Apple to Offer $29 iPhone Battery Replacements, More Battery Health Info in iOS

[antonis]

A 2nd apology in the same year, wow ! Let's just hope that this will bring a little sense in the heads of all those apple apologists here with the stockholm syndrome that tried to convince everyone else that it's a non-issue.

 

[H2SO4]

If the battery is indeed worn, the option is to get the battery replaced. So again, the argument that Apple is doing this to force upgrades is really unfounded.

The throttling effect masked the effects of an old battery and prevented unexpected shutdowns. That’s them trying to give you a helping hand. Like you’ve said by then it’s most likely out of warranty. Apple could have wiped their hands clean and not doing anything about it and let you ponder if you still wish to keep a phone that shuts down at random.

I believe you've missed the point. By old battery I should have written 'underperforming' battery. If it's underperforming it should be replaced under warranty. The software hid this fact until it was too late. That I believe is what people are saying and I agree.

 

[alleggerita]

Totally agree with you.

I had 5S I took in a few times, passed all the battery tests no issues, finally a nice genius replaced It and battery life went up by a large margin. Their tests are designed to say all is fine, the goal isn’t to replace a poor battery.....it’s to get you to upgrade.

I just want apple to allow me to make the Choice it I want to thrown money at them and replace my battery, in a device I own.

But I still stand by my POV that Apple isn’t forcing you to upgrade. Because you CAN choose to live with it being slow until Apple’s diagnostic software says you can replace your battery.

I still believe this is a better solution than what competitiors are offering (or lack thereof) and a world of difference over a device that shuts down at 30-40% or at random. But of course, would have been so much better if they are transparent about it and let consumers make their choice on battery replacement.

 

[MH01]

But I still stand by my POV that Apple isn’t forcing you to upgrade. Because you CAN choose to live with it being slow until Apple’s diagnostic software says you can replace your battery.

I still believe this is a better solution than what competitiors are offering (or lack thereof) and a world of difference over a device that shuts down at 30-40% or at random. But of course, would have been so much better if they are transparent about it and let consumers make their choice on battery replacement.

I see your point . Though as previously stated, I'm coming from having a 5 year consumer protection , so a device crashing at 30-40 gets replaced , I want the speed on the spec sheet .

 

[amegicfox]

Apple purposely slowed down the phone with the 10.11 update forcing loyal Apple customers to upgrade to newer models

criminals

Apple should not be allowed to slow down anyones phone for any reason

I don't want to buy the $30 battery and also I don't want Apple to slow down my phone

 

[alextu]

is it true that apple is throttling iphones
even when the battery is 80% healthy?

how are people coming to this conclusion?

is it because people experiencing slow down in their iphones are bringing it in to genius bar and the geniuses test the battery and the battery is still 80% healthy and so no battery replacement needed?


and why is the phone being slow down when the battery is still good according to genius bar? is the genius bar battery testing wrong?

so much confusion

 

[TokMok3]

But what about people in the same boat as me? I felt I had to replace my 6S Plus as it was extremely slow and it felt so sluggish. I’m now over £900 out of pocket, when we now learn a simple battery would potentially have fixed my problem. Disgusting!

I'm in the same boat as you, my iPhone received an impact on performance and battery since I updated to iOS 11. I'm happy if they change my battery, I can do it myself and save $20, but I will let them do it to get an OEM battery. In my opinion the real culprit in this situation is iOS 11. It seems that the attentions has move towards the batteries and not towards iOS 11. Apple needs to fix this software to run smoothly on the affected devices.

 

[alleggerita]

I believe you've missed the point. By old battery I should have written 'underperforming' battery. If it's underperforming it should be replaced under warranty. The software hid this fact until it was too late. That I believe is what people are saying and I agree.

I can see your standpoint, but the problem here is defining ‘underperforming batteries’. And also, consider the fact that Apple has never advertised their processors’ clock speed or benchmark results.

I see your point . Though as previously stated, I'm coming from having a 5 year consumer protection , so a device crashing at 30-40 gets replaced , I want the speed on the spec sheet .

The problem here is, Apple has never stated the clock speeds of their processors. The only thing they advertise is how much faster it is compared to the previous gen iPhone in a percentage. Think of it this way. Let’s say an iPhone X has a worn out battery and the software is downclocking the CPU by 20%. And let’s say Apple’s marketing materials say that the X is 70% faster than the A10 Fusion chio in the iPhone 7. When that’s compared with an iPhone 7 also with a worn out battery and also had its processor downclocked by 20%, the X is still 70% (just as an example, not sure how much faster is the X vs the 7) faster than the 7.

 

[Ad13]

Faster processor? Faster GPU? Built in wireless charging? Water resistance? Camera improvements?

Get your head from up Apple’s ar$e!

You’re missing the point. I was more than happy with my 6S Plus. As for your suggested compensation - water resistance, wireless charging - I use or require neither. So I’ve paid £900 for a slightly quicker iPhone with a marginally better camera (I actually don’t see a difference either)? My 6S Plus was doing just fine thanks. We replaced two 6S Plus in the house at the same time due to this ‘issue’ so I’m actually the best part of £2k out of pocket.

 

[amegicfox]

a lot of people who defend Apple behavior work for damage control companies hired by Apple or own large quantity of Apple stocks. Also lots of IOS app developers, Apple hardware accessory seller, Apple bloggers keep defending Apple no matter what and try to force you into their safe space eco chamber

They all profits from the Apple ecosystem since there is no way anyone sane would defend Apple when even Apple itself is admitting their dishonesty and greed

 

[MH01]

I can see your standpoint, but the problem here is defining ‘underperforming batteries’. And also, consider the fact that Apple has never advertised their processors’ clock speed or benchmark results.


The problem here is, Apple has never stated the clock speeds of their processors. The only thing they advertise is how much faster it is compared to the previous gen iPhone in a percentage. Think of it this way. Let’s say an iPhone X has a worn out battery and the software is downclocking the CPU by 20%. And let’s say Apple’s marketing materials say that the X is 70% faster than the A10 Fusion chio in the iPhone 7. When that’s compared with an iPhone 7 also with a worn out battery and also had its processor downclocked by 20%, the X is still 70% (just as an example, not sure how much faster is the X vs the 7) faster than the 7.

You raise a valid point . Apple has omitted to state the speed , they just claims is x faster etc.

 

[isserley]

is it true that apple is throttling iphones
even when the battery is 80% healthy?

how are people coming to this conclusion?

is it because people experiencing slow down in their iphones are bringing it in to genius bar and the geniuses test the battery and the battery is still 80% healthy and so no battery replacement needed?


and why is the phone being slow down when the battery is still good according to genius bar? is the genius bar battery testing wrong?

so much confusion

Coconut battery says battery is at 82% of factory default.
So does Apple’s diagnostics tool - I was at the Apple store and they confirmed.

According to CPUdasherX depending on battery level, CPU is throttled from 1800MHz down to 1500 (full battery), 1200, 900, and even 600MHz (almost empty).

FYI.

 

[omihek]

To allay customer concerns and address recent customer feedback, Apple says it will implement several changes.

- The price for out-of-warranty iPhone battery replacements is being dropped from $79 to $29, starting in late January and lasting through December 2018. Apple plans to provide more information on the price drop in the near future, but it will apply to anyone with an iPhone 6 or later whose battery needs to be replaced.

- In early 2018, an iOS update will introduce new features to give users more visibility into the health of their iPhone's battery, so they can clearly see whether the state of the battery is affecting performance.

Who gets to decide if the battery "needs" to be replaced? And what if it says the battery is not affecting performance, but performance is still being affected after the iOS 11 update? Are they just going to say "too bad" and send me home with my crippled phone because it's not the battery? Also, $29 to fix something that Apple deliberately broke? What ever happened to you break it you buy it?

Apple needs to address the entire issue and answer all the important questions, not just throw a cheap band-aid over it like they're doing with this statement.

 

[vmistery]

They could just remove this crap, and under UK consumer laws you would not even pay £40... as they would have to replace your crashing iPhone. Apple is taking you for a ride and Want to say thank you ? Please look at the larger picture, it’s not about a £29 battery which they need to authorise ......you cannot even request for it to happen, if the test says no....

The whole point of the update was to ensure the iPhone did not crash, this had the side effect of making it less powerful, personally I'd prefer a slower more reliable phone. Consumer law protects you against issues for a reasonable lifespan which for a lithium ion battery is only going to be a couple of years. The 'bigger picture' as you put it is finding a way of moving away from batteries with these complications.

 

[gijoeinla]

But what about people in the same boat as me? I felt I had to replace my 6S Plus as it was extremely slow and it felt so sluggish. I’m now over £900 out of pocket, when we now learn a simple battery would potentially have fixed my problem. Disgusting!

Oh baloney. You didn’t *have* to do anything. You don’t have to even buy Apple products. You choose to like many of us.

Unlike many I have no delusions that every single thing they sell me will perform perfectly and that every single decision they make will be the right one every time.

What I’ve learned about Apple over 30 years of doing business with them (by choice) is that by and large they try — try to do the right thing - and that they aren’t great at everything — but — when put up against the likes of Google, Samesong etc — they do have their own standard. For a global corporation that started from a garage to today manufacturing and selling a quarter billion copies of a device and supporting 750 million others along the way - I think - I think they are doing a better than ok job at it - and I’m thankful that globally I - me - I can walk into one of their stores and least feel some relief knowing that there’s some ethics there - imperfections and all..

 

[Ad13]

I think what Apple do need is to stop this ridiculous iOS yearly update schedule. They need to perfect iOS and sort all of their bugs and glitches out. We’re always wondering if it’s the newest software update or the old devices that are to blame for performance degradation. Let’s get off the roundabout and make software as close to perfect as possible. But yet again, this would impact sales so it’s not gonna happen!

 

[partydorm]

Paying more on top of my one year old lagging 7 Plus is such a humiliation.

 

[MH01]

I'm in the same boat as you, my iPhone received an impact on performance and battery since I updated to iOS 11. I'm happy if they change my battery, I can do it myself and save $20, but I will let them do it to get an OEM battery. In my opinion the real culprit in this situation is iOS 11. It seems that the attentions has move towards the batteries and not towards iOS 11. Apple needs to fix this software to run smoothly on the affected devices.

True . iOS and macOS are hitting levels that remind me of Microsoft vista - bloatware that PCs struggled to run ..... and the bugs .... they need to get back to quality , even if that means pushing macOS and iOS updates to every 2 years

 

[OrangeInc]

Apple how about the ability to downgrade to previous IOS versions instead of a forced battery upgrade ?

This would be monumental. Same with Android. Like a system restore point. I read some posts on here stating the throttling is a new practice.....My first iphone was a 3G. It was awesome. I did all the updates and then the OS slowed to a CRAWL (not useable) so I got a new phone. Not an iphone. What I learned from that experiment is to only update computer software if I absolutely have to because at the end of the day, new software is optimized for new hardware so to keep things running as long as possible I just don't update the software on dated hardware. Unless the device forces me to which is usually the case on iOS.

 

[Azmodan79]

Knowing Apple it will be 34 Euro and twentyseven Cent

Yep, and they'll justify the increase because of "Brexit" or unfavorable E/$ exchange rates...Too many trillions parked in Ireland to provide an uniform pricing

 

[Ad13]

Oh baloney. You didn’t *have* to do anything. You don’t have to even buy Apple products. You choose to like many of us.

Unlike many I have no delusions that every single thing they sell me will perform perfectly and that every single decision they make will be the right one every time.

What I’ve learned about Apple over 30 years of doing business with them (by choice) is that by and large they try — try to do the right thing - and that they aren’t great at everything — but — when put up against the likes of Google, Samesong etc — they do have their own standard. For a global corporation that started from a garage to today manufacturing and selling a quarter billion copies of a device and supporting 750 million others along the way - I think - I think they are doing a better than ok job at it - and I’m thankful that globally I - me - I can walk into one of their stores and least feel some relief knowing that there’s some ethics there - imperfections and all..

You’re completely right. I don’t HAVE to upgrade. However I bought the 6S Plus because it was the fastest and latest iPhone at the time it was released. I expect it to remain as fast as I bought it. I understand that newer phones have been released that far out perform my older 6S Plus, but this is the exact argument. I was more than happy with its performance. It worked perfectly fine for how I used it... until Apple decided to intentionally clipped its wings... without asking me first!

 

[justperry]

But you’ll have to get a third party to replace your battery as at 90% it will pass Apples ‘battery disgnostics’, and they will not replace your battery even if you pay them. So you could end up paying more then the 29 offer price.

We'll see what Apple announces next month.
I could discharge and charge my 6S a couple 100's of times.

It’ll probably be €39.

a) it was €89 up until now and
b) euro prices include Appr 20% VAT, while US prices do not.

Just wait and see, €39 isn't too bad if you consider the time it takes to get a new battery in and a new battery.

 

[MH01]

The whole point of the update was to ensure the iPhone did not crash, this had the side effect of making it less powerful, personally I'd prefer a slower more reliable phone. Consumer law protects you against issues for a reasonable lifespan which for a lithium ion battery is only going to be a couple of years. The 'bigger picture' as you put it is finding a way of moving away from batteries with these complications.

We can disagree . I'll take an iPhone working at 100% covered for 5 years under Uk law , and if the battery goes I'll pay for the replacement , I will not accept throttling of the device upto 2 generations speed wise . Why does apple get to make this choice ? So I get fed up and get an X ?

The bigger picture here is Apple wants to sell you a device each year .... they even have a nice upgrade program which will have you enjoy the best performance year on year..

 

[amegicfox]

You really think they’re making money off of charging $29 to replace a battery on “old” out of warranty phones?

Apple makes money even when you breathe in the Apple store.

They pay their battery less the $5 each and millions of iPhone need to be upgraded with their latest forced slow down

they make more money on repair then on a new phone

selling a $30 battery that Apple pays $5 is a 600% profit compared to an iphone where they "only" make 400% profit (and this is after they got caught, since their original battery replacement price was $79)

 

[bmot]

$29 battery is a nice deal. I am curious to see if there is a new version of the SE model in 2018, but I also would not mind keeping my 6 and get the $29 battery for it.

And that is exactly why the battery replacement cost $79 and why apple often refuses a battery replacement and why apple decided to silently throttle their battery worn iPhones.
Because they hate users like you who rather replaces the battery and have acceptable performance instead of buying a new iPhone.
The lack of transparency wasn't a mistake, it was by design of money making.