I'd nearly guarantee it's related to one or more of the suits. When battery scandal began with iOS 11, Apple refused to replace my original battery at the genius bar, saying it was over 80% capacity. Yet it lasted about 3-4 hours tops. This was intentional on Apple's part, to try to force upgrades with iOS 11. I'm sure many people in the same situation were forced to third party batteries, especially if they couldn't afford to buy a new phone. Hopefully they are being destroyed in some courtroom this very moment for their criminal actions.
Edit it add:. and yes, intentionally damaging people's personal property to try to extort money from them is CRIMINAL.