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

[sterlingindigo]

Crap battery if it has to be dumbed down after only 80% and has an effective lifespan of only only one year. Some people’s contracts are two years.

I wonder if it’s being throttled to prevent battery expansion as well.

Apple just saved $50 per unit on the class action and made the customer pay for their errors. Can you imagine if your car could only drive 25mph once the battery performance dropped to 80% after only one year? We were told what to expect for battery life in hours per charge but were we told what to expect for battery life in days at that rate. Enough of the smoke and mirrors Apple, make us whole! I don’t want a iTunes card to placate me or to pay $29 for your crap or receive an $8 settlement while the lawyers get rich. I want a phone that I’m not forced to upgrade every year!

I’m not 100% convinced it’s all the battery’s fault either.

The koolaid tastes like bulldoody.

 

[6803390]

You're right, Apple should have just let that previous phone die and they would have bought a new phone anyway.

It does not matter what you say, they purposely did that for one reason for us the customer to purchase their new device. I have read the reasons why they do that but it does not justify by not telling us until they got caught red handed. My Mac computer tells me about my batteries health but not on my iOS device - why not on their most popular device? You don’t have to be a genius.

As for the updates, why not provide only security updates like MacOS instead of major iOS update? They have so many excuses but luckily I been around BS’ers that I can smell it a mile away like a shark.

 

[alleggerita]

yes 1-2 horses will die in 4-5 years..... not 60% of them in 1 year.... and if I ask the dealer why my car feels slower (which it doesn't - I had lot of fun in Nurburgring recently) they will not tell me it's because I need to change my car. There are always minor or major improvements.

and can we please stop those non sense car analogies??

Ok fine. They aren’t really good analogies. But losing 1-2 Germanic horses in 4-5 years is like an iPhone losing 10-20% battery life in 2-3 years. Because the intended lifespan of these two categories of products are just so different. Lol

 

[opfreak]

Sorry, I just got done posting other posters on MacRumors have claimed other manufacturers have to the same issue with phones shutting down.

Stop believing this is a unique apple issue.

proof to back up your claim?

 

[dialogos]

Ok fine. They aren’t really good analogies. But losing 1-2 Germanic horses in 4-5 years is like an iPhone losing 10-20% battery life in 2-3 years. Because the intended lifespan of these two categories of products are just so different. Lol

let me correct you.

But losing 1-2 Germanic horses in 4-5 years is like an iPhone losing 5-10% CPU power life in 2-3 years.

Iphones lose 60% and more CPU power because the battery is failing. Apple will not admit it. Apple will NOT even replace the battery if we're willing to pay!!!!!!

 

[newyorksole]

I personally did a factory reset and I have very few apps on my iphone 6. I booked an appointment at an apple store where I've been told there is no problem at all with my battery and that the reason my iphone being so slow is because it's a very old device. A direct lie!

Anyway after I changed my batter my iphone starting working properly again. My personal experience is that Apple lies to customers. Even if the apple genius didn't know about the issue , he/she represents Apple at that point. They were told to lie...

Hmmm I see what you’re saying. Yeah that is pretty crappy.

 

[adamski23]

Geez I wonder why the batteries couldn’t handle the cpu power draw....

 

[acidblood]

Can't believe this has dragged on for 50+ pages now. Let me try to summarize the main points and maybe we can end this madness.

1. Starting with the iPhone 6, Apple has designed in batteries that, although of adequate capacity, are inadequate for the phone's peak power draw, trying to get the phone as thin as possible. (Of course they will never admit to it; that makes it no less true.)

2. Because of this, people were seeing random shutdowns with still relatively healthy batteries.

3. Now of course, and despite what some delusional people will say, it's better to have a slower phone than a phone that randomly shutdowns. For those to disagree, hope your phone doesn't shutdown while calling 911 after you suffer an accident, say. It's a moot point now since Apple fixed the problem so these people won't have such a learning experience. The ideal situation would obviously be if the phone didn't need throttling; about that, see point 1.

4. Apple didn't properly communicate this to the users so they had no idea why their phones were slowing down. Moreover there seems to be a disconnect between the Genius Bar diagnostic procedure and the actual code on iOS that does the throttling, so some people were told their battery was fine while iOS clearly disagreed and started throttling. Apple should fix this, so that anyone who's getting throttling will be properly informed of what's happening, and be given the choice to replace their battery to restore out-of-the-box performance.

5. Apple's move to lower the price of battery replacements is a huge step in the right direction. No one is entitled to free battery replacements as they are consumables. The price reduction should be made permanent, if nothing else so Apple doesn't appear to be exploiting a bad engineering decision (see point 1) to increase profit. If Apple technicians' labor cost is too expensive to allow a permanent price reduction, then let people get hold of OEM batteries at reasonable cost and let them change those themselves or pay someone to do so at a lower price point than Apple charges. Removable batteries would be ideal but I don't see Apple doing it.

EDIT: also, if a user asks to have the battery replaced, even if the diagnostics indicate no need to, they should do it, no questions asked. Of course with proper diagnostic procedures this would be a moot point; either it's throttling and the procedure correctly indicates the need for replacement, or not. Refusing to replace batteries when the user clearly noticed performance degradation, and leaving the user without any other sensible choice, was also a big mistake on Apple's part.

6. The real fix is to design in batteries that are adequately sized for the power draw (which as a bonus will mean the phone lasts longer between charges, something that most people will surely appreciate.) Unfortunately that means slightly sacrificing thinness and weight. From my experience upgrading from an iPhone 7 to an iPhone X, unless the new hardware is a severe power hog, they appeared to notice what happened with the 6 and 6S and properly fixed it, down to sacrificing physical size, so this should be a non-issue in the future at least for Plus and X sized phones -- not sure about the regular sized ones though, but hopefully the larger battery capacity of the X will trickle down to all new models.

 

[alleggerita]

https://www.reddit.com/r/Android/co...ld_phones/?utm_source=amp&utm_medium=top_post

Example of how other manufacturers aren’t doing anything about it and how Apple at least tried (albeit sneakily).

proof to back up your claim?

Here. It’s a known issue with li-ion batteries. Just go google it

 

[78Bandit]

Making an all inclusive statement like you made doesn't do you any favors. Again, I am not wrong, my personal experience should tell you that. My state doesn't have a yearly inspection. But I am informed, I know to check my tires, pressure, wear, cracks etc. Same goes for my rechargeable batteries.

How do you check the rechargeable batteries in your iPhone? How would you know your battery had degraded enough to trigger your phone to cut performance in half? Normally I use reduced runtime between charges as a measure of battery health, but in this case Apple's throttling would artificially increase that at the expense of performance without giving me any indication.

 

[Martyimac]

Ok fine. They aren’t really good analogies. But losing 1-2 Germanic horses in 4-5 years is like an iPhone losing 10-20% battery life in 2-3 years. Because the intended lifespan of these two categories of products are just so different. Lol

We all need to stop with the car analogies, they don't work. Just like yours doesn't work.
Assuming your BMW has 300HP (have to start somewhere) your 2 HP loss is approx 0.6% loss, not 10-20%.

 

[Puddled]

This is beating a dead horse at this point.

In the fervor to keep "bashing" apple, it opens up an avenue for a counter-argument. That's the way these things go on internet forums.

Point. Counter-point.

Lol.

Since this issue erupted, you have constantly posted that apple do not slow down iphones, regardless of any point or counter point. Now that Apple have admited it, you are now posting that not only is it good practice by apple, but that users should be grateful for the privilege of service costs on iphones barely 1 yr old.

You have no interest in point or counterpoint.

 

[heov]

Incorrect. Heavy throttling only occurs in situations where the phone would have otherwise auto shutdown. The feature was added to iOS when users complained about auto shutdowns. A + B = C.

So why didn't my phone tell me it's time for a new battery? Why does Apple say my battery is healthy?

 

[dialogos]

So you are REQUIRED to change your tires when your car has met a certain mileage? Sure glad my country doesn't have that. (PS, my BMW dealers, yes me too, NEVER told me that tires had to be replaced at a certain mileage. Ever!)

Where did I say the dealer will force you to change tires? That's why there's a car inspection. The dealer though will let you know that tires are worn and need to be replaced.

So in your country your car will always pass tyre inspection even if tires are worn out??

 

[Martyimac]

Where did I say the dealer will force you to change tires? That's why there's a car inspection. The dealer though will let you know that tires are worn and need to be replaced.

So in your country your car will always pass tyre inspection even if tires are worn out??

You implied as much when you did your first car analogy. That's why I replied in the first place.
And again, there is no inspection in my state.

 

[satchmo]

Is Apple being singled out?
I'm curious to know if other phone manufacturers are doing the similar power management techniques.

 

[alleggerita]

Is Apple being singled out?
I'm curious to know if other phone manufacturers are doing the similar power management techniques.

They are not, hence their phones may shut down randomly as well

 

[jamezr]

Is Apple being singled out?
I'm curious to know if other phone manufacturers are doing the similar power management techniques.

Nope...only Apple does this.......
https://www.androidcentral.com/samsung-and-lg-also-claim-not-slow-down-phones-older-batteries
https://www.androidcentral.com/unlike-apple-motorola-and-htc-dont-slow-performance-batteries-age

 

[mlody]

I am excited about the iOS changes the most. Hopefully the update will provide some decent amount if info about the batteries etc. Will be a welcome change when looking to buy a used iPhone to quickly check the battery without relaying on 3rd party apps or mac to see the health

 

[opfreak]

Here. It’s a known issue with li-ion batteries. Just go google it

so you have nothing, other then saying here?

 

[Tinmania]

This is good news for those of us that didn't doubt Apple's good intentions in the first place.

For others, this is just more "proof" that Apple is corrupt and more ammo for the "everything sucks" rhetoric.

Why does it have to be one way or the other--you either love or hate Apple? This kind of thinking is ruining the world.

Is it not easier to think there are shades of gray? That are of people, who still like Apple products, who were disappointed regarding the battery? But no: you are either all-in or all out. Ugh.



Mike

 

[adamski23]

6. The real fix is to design in batteries that are adequately sized for the power draw (which as a bonus will mean the phone lasts longer between charges, something that most people will surely appreciate.) Unfortunately that means slightly sacrificing thinness and weight. From my experience upgrading from an iPhone 7 to an iPhone X, unless the new hardware is a severe power hog, they appeared to notice what happened with the 6 and 6S and properly fixed it, down to sacrificing physical size, so this should be a non-issue in the future at least for Plus and X sized phones -- not sure about the regular sized ones though, but hopefully the larger battery capacity of the X will trickle down to all new models.

This x1000.

 

[Baymowe335]

Easy to say now once they have been caught...



What about customers who bought new phones thinking that was the only way AFTER speaking to a genius..

I think that's probably a relatively small number and no one twisted your arm to buy a new phone. It's called sales...

Apple isn't giving you a refund or a free phone because they told you a new one would be faster.

 

[Blaze4G]

Not even a good try.
How do you know when ABS is working and not working? Two ways, first if is you get a notification on your dashboard that ABS has a fault, Apple should have done something like that.
The second way is when you hit your brakes hard activating the ABS system, only then will you ever feel ABS working.

That is exactly my point. So we are notified when it is not working and if the light is not there means it is working. Further proof it is working is hitting the brakes hard. Furthermore the information was widely available to every single person of how and when it works.

How did you know your phone was being throttled before this all started? You didn't. How did you know if something was wrong? You didn't. So my point still stands. I have no idea why you were debating my point :s.

 

[vmistery]

Only caution. At the worst case, these are not slight, it's going back performance wise two generations of iPhone . Is that okay with you ?

As you say worst case, the feature is designed to throttle back at peaks not squish your performance totally. That was either a totally dead battery (which would need to be replaced anyway to be usable) or a bug in the imlementation. The problem is because Apple were not upfront about it people lost trust.