. So for now she is holding out hope that they will make a normal sized iPhone again in the next couple years—even if it’s full screen and costs a lot more—like an iPhone XE that starts at $699. That would be great for her! I’m hoping they will bring it back once they shrink the notch in the next year or two. I think the notch was just too wide for an SE sized device. Maybe in Spring 2021 we will get an iPhone XE.

 

[ksec]

Sigh, this pieces of news get spread and judging understanding and reading comprehension from the previous Qualcomm post a lot of people will think " OH NO, it was battery replacement that causes Apple's revenue drop."

Out of a 200M+ of iPhone 6 / 6s, only 5% of them had a battery replacement. That leaves 95% of possible user upgrade. Revenue misses has absolutely NOTHING to do with battery replacement programme.

And given the amount of waiting time for replacement in Apple Store, I am surprise they only managed 11M.

 

[johnnnw]

I forgot until Dec 20th and the Genius Bar appointments were booked solid until after the new year. Sucks.

 

[Piggie]

Remember the good old days, before Apple started the trend of gluing things shut, when you could simply pop the back off a phone and replace the battery in seconds without any tools or worrying about breaking things.
Happy days.
I was more than Happy companies like Samsung kept their plastic backs so you could so easily do this, but again and again they were criticized for having a plastic back so they followed Apple's terrible route.

In reality so many people put their phone in a case anyway, and a easy to replace back gives you the option to change colors and replace a scratched back with a new one.

I'd happily go back to those days for the sake of perhaps 1mm

 

[tennisproha]

It's corrected.
[doublepost=1547534613][/doublepost]

Yes, I've fixed it. Thanks. Sorry for the error, it's late here!

It’s almost unfathomable that Apple brings in that much revenue in a quarter. Billions is a **** ton on monies

 

[Mars56]

older devices with new batteries rock!

 

[Ruthless7]

Same here. I left it too late!

 

[Salvor Hardin]

If this affected upgrade rates then I won’t be surprised if iOS 13 has “mysterious” severe performance problems on everything that came before the X series.

 

[TonyC28]

Isn’t it logical to also mention the higher cost of new iPhones with this bit of news? The higher price tag for an upgrade/replacement has to be part of this equation.

 

[Superhai]

Out of a 200M+ of iPhone 6 / 6s, only 5% of them had a battery replacement. That leaves 95% of possible user upgrade. Revenue misses has absolutely NOTHING to do with battery replacement programme.

Why this hyperbole? "absolutely NOTHING"? No one claimed that the revenue miss was directly connected to the replacement program, Tim Cook wrote that it was a contributor out of quite many others and surely several of those who replaced the battery chose not to upgrade their phone.

 

[yansun]

Remember the good old days, before Apple started the trend of gluing things shut, when you could simply pop the back off a phone and replace the battery in seconds without any tools or worrying about breaking things.
Happy days.
I was more than Happy companies like Samsung kept their plastic backs so you could so easily do this, but again and again they were criticized for having a plastic back so they followed Apple's terrible route.

In reality so many people put their phone in a case anyway, and a easy to replace back gives you the option to change colors and replace a scratched back with a new one.

I'd happily go back to those days for the sake of perhaps 1mm

It's not about plastic back or not. Even with a glass back the iPhone 4 battery e.g. was "pretty easy" replaceable. All you had to do was to remove two screws, push the back towards the edge of the phone to lift it away, remove one additional screw and pull up the plastic tab to remove the battery.
https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/iPhone+4+Battery+Replacement/3141