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

[magicschoolbus]

So Apple should give you money because you made a bad decision?

All those mall kiosks and all those signs about battery replacement services, you didn’t see them? Thought that Apple gave your battery some special pixie dust that would make it last forever?

I've only gotten my battery replaced by Apple, and it was under warrenty.

I am saying for the people that paid the 80 bucks to the Apple store for the battery in the past or were told to get a new iphone because theirs was slow, instead of being told by a genius maybe a new battery will fix it. Apple slowed down the phone, and then people would bring it in, and they would say why is my phone so slow? Then apple would say well its 2 generations old, why dont you look at our new phones - INSTEAD of being told, well batteries degrade over time and thus the performance of your processor gets slowed. Would you like to try a new battery to fix your current device, OR look into a new iPhone?

Consumers were NEVER given the proper information to make a decision. That is why I find this as just a PR move to get ahead of the damage and do some damage control before the courts start to rule on the decision.

 

[peppespizzapie]

You did get exactly what you paid for. A phone with a li-ion battery.

Your problem is that you're not getting the same speed as you did at launch, but if they'd done nothing you'd still have a phone that doesn't last as long at launch.

It's one or the other due to the physical nature of a li-ion battery. You shouldn't be annoyed at this aspect, battery degradation is unavoidable. You should be annoyed you weren't told what was happening.

Also - you can change the battery yourself.

uhhhh...and how much of the 1000 euro's i paid was reserverd for a IOS that wears out my phone? Without asking me or telling me?

 

[Pez555]

You didn't answer my question. You can't reasonably expect a battery that is charged and depleted daily to last you six years.

And you shouldn't be frustrated at Apple. Everyone charges for battery replacements.

My mother’s iPhone 4 from 2010 still works. So yes, I can expect the battery to last 6 years.

What I can’t expect is for the battery capacity to last 6 years. But that is not the argument.

 

[manu chao]

Then they need to supply a hq battery. Apple is really screwing up if the battery they supply can’t power their own chips properly for more than a year.

Certainly, but I am pretty sure Apple didn't know how fast the batteries would degrade into a state that affected performance when the design decisions for the iPhone 6 (and 6s) were made. Otherwise, the measures that came with iOS 10.2.1 in January 2017 would have been on the drawing board in 2014 already when the iPhone 6 was released.

They unknowingly 'underdimensioned' the iPhone 6 and 6s batteries (and/or overdimensioned their CPUs). They offered to replace the worst batches of the iPhone 6s batteries for free. On top of being transparent of what iOS 10.2.1 was doing (by offering an indicator how much of a CPU slowdown the battery 'required'), they should have been more generous with that battery replacement program.

Some percentage of any given hardware component will always fail prematurely (or loose performance). It's when this percentage crosses a certain threshold, or when a failure happens before a certain product life marker, that a recall is warranted.

 

[TokMok3]

Yes, being a Brit and knowing we have lots of good consumer laws, I have said wait till the regulators around the globe and the EU get theirs claws into this one..
Apple has been in trouble in a few European countries and Australia over the false advertising of their extended warranties already, not to mention the tax avoidance. I think this battery story could affect them badly and that WILL impact its share price, because this is a potentially big issue over the device that makes it over 65% of its entire earnings...

I think the AAPL shareholders posting in here know that are are doing damage control?

At this time, because Apple is a huge corporation, news move faster, every body knows by the media what Apple has been doing to the phones, there's no way to cover the sun with one finger now. Too late.

 

[manu chao]

My mother’s iPhone 4 from 2010 still works. So yes, I can expect the battery to last 6 years.

You can expect a battery to last for a certain number of charge cycles. How many charge cycles does your mother's phone have?

 

[Jsameds]

uhhhh...and how much of the 1000 euro's i paid was reserverd for a IOS that wears out my phone? Without asking me or telling me?

iOS doesn't wear out your phone. Charging it daily does. That's just what happens with li-ion batteries.

 

[Pez555]

You can expect a battery to last for a certain number of charge cycles. How many charge cycles does your mother's phone have?

That’s not what I am arguing against my friend.

 

[sracer]

Sure it is. You still have to pay money for the replacement battery, and the reason you're spending that money is because the older battery degraded. Whether or not you can "do it yourself" is a different issue entirely.

Correct. Batteries degrade. When one buys a phone with a replaceable battery, they know that it can be swapped out when the battery gets worn. There is no need for the system to throttle the CPU because of the battery's condition (though some manufacturers may choose to do so anyway) When the battery is NOT replaceable, then greater care has to be taken regarding the battery. Which is what Apple chose to do.

I think the only reason you're even bringing that aspect up is because you know the battery life issue is not unique to Apple and doesn't really amount to much.

I don't know why you are making assumptions about my motives and then responding to those assumptions as if they are true.

 

[Jsameds]

My mother’s iPhone 4 from 2010 still works. So yes, I can expect the battery to last 6 years.

What I can’t expect is for the battery capacity to last 6 years. But that is not the argument.

So the battery capacity is lowered, and Apple slid the scale from performance to battery life in order to compensate.

And what's the problem with that exactly?

 

[Samuel79]

Jsameds said: ↑
How do you expect a battery that is charged and depleted daily to last for six years?


I have a old htc hd2 that still works perfect and as all the big names have come out and said we do not limit the cpu like apple do

 

[gnipgnop]

At this time, because Apple is a huge corporation, news move faster, every body knows by the media what Apple has been doing to the phones, there's no way to cover the sun with one finger now. Too late.

And what "Apple has been doing to the phones" is using the same types of rechargeable battery technology that every other phone manufacturer on the planet uses and with the same results: the batteries always degrade over time and through use. Good luck with that in court.

 

[sjcross961]

I've read 7/42 pages, so apologies if this is already covered.

In my experience of working for a major company, they actually don't give too much of a monkeys about the customer as an individual; it's all about recurring business and maintaining that bottom line. I'd love to think Apple have made their iPhones as resilient and long-life as possible to maximise their lifetime of usage to me, the consumer, but I just can't quite believe it. They need me to upgrade from my 6 to an 8 or an X to keep the $$$ rolling in. My response to this is to try and buck that trend by keeping my old phone for as long as possible before it becomes completely unusable (it's perfectly acceptable that an old phone will reach this stage at some point as advances in technology and app design mean the hardware components simply won't cut it a few years down the line). I'd even be more than happy to replace the battery for a small fee if that was causing issues and would breathe new life into my device - that's just part of the normal process of battery degradation.

However, if Apple introduce SOFTWARE that exacerbates and quickens this performance drop, that's simply not on. I should be able to choose, in Settings, whether I want to preserve performance at the detriment to battery life or vice versa. Oh wait, supposedly I can with Low Power Mode...so why the heck is anything else happening in the background?

Give me iOS 10.4.0 with these issues resolved (iOS 11 is a joke and will kill my phone for sure) and I'll pay the $29, keep my 6 (which should then be as good as new, right?!) and I shan't feel too aggrieved. Anything else is unacceptable.

 

[Jsameds]

That is a different issue. We were talking about how long a battery lasts and whether it's covered by the Sale of Goods Act.

As for the software, it caused outrage for sure, but it didn't cause the root of the problem which is batteries degrading over time.

 

[Pez555]

So the battery capacity is lowered, and Apple slid the scale from performance to battery life in order to compensate.

And what's the problem with that exactly?

Sigh.

Exactly what my first post you quoted. The performance has been decreased therefore the phone isn’t working as intended, hence why the sales of goods act applies. Why do I need to keep saying it.

 

[justperry]

Its a fact batteries are degrading overtime, why should Apple tell you that, no manufacturer of battery operated tell you the battery degrades.

Sigh. That is not what I am debating. It’s the fact that the battery degradation affects the performance of the device.

Erm.......

By the way, over here in the UK we have something called the ‘sales of goods act’ which in short means products that the consumer buys should work AS INTENDED for 6 years. Yes, 6 years. So ABSOLUTELY the battery replacement should be free if it is affecting the performance of the device.

Batteries are not include in those 6 years, except for the first year Maybe, depends if it's faulty.

 

[Jsameds]

MAYBE, you should start reading, instead of beeing just a apple fanboy, and flooding this discussion with noncense?
As said by many on this world, this is not a question of a lion battery, but sending unwanted software to people with telling them WHAT the consequenses are when you install it!

Ironic, because I covered this in my comment from earlier that you quoted. Perhaps you're the one that needs to start reading.

https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...lth-info-in-ios.2097894/page-45#post-25648868

 

[IG88]

Bigger will do nothing. You are confusing current and power.

You aren't trying to suggest that a 3 cell battery can't deliver a higher current than a 2 cell battery are you?

Larger maH capacity isn't just about total stored energy, it's about the ability to deliver a higher peak current as well.

 

[Jsameds]

Sigh.

Exactly what my first post you quoted. The performance has been decreased therefore the phone isn’t working as intended, hence why the sales of goods act applies. Why do I need to keep saying it.

But the phone isn't working as intended because of the degraded battery, and you said that longevity of batteries can't be expected of Apple.

What I can’t expect is for the battery capacity to last 6 years.

 

[apolloa]

At this time, because Apple is a huge corporation, news move faster, every body knows by the media what Apple has been doing to the phones, there's no way to cover the sun with one finger now. Too late.

Yeap, they got caught by a group of intrigued users, backed up by the makers of Geekbench and iFixit even comfirmed it..
This was one conspiracy theory proved right and admitted to by the corporation.. we await to see how much fallout this will lead to with Apple.

 

[Pez555]

Erm.......





Batteries are not include in those 6 years, except for the first year Maybe, depends if it's faulty.

Trying to figure out what you don’t understand about what I said.

 

[PG(Austin)]

Great, after I had mine changed a month ago.

Exactly! How about those of us who already had the battery changed for $79? I had the same experience as described and was told it needed a battery replaced.

 

[Samuel79]

Any way for people that wont pay the $30 you can get a $6 battery on ebay and fit it your self its a easy job for the people technically minded

 

[Pez555]

But the phone isn't working as intended because of the degraded battery.

Hence why the battery replacement should be free. Guarantee if you were in the UK you’d understand this consumer right.

 

[manu chao]

Look, the issue isn’t the fact that the battery degrades. Everyone knows that it does. The issue is that the battery degradation affects the performance of the device. This should never happen.

Just because this is the first time that battery degradation is affecting performance doesn't mean that such a behaviour is not preferable to a significantly shortened battery life. Apple could have simply changed the displayed charge level such that sudden shutdowns only ever happened very close to 0%. That would have cut battery life by a third to a half. And according to you, that is what they should have done because the alternative, performance reduction, is an absolute no-no.

And if it does happen, you should know that this is an intention when you are purchasing the device.

And what if Apple didn't know in 2014 that they would release a software update in 2017 that would affect the performance as a function of battery health?

By the way, over here in the UK we have something called the ‘sales of goods act’ which in short means products that the consumer buys should work AS INTENDED for 6 years. Yes, 6 years. So ABSOLUTELY the battery replacement should be free if it is affecting the performance of the device.

Really? Can you show me any smartphone manufacturer that offers free battery replacement for six years in the UK? I am pretty sure that the ‘Sales of Goods Act’ or court decisions interpreting it exclude consumables (like batteries, brake pads, etc.) from this six-year rule.[/QUOTE]
[doublepost=1514551078][/doublepost]

There is nothing worse than a fanboy trying to defend the undefendable. It's well documented that iPhones 6 are slowed up to 2.5X by the software update.

Your stated numbers indicated a 5x slowdown of your phone. That is not well documented.