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

[Altis]

That's not the point about specifically "my tv". The repair of consumer products in general (including cars) will cost a consumer after the warranty period has expired or there is some mitigating factor, such as a recall.

It is normal for a company to be held responsible for design flaws or manufacture defects that cause near-guaranteed failure.

For instance, Apple having to extend logic board replacements to 2011 MacBook Pros until the beginning of this year.

 

[dazz87]

I bought an iPhone 8 to replace my 6. Shame on apple. The phone was unusable.... 10 seconds to open camera app and to open whatsapp or send a photo..... and now they tell this? WTF apple.... you lost points with this not transparent planned obsolescence

THIS is whats pissing off most people....Give the customer an option of just replacing their battery at $79.00 or if they feel like its time to upgrade to a new phone then they will. At the end of the day, making $79.00 off one customer is not enough..........Smh @

 

[naturalstar]

Quit talking about cars. I don’t care about a BMW, a Toyota, or a Bugatti Veyron for that matter. Cars have nothing to do with the iPhone. Different technology, concerns, and uses.

Apple is not doing enough here. They are simply doing what they always do. Offer a program that will satisfy a few currently affected customers, offer some additional features, and make it look like something benevolent for all customers to the public -read: Wall Street.

The people who already upgraded to the 8/8+/X because of Apple’s lack of transparency have already given Apple far more money then this $29 “offering”.

Further, the program is good for 2018. Apple has not stated that they will remove the throttling or review other options. The 8/8+/X should not need a battery in its first year. When the 8/8+/X become affected later, will owners be able to get a battery replacement as they request it? It’s been shown multiple times that Apple denies replacements if their diagnostic test shows the battery is good. Will Apple change their criteria here?

What is Apple doing to truly resolve this problem? We get tools to see what’s going on with our battery. Okay. I need more information on what Apple’s battery replacement policy will be based on these features given. On top of that, why not allow user control to toggle this throttling as a part of these tools provided?

Also, what will they be doing going forward in the future? How about some focus around better design around the current battery limitations, change in suppliers, and continue to provide education/information to their customers on available options around the health of their iPhone device.

There will always be die hards who will get the latest device regardless, but customer long-term loyalty is built on genuine goodwill along with great products. What Apple is currently offering is not enough.

 

[MacHiavelli]

My brother, in the UK, just got his 5-year-old MBA battery changed.

365 cycles, 72%.

No charge.

 

[kagharaht]

Do you people actually believe that a batter should have 90% of its charge after a years use? LOL If you are a heavy user constantly tweeting, snap chatting, texting, selfies and so on, your dreaming. You can burn through a battery if your typical users these days.

 

[Phonephreak]

rofl I can't believe what I am reading

Why

 

[Radon87000]

Apple should stop this practice withe immediate effect. Samsung nor any Android OEM throttles their phones.

 

[acidblood]

So what. It doesn’t prevent a sudden shutdown.

What are you talking about?

There is no shutdown to be prevented, as laptop batteries are properly sized. My 1000+ cycle 4-year old MBP battery is regularly subjected to demanding workloads and I’ve never seen it randomly shut down.

 

[I7guy]

It is normal for a company to be held responsible for design flaws or manufacture defects that cause near-guaranteed failure.

For instance, Apple having to extend logic board replacements to 2011 MacBook Pros until the beginning of this year.

If this is a design flaw and not a limitation of battery technology sure, I agree.

 

[Contra1971]

Apple: "we're sorry we got caught"

I don't think that what they are saying, I think they are saying, "we are sorry stupid people are blaming us for their batteries getting older which is a normal and inevitable fact, so we will replace them at a lower cost to make them feel better"

 

[jst_testing]

I've spent literally 3 weeks going back and forth with this Genius from Apple Support, and keeps telling that the "engineers" need to run another diagnostic almost every single day! I don't think I've spent this much time to get to the root cause that my iPhone 7 is far warmer than before (and I only got it Feb this year).

I replied back to remind her about Apple's public response, and she's still "waiting on instructions"....still no solution offered.... while i'm glad Apple is trying to take steps, its still frustrating how much the support staff are pushing back day after day

 

[617660]

The 25 dollars is for out of warranty replacement. Your battery is warrantied for 1 year, 2 with AC+. Beyond that you're on your own.

Have you ever brought a car in for an out of warranty repair? Is it free?

We have a difference of opinion about the use of the word "lie"; where you say "lie" I say "transparency".

Well you are right about one thing, offering the battery replacement at a reduced cost will net the shareholders a bit of money. But also get a device fixed at a much lower cost than normal.

I brought in my 12 years-old Honda to the dealership for a $3,000 transmission replacement, they did it for free. Twice too. My car wasn't even on the small batch of recall list but Honda honored the repair nonetheless.

 

[Act3]

Incorrect. Heavy throttling happens when I open mail, safari, music, maps, Chase, Safeway apps...etc. And for gods sake, even the phone app.

I saw 600 MHz with nothing running but iOS itself and cpudasherx

 

[akash.nu]

Apple should stop this practice withe immediate effect. Samsung nor any Android OEM throttles their phones.

And why does Apple need to care about what Samsung does with their devices?!

 

[jst_testing]

I don't think that what they are saying, I think they are saying, "we are sorry stupid people are blaming us for their batteries getting older which is a normal and inevitable fact, so we will replace them at a lower cost to make them feel better"

But that's only for much older phones. What about a brand new iPhone 7 from February 2017? Not even a year, and the battery is being murdered.

 

[Galatian]

I'm glad Apple for once lowered prices, but I feel cheated having purchased Apple Care Plus that just saw a price increase together with the iPhone X. I mean you have 2 battery replacements included so with this move, Apple Care Plus actually got devalued.

 

[Radon87000]

If this is a design flaw and not a limitation of battery technology sure, I agree.

If this is a limitation of battery tech why isn’t Android affected?

 

[MrGuder]

I would imagine that Jan/Feb will be swamped in stores with people changing their batteries, I'd bet batteries will be out of stock till March or April.

 

[Phonephreak]

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

It then they would have the battery replaced. Simple.

 

[I7guy]

I brought in my 12 years-old Honda to the dealership for a $3,000 transmission replacement, they did it for free. Twice too. My car wasn't even on the small batch of recall list but Honda honored the repair nonetheless.

Goodwill is always appreciated. I've been on the end of that goodwill with cars and phones. But this is not the norm for any manufacturer; goodwill is on a case by case basis.

 

[Altis]

I don't think that what they are saying, I think they are saying, "we are sorry stupid people are blaming us for their batteries getting older which is a normal and inevitable fact, so we will replace them at a lower cost to make them feel better"

Way to conveniently leave out that Apple is throttling phones based on batteries that Apple diagnostics report as "Healthy" (above 80%).

And the fact that Apple did all this without disclosing why the phone is being slowed down so users wouldn't think to even check the battery.

 

[Radon87000]

And why does Apple need to care about what Samsung does with their devices?!

Apple needs to know they must be held to the same standards as their competitors.

 

[DNichter]

You're completely ignoring the fact that Apple is throttling devices well above the 80% threshold that they consider the battery to be "Healthy". If the battery is "Healthy" and they won't replace it, why does it need throttling? Why does it need to be throttled when it's plugged in?

Apple was perfectly happy not telling people why their devices had gotten slow, even reporting the battery as "Healthy" and removing user access to battery info -- not that anyone would have suspected the battery making it slow, even the Apple techs. That way people just buy a new one.

Nobody is asking them to "magically" make batteries that don't degrade -- this is a straw man.

The only "slop" here in the forums is people who conveniently leave out and ignore the most important details of the issue to defend Apple.

I don't think that's a widespread occurrence. I don't even think this throttling is widespread. I'd bet most people complaining haven't had the issue, they just like to keep the narrative going. It's slop because Apple is a business, a not always perfect business, take it or leave it. They don't owe you anything. Harsh realities don't go over well here. If you're not happy, buy something else, don't cry to a forum.
[doublepost=1514563662][/doublepost]

The issue is not with the software implemented, but with the lack of communication from Apple during the implementation. The main focus of the class action lawsuit will most likely be on the consumers who purchased a new iPhone since the release off 10.2.1. Many of which may have purchased a new iPhone because they thought the slowness was because their phone was simply too old when in fact all they had to do was purchase a 79$ battery(now only 29$). Spending 79$ vs 800-1000$ is what the class action lawsuit is all about.

I agree. I have said many times. They should have been more transparent and forthcoming about the issue, but I get why they weren't.
[doublepost=1514563695][/doublepost]

Bingo. By throttling performance, they masked the root cause. If they had just let the phone die, then an analysis of the phone could be performed and determine that the battery was at fault. By throttling performance, people would probably conclude that the phone was at the end of its best time and time to replace it.

Yup, they kind of screwed themselves by trying to do the right thing.

 

[convergent]

So I see it includes iPhone 6 and newer but does not list the SE. My phone is throttled and they won’t replace battery for $29??

Seriously considering dumping iPhone for a Pixel.

The SE came out after the 6S, so therefore it is newer than the 6.

 

[akash.nu]

Apple needs to know they must be held to the same standards as their competitors.

In terms of smartphone manufacturing, there’s not a single Samsung model in the history that has ever toppled iPhones in terms of sales. What standard are we talking about here?