iPhone 17 Does Apple install malware to slow your old phone down?

[FeliApple]

Why are you still denying battery chemistry?

Is that really the conclusion you get from my post? That’s not what I said.

Batteries degrade but original versions are efficient enough so as to offset that degradation even with moderate use.

Push it too hard and there might be a difference even on an original iOS version, but who cares anyway? We are talking about tertiary devices. What am I going to do? Play a game with full brightness on an iPhone 6s on iOS 10? No.

Conversely, an iPhone 6s on iOS 15 with like 78% health is useless even for music because the iOS version consumes too much. Come on, you can’t keep denying this after millions of devices have been obliterated.

 

[Marrk]

That just sounds like the hardware was wearing out on your old SE.

As for the calendar alerts, if you buy into the conspiracy theory that Apple ships secret code to slow down older phones, how does that apply to your almost new 17e? The conspiracy theory is the malicious malware infecting people.

I don't know. I am guessing that software updates are engineered for the latest, greatest hardware, so it's just a matter of time before the updates are "not really, perfectly" compatible with your hardware. It may be asking too much of any company to produce software updates that are backward compatible.

Disclaimer: I don't know anything. Consider me a four-year-old when it comes to tech.

 

[Veoronox]

According to the communityNotes, the person was referring to Apple's Batterygate instead of actual malware.

 

[AppleForeverandEver]

She is full of hot air.

She is full of something !

 

[Flappy Dunk]

What are you talking about cross-compatibility?
I can't even login to my Apple ID on my MacBook Air (Big Sur 11.7.11) with my other devices on iOS 18 and later.

View attachment 2629920

That's because you have Advanced Data Protection turned on, which restricts your Apple ID to devices running iOS 16.2 / macOS 13.1 or later ONLY.

 

[FeliApple]

That's because you have Advanced Data Protection turned on, which restricts your Apple ID to devices running iOS 16.2 / macOS 13.1 or later ONLY.

Oh, that is indeed why! Here’s Apple Support’s relevant section:

Yeah, very, VERY obviously a non-issue. If you have every device updated then it’s fine, but it’s absolutely NOT a valid argument to deny cross-compatibility.

As I was saying, this cross compatibility between a quintillion iOS versions exists, and works properly. Like I said, I have iOS 18, iPadOS 18, iPadOS 15, iOS 12, OS X El Cap (from 2016!), iOS 10, iOS 5, etc, etc, etc, everything works flawlessly in terms of logging to the Apple ID.

This is an absolute non-issue. If you have a myriad iOS versions like I do you just can’t enable Advanced Data Protection, whatever, it’s fine.

I am not about to sacrifice 90% of what I have for this, anyway. Like I said there is cross-compatibility and this is a non-issue.

 

[FeliApple]

In fact, the issues of avoiding Apple malware can be condensed into a single phrase: compatibility issues due to garbage, pathetic, abhorrent third-party developers, web developers, app developers, all developers.

Why do websites stop working? Because developers update the components for no reason at all. Why do apps stop working? Because developers horrifically increase compatibility requirements and kill older app versions.

Apple itself, with all of its faults in terms of what they do to devices, behaves correctly, greatly even, with older iOS versions. Everything that Apple does correctly is almost rendered futile because third-party developers don’t do things correctly.

Because compatibility is NOT the goal for the overwhelming majority of developers.

And since iOS 26’s adoption rate was released and it matched 18:

People do not care either so there’s no incentive for any of this to change. Therefore, Apple will continue to kill devices all the time, developers have no incentive to give us compatibility, and users will keep complaining about what iOS malware does to devices yet continue to update.

I cannot wrap my mind around why long-term iOS users, MacRumors users with years of forum participation, etc, keep complaining about iOS updates. You know how this works, why do you keep expecting things to be different?

 

[BillyJoeJimBob]

If by malware you mean Planned Obsolescence rolled into every iOS and MacOS, then yes. Sequoia runs fine on a 2012 Mini 6,1 with OCLP. The point being is that the hardware can run the latest OS and "limitations" are arbitrary.

 

[FeliApple]

Yep, I'm with you here.

I mean, kinda, to a degree? Sure, a fully updated install of the launch version on an older iPhone will plausibly be easier on a battery than the latest revision. I don't buy a 50% runtime loss though. I'm not saying you didn't see that, I am saying that is not a universal truth, and is likely an outlier. I would expect the actual difference to be much smaller. If an analysis were done on a thousand old iPhones, I would expect the overall difference to actually be fairly small.

So an old battery doesn't perform like a new one, but you're happy with the compromises required to keep old ones optimised. I actually admire that!

I dont't buy the notion that an 11 year old phone will have unchanged battery life if you never update it. Physics and chemistry are real. I find it akin to the fuel-saver devices you plug in to your car's cigarette lighter, or the mythical "100mpg carburettors" I used to read about. You can't ignore chemistry. You can make compromises to maximise a battery's useful life, but an old battery is an old battery.

Please don't misunderstand me, I'm not trying to be insulting with these comparisons, they just illustrate my point.

I'm super happy with iOS 26.5 on my iPhone 14.

I came back to this thread because there has been an interesting development.

My forcibly updated iPhone 6s running iOS 13 (phone which was running iOS 9 and Apple forced it out thanks to the A9 on iOS 9 activation bug, where Apple deactivated all iOS devices on iOS 9 with the A9 chip and forced them to update)… just “died”.

I left the phone off for two months and when I grabbed it again it died. Battery health dropped from 78% to 75% (confirmed via Coconut Battery, 74.9% after 1100 cycles), and battery life has collapsed like it does when the battery is dead.

The phone dies overnight from 100% on standby with efficient settings on Airplane mode; drops to 63% after 50 minutes of music, and is (finally) completely unusable.

The battery is dead.

…however…

…my iPhone 6s running iOS 10 did not drop from 100% after 45 minutes of music playback in the exact same conditions. Coconut shows 63% health. Standby battery life is normal for the phone, dropping normally overnight, maybe 2-3%. I assume many, many hours of music playback. I was using the updated one just because it has 128GB of storage vs 32GB.

I, therefore, yield the initiative here and leave the conclusion to the reader…

 

[MikB]

I can see it with my own eyes. I track my devices’ battery life. I track it for years on the same iOS versions without ever replacing a battery, and I’ve tracked it when I was forced to update. I’ve tested everything.

You sure didn't test my phones. Everything is not the disappearing amount of iPhones you'll ever see.

But if personal experience is proof battery replacement is second life for two phones so far. They just work. Even my 3gs got a replacement and I put it in myself.

 

[FeliApple]

You sure didn't test my phones. Everything is not the disappearing amount of iPhones you'll ever see.

But if personal experience is proof battery replacement is second life for two phones so far. They just work. Even my 3gs got a replacement and I put it in myself.

They work if the phones are updated. Because of the impact of the inability of the battery to provide the required energy to the device, which has an increased power requirement due to the updates.

I never denied that replacements help updated devices (help… but do not restore battery life to that of the original version).

And that is the key: if battery health were the only reason for battery life degradation, a replaced battery on ANY iOS version would restore battery life to that of the original iOS version. It’s nowhere near as good.

And updates even on newer iPhones significantly impact battery life, even if they have great health (like iOS 26 and its 20% impact on the 16 series vs iOS 18).


Everyone who keeps denying this has obviously always updated anything and everything. I have both perspectives: I have updated a few devices, and I’ve stayed behind with most.

My conclusion? iOS updates are malicious garbage.

 

[MikB]

Everyone who keeps denying this has obviously always updated anything and everything. I have both perspectives: I have updated a few devices, and I’ve stayed behind with most.

Possibly they also disabled unnecessary services. That's what I did. I also make sure to hit 80% loading most of the time, seldom going under 40%. With my 3 replacements, improvements have been loud and clear.

 

[FeliApple]

Possibly they also disabled unnecessary services. That's what I did. I also make sure to hit 80% loading most of the time, seldom going under 40%. With my 3 replacements, improvements have been loud and clear.

Trust me, I know how to optimise a device for battery life. I got 16 hours of SOT on my iPhone Xʀ on iOS 12, now get 27 on my 16 Plus on iOS 18, etc.

The only devices I’ve been unable to optimise were those that Apple forced me to update. Or devices from other people that I’ve tested. The only thing they have in common? That they were updated.

We can talk all day long about why we have to update (pathetic third-party developers that remove support) and for how long we can stay behind (You can’t push it above… five years perhaps. Compatibility suffers too much). We can talk about people’s reasoning for updates and why in spite of what Apple does to devices people keep updating, but whether iOS updates negatively impact devices is not up for debate.

It’s a fact, and denying this is pretty much a non-starter for any meaningful discussion.

Your devices have improved following a replacement primarily because they were updated. Older batteries can’t cope with the power requirements of newer versions, as I have repeatedly stated.

My 9.7-inch iPad Pro on iOS 9? I got 14 hours of SOT and there was no keyboard lag.

Apple forced it to iOS 12. Boom, 10.5 hours. I’ve disabled EVERYTHING. Every settings that even barely scraped some battery life was disabled. Nope, 10.5. Not 14. The keyboard lags occasionally and it’s unfixable.

 

[MikB]

It’s a fact, and denying this is pretty much a non-starter for any meaningful discussion.

It's not. You have failed to bring actual proof. You seem to think your experience is the only one that matters. It's not.

 

[Royksöpp]

I have just bought two iPhone 17e phones, one for me and one for the wife.
Mine will be staying on 26.? Whatever the last updated version of that is. I do not need anymore flashy features than I already have.
In my book AI is just not for me so that is turned off.

That is a really terrible idea. 27 is going to iron out all of the bugs that were present in 26. I would update to 27 and stick with that instead.

 

[FeliApple]

It's not. You have failed to bring actual proof. You seem to think your experience is the only one that matters. It's not.

It is, actually, when I’m the only one on this thread who keeps a device on its original iOS version for a decade.

I’m the only one who has spoken here that has two iPhones, one updated and one that hasn’t been updated.

All that you (and every update apologist) can offer is just an example (or several) of how a battery replacement improves an updated device. I never denied that.

I’m saying two things:

-You aren’t matching the original iOS version

-You only have the poor result you have with the updated device because of the updates, not health.

I got 7 hours of SOT on my 63% health iPhone 6s on iOS 10. Give me one on iOS 15 that can do that. I don’t think even a new battery on iOS 15 can get those numbers.

Give me an older iPhone that has like-new, original battery life when updated.

There’s a reason why I ask for battery life screenshots and people who argue this don’t provide them: they aren’t good enough.

And finally: The battery will eventually die, even if not updated, but my argument is that iOS compatibility will render the iPhone unusable before the battery does.

 

[NUFC2025]

That is a really terrible idea. 27 is going to iron out all of the bugs that were present in 26. I would update to 27 and stick with that instead.

I don’t have a problem with 26.

 

[FeliApple]

That is a really terrible idea. 27 is going to iron out all of the bugs that were present in 26. I would update to 27 and stick with that instead.

I don’t have a problem with 26.

This case is different I think.

26 is the original iOS version for the 17e. I have no idea whether the later versions of 26 improved its efficiency and/or corrected the performance issues (people complained about performance bugs and others demonstrated that a 16 Plus or 16 Pro Max on iOS 18 has better battery life than a 17 Pro Max (at least on early 26 versions).

If the final versions of 26 corrected this AND they’ve solved the performance bugs of the first part of 26, I’d see no reason to update to 27.

Apple’s “performance updates” have been utter nonsense before. I don’t think they can be trusted on this.

Maybe if the OP had updated from 18 on an 18-compatible iPhone it’s worth considering.

But if they have no issues on the device’s original iOS version I wouldn’t risk it, regardless of Apple’s (oftentimes bogus) claims.

 

[I7guy]

It is, actually, when I’m the only one on this thread who keeps a device on its original iOS version for a decade.

I’m the only one who has spoken here that has two iPhones, one updated and one that hasn’t been updated.

All that you (and every update apologist) can offer is just an example (or several) of how a battery replacement improves an updated device. I never denied that.

I’m saying two things:

-You aren’t matching the original iOS version

-You only have the poor result you have with the updated device because of the updates, not health.

I got 7 hours of SOT on my 63% health iPhone 6s on iOS 10. Give me one on iOS 15 that can do that. I don’t think even a new battery on iOS 15 can get those numbers.

Give me an older iPhone that has like-new, original battery life when updated.

There’s a reason why I ask for battery life screenshots and people who argue this don’t provide them: they aren’t good enough.

And finally: The battery will eventually die, even if not updated, but my argument is that iOS compatibility will render the iPhone unusable before the battery does.

While we been discussing this topic ad-nauseam for a while now an iPhone 6s on iOS 10 is a shell of a phone. Getting 7 hours SOT is the absolute in the lightest thing possible. Using the phone in the sun, with a weak cell signal watching YouTube, one is not getting 7 hours out of that phone.

Most apps do not work properly or don’t work. Some of it is iOS 10 and some of it is the SOC.

My iPhone 15 and 14 are living proof that i os updates do not render a phone obsolete or unusable. Battery health has still decline with calendar aging and use, but the phone works as if it was just taken from the box.

Older phones and phones with 32 bit chips were more susceptible to the impact of more work and heavier battery usage. These 64 bit chips, imo, have more headroom.

 

[FeliApple]

While we been discussing this topic ad-nauseam for a while now an iPhone 6s on iOS 10 is a shell of a phone. Getting 7 hours SOT is the absolute in the lightest thing possible. Using the phone in the sun, with a weak cell signal watching YouTube, one is not getting 7 hours out of that phone.

Most apps do not work properly or don’t work. Some of it is iOS 10 and some of it is the SOC.

iOS 10 is obsolete. But I can use it for music. I don’t need a 6s anymore. The point I was trying to make is that I can’t use my 6s on iOS 13 for music because the update killed battery life. I don’t need compatibility. I need music. The updated iPhone can’t do it. The one that’s not updated works perfectly.

My iPhone 15 and 14 are living proof that i os updates do not render a phone obsolete or unusable. Battery health has still decline with calendar aging and use, but the phone works as if it was just taken from the box.

Older phones and phones with 32 bit chips were more susceptible to the impact of more work and heavier battery usage. These 64 bit chips, imo, have more headroom.

I agree with this. Newer iPhones do have more headroom (I updated two iPhone 11 from 14 and 15 to 18 (NOT 26), and battery life was fine. There was a small but noticeable performance decline, but nothing unusable), and now you DO have the possibility of updating a few iOS versions (though 26 is the exception, Liquid Glass really consumes more resources and has a noticeable battery life and performance decline), but eventually the may suffer.

You say that, but 26 was appalling for the iPhone 11, and the iPhone 14 and 15 are nowhere near their final versions. You keep moving the goalposts towards newer phones, which, like I said, are more resilient now, but they aren’t resilient forever.

26 on the iPads that were left behind on 27 like the 2018 iPad Pro has been nothing short of atrocious, so much so that people keep saying that if 27 improves the situation they should’ve been allowed to install it.

The 15 is good now. But you just wait. Eventually it will not be. I’ll give it to you though, the iPhone 11 on iOS 18 (after five major versions) is infinitely better than anything that came before.

You (general you), with relatively modern devices and if you want longevity, just need to know when to stop. It is laughable to see people complaining about the 2018 iPad Pro or the iPhone 11. Just stop on 18, what the hell are you doing? Do you really need 26? Now you have an iPad that works poorly and there’s nothing you can do. 18 vs 26 won’t change much in terms of longevity anyway.

That’s my gripe with most today. When the device is the oldest supported model, stop before installing that. You’ll be fine.

This is a MASSIVE improvement vs the 6s days.

 

[NUFC2025]

A couple of reasons I am sticking to 26 are.
1 I have no problems and the battery life is good. With moderate to heavy use I finish the day between 45 to 50%.

2 my se2 watch has been dropped even though I wouldn’t of updated it.

3 I do not want or need this AI rubbish , I have managed for over 60 years without it so I think I will be ok to get through the rest of my remaining
Years.

 

[Royksöpp]

I don’t have a problem with 26.

Try out 27 when it launches and report back. You can always downgrade if you love 26 that much.

 

[Royksöpp]

This case is different I think.

26 is the original iOS version for the 17e. I have no idea whether the later versions of 26 improved its efficiency and/or corrected the performance issues (people complained about performance bugs and others demonstrated that a 16 Plus or 16 Pro Max on iOS 18 has better battery life than a 17 Pro Max (at least on early 26 versions).

If the final versions of 26 corrected this AND they’ve solved the performance bugs of the first part of 26, I’d see no reason to update to 27.

Apple’s “performance updates” have been utter nonsense before. I don’t think they can be trusted on this.

Maybe if the OP had updated from 18 on an 18-compatible iPhone it’s worth considering.

But if they have no issues on the device’s original iOS version I wouldn’t risk it, regardless of Apple’s (oftentimes bogus) claims.

I'm debating on keeping my 17 Pro, but if I do it will be running 27 on day one. 27 is a snow leopard update. There is absolutely no reason not to update, if anything, it would be advisable to stay on 27 instead.

 

[I7guy]

Try out 27 when it launches and report back. You can always downgrade if you love 26 that much.

There’s no try out iOS 27. Gonna upgrade and run with it.

 

[Sosab123]

No. I ran X till 17E. The quarantine during COVID had me at home and thats where all my powerful stuff is so I didn't need to upgrade. It taught me a lot about where I am as a phone user, I am more so a $500 phone user and not $1000.

I mean obviously it was showing its age by now but def no signs of throttling it should be completely without function. Its the software that is becoming more expensive for the hardware over time.