Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Dude are you serious? Fall for this mishandling. May I remind you that Samsung phones were BLOWING UP and everything is back to normal at Samsung. This isn't some backyard company, it's Apple. There is no fall, there is no mishandling. Only in your dreams perhaps.

But at least Samsung acknowledged the problem. They didn't try and hide it. And they gave note 7 customers alternative devices ( they got a galaxy s7).

What Apple did was hella shady.
 
I feel like everyone forgets that you don't HAVE to buy an iPhone. It's completely optional. Apple is free to do whatever they want, especially when you AGREE to their terms and download the updates. I truly believe they were trying to do the right thing by slowing the phones down to prevent shutdowns. The whole fraud group thing is quiet silly IMO.
Saying people aren't forced to buy their products never has and never will be an argument in this forum or anywhere for that matter. It's at best a silly comment and serves no purpose whatsoever.
 
Apple is most definitely guilty of planned obsolescence. That actually is a far greater problem than their lies and deceit about the battery life. Soldered RAM, non-removable batteries, etc? That's disgusting.

HOWEVER, to be fair, plenty of other companies are guilty of planned obsolescence as well. Each one of these scumbag companies needs to be taken to the cleaners over it.

I'm not sure which Apple product you are referring to that can't have the batteries replaced. I know it's not easy on some models due to lots of glue, but it can be done. To an extent, I get the soldered components--it likely makes production easier and the product more reliable. We don't get those savings, unless it just allows Apple to keep hitting price points while still updating products. l'll take a heavier, thicker device to have the ability to make my own basic upgrades.

I think the worst offender to my recollection is the Surface Laptop, where they keyboard panel must literally be destroyed to access the internals. I'm not going to buy such things.
 
  • Like
Reactions: blake2
Apple is most definitely guilty of planned obsolescence. That actually is a far greater problem than their lies and deceit about the battery life. Soldered RAM, non-removable batteries, etc? That's disgusting.

HOWEVER, to be fair, plenty of other companies are guilty of planned obsolescence as well. Each one of these scumbag companies needs to be taken to the cleaners over it.

I'm going to assume you're an intelligent man when I ask: when you bought the iPhone did or did you not know the parts were non user upgradable?
I am an Apple loyalist, a business customer, a decades long repeat consumer and a shareholder. I despise prosecutorial abuses and opportunistic lawyers who look for an opening to take advantage.

That said, I also last week experienced what is like to try to get the battery replaced at an Apple store. There was inefficiency, there was arrogance from management, there was massive inconveniencing a customer. They expected 3 visits to the store and long waits (plus the $29) to replace a simple battery on a phone. While sometimes things get blown out of proportion, even a relatively decent and successful company like Apple needs balance and checks. Be these regulation or legal challenges. This issue is going to be very costly to them. Batteries, PR, possibly some lost sales. I am hopeful the lesson will result in improved transparency and a simplification of a simple battery replacement process.

It's stuff like this that makes me upset.

First - the sly "(plus the $29)" is entitled. Seems like you want it for free, like many. I've never been entitled to the point where I feel that a company has to fix an issue I brought by wear and tear. I expect things to get old.

Second - people like to downplay things. Do you have experience with battery replacements on Apple devices? I have screen replacement experience. Things are small. Things can get lost. Also, this isn't your damn phone you're working with. It's someone else's. I'd be working carefully not to screw up.

Third - have yo ever worked retail? Any job with people? The amount of people I meet in college that never worked even part time is incredible. I wish I had daddy money... digressing, if you've had any type of job supporting yourself through your early twenties late teens you'll know people suck. People are demanding. Even if it ain't your fault they will make it seem like it is. That takes a toll. Of course you're gonna have Managers being a little more strict. They don't want to deal with a **** load of angry people. They show compassion and I'm certain a lot of people would take advantage. It's not the fault of the retail staff. Get over that.

Fourth - I will supporting Apple even more now. They care. As annoying as they are the people who complain care too. We've had many Android problems (security, hardware issues on some OEM's, etc) in the past and they don't get much traction because people don't care. This is a platform I want. One that changes and admits mistakes. Not risks life's with faulty hardware and takes information. There's just no true alternative.
 
Take a look at the reaction here, and you might get an idea.

BS. You cannot sell someone a product and slow down their device without informing them.

Apple can make those annoying pop ups telling to add our credit cards for Apple pay,but they couldn't make one informing customers that their battery has depleted and to replace their battery to avoid throttling.

Or better yet, give us an option.
 
GLORIOUS!!!! I have bene saying it for years, why my iPhone 5 is not running well? Maps is slow, audio get bad, the screen clicks itself, battery won't last even after replaced. excuse me, if you want to play naive/fan boy go ahead BUT I have been dealing with electronics since the 80's (I am 42) and I can tell easy when errors are programmed for you to get a new phone. Any repair shop knows that, Apple sabotages older phones for you to buy new ones.
 
Planned obsolescence? My iPhone 5 is five years old now
You have an iPhone 5 that doesn't get switched to degraded/unusable mode. You are making the argument against Apple with your point - Your iPhone 5 outperforms a degraded/unusable iPhone 6 even though it is older and has worse hardware.
 
  • Like
Reactions: stepandy
Planned obsolescence? My iPhone 5 is five years old now; it has had two batter failures, one that I replaced myself a couple months ago, but it still works just fine even running a version of iOS that was developed four years after I got it. Apple hasn't done anything to force me to upgrade the phone, and replaced one battery for free under warranty.

The only error that I see Apple made was the PR decision not to explain that the batteries were degrading over time (which is a fact of physics) and that they were using software to extend the life of the phones. That actually is a good feature...having a phone suddenly die is worse than having it slow down for a few seconds. Now, everyone is talking about Apple trying to force consumers to upgrade their phones, when the reality is that Apple's software actually allowed people to use their phones longer in spite of the slow death of the battery. It's also completely unfair to single Apple out for this, every phone out there has the exact same issue, and I see a lot more planned obsolescence in the Android world (newer versions of the OS don't support older phones nearly as well as Apple does).

I suppose it will be good for Apple to be more open about what their software does in the background to enhance the user experience...odds are there are a lot of things we don't know about (and that competitors don't do) that makes the iPhone work better. But this is turning into a huge joke, with lots of people looking to take Apple down a peg instead of actually paying attention to what really happened.
Apple is trying to make the phones of these people work as long as possible. You have to be really angry at them to interpret this otherwise.
What you're missing is that these devices shouldn't be shutting down randomly with aged batteries. Somebody in iPhone hardware engineering drew a line in the sand regarding hardware/cpu/battery/power-management and got it wrong.

If it's a hardware issue that would mean replacing millions of devices. If it's a battery issue that would mean replacing millions of batteries. Instead they chose to make a change to iOS to hide the issue by slowing down devices.

When Apple were called out on this, they've doubled down on their bet. They started this battery replacement programme where users have to pay(!) to temporarily prevent the slow down "fix" from appearing by having their battery replaced.

This is the fallout.
 
Last edited:
Yes they are. Allowing devices to run longer (instead of becoming useless) is exactly the opposite of planned obsolescence.
Making devices slower without telling the customer leading them to believe their phone is getting worse and causing them to upgrade without the knowledge that replacing the battery will improve the performance again is not the opposite of planned obsolescence no matter how you want to swing it. Sorry.
 
this feature showed up after they realized their design issue otherwise it would have been added to the iPhones from the get go, rather than a year later after they figured out their blunder

BINGO!

Apple has been so obsessed with thinness that they put mediocre batteries in their devices.

The plus models should have a minimum of 3000mah battery.
 



French consumer fraud group DGCCRF, part of the country's economy ministry, last week launched a preliminary investigation into Apple over "alleged deception" and "planned obsolescence" of Apple products, reports Reuters.

The investigation follows Apple's admission that it slows down some older iPhones with degraded batteries during times of peak power usage in order to prevent unexpected shutdowns.

iphone-6s-colors-800x586.jpg

Apple introduced the power management feature in iOS 10.2.1 following complaints of unexpected shutdowns in the iPhone 6s, but Apple did not make it clear to consumers that it was due to battery deterioration nor did Apple inform customers that it could cause occasional performance slowdowns.

Apple has since apologized for its lack of communication and introduced a new policy that allows iPhone 6, 6 Plus, 6s, 6s Plus, 7, 7 Plus, and SE owners to receive a one-time no-questions-asked $29 battery replacement for their devices, as a device with a depleted battery that is affected by throttling will return to normal performance with a battery replacement.

According to Apple, the power management features that prevent unexpected shutdowns by occasionally throttling older iPhones with batteries in bad condition are designed to preserve the life of the iPhone for as long as possible and were not implemented to force upgrades. From Apple:Despite Apple's efforts to correct the issue, in addition to the French inquiry, the company is now facing more than two dozen lawsuits accusing it of intentionally slowing down older iPhones and failing to disclose the changes that it introduced in iOS 10.2.1. One of those lawsuits also stems from France, filed by French consumer group "HOP," which translates to "Stop Planned Obsolescence."

The French watchdog's investigation could take months to complete, and based on the findings, the issue could be escalated to a judge for a more in-depth inquiry or dropped all together.

If Apple is found guilty of planned obsolescence in France, the punishment could be a fine of up to five percent of its annual sales.

Article Link: French Consumer Fraud Group Investigating Apple for 'Alleged Deception' and 'Planned Obsolescence'
 
You know what they say: Be careful what you wish for - you may get it.

If people are hoping that France actually finds Apple guilty of planned obsolescence (they won’t, but let’s pretend we live in a fairy tale world and they do), then what does that say for Android? Most Android devices are obsolete they say they’re sold. So by definition all Android manufacturers selling in France should be automatically hit with a fine of 5% of their sales.
 
  • Like
Reactions: MrUNIMOG
The French and all the rest of the world need to have the USA withdraw and reduce its presence and watch what they will do.

no more aid
no more troops
no more intel
no more free trade one way
 
  • Like
Reactions: blake2
Making devices slower without telling the customer leading them to believe their phone is getting worse and causing them to upgrade without the knowledge that replacing the battery will improve the performance again is not the opposite of planned obsolescence no matter how you want to swing it. Sorry.

Where’s your proof devices are slower?
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.