Geekbench Results Visualize Possible Link Between iPhone Slowdowns and Degraded Batteries

[the-bigwig]

I'm waiting for those moans when this thing will reach X and 8. What an armageddon that would be...
...and it will happen if we do nothing about this. It's not just 6S or 6. Those phones are on the fence between good and a bad battery health, that's why this throttling is most visible on those. Then 7 and then 8 will become "obsolete" and their battery health will degrade to a certain level and then, yeah, everybody gonna know what's what. I hope for a switch between "performance" or "battery life". Let me chose Apple, thats all I want.

Oh or maybe different thing? iOS should modify on the fly "Low Power Mode" option depending on the battery wear level. Ie if someone has 80% battery low mode should engage just when he reach certain level, like 60% of battery. If someone has battery health let's say 50%, just engage "Low Power Mode" when battery hits 90%. As simple as that, it would be very Appley.

 

[Yellowbean12]

Oh boy I hope I can get a free battery replacement out of this kerfuffle.

 

[RickInHouston]

makes perfect sense to me. would you rather have the phone slow down or re-boot all the time? go get a new battery or a new phone

Maybe the government should force phone manufacturers to put on the side of the box, "this expensive device will mostly likely not last two years, let alone three."

 

[thadoggfather]

Apple has a lot of explaining to do

And I can’t possibly see how they can put a positive spin on this.

Eroding trust with customers seems like a common thing with Apple these days.

 

[alms]

On my iPhone 6, performance is definitely related to the battery.

My CPU is rated to run at 1400 MHz.

When my battery charge is between 100% and 91%, the CPU clocks 1127 MHz.

When battery charge is 89-91%, the CPU clocks 837 MHz.

When battery charge is 88% or lower, the CPU clocks 600 MHz.

I can watch the CPU speed going up and down as I charge and discharge my iPhone 6 battery. It is completely repeatable. iOS 11.2 is clearly doing this on purpose, presumably to avoid the sudden shutdowns.

My battery is several years old, and currently rates at 80% of initial capacity. I have a new battery on order from iFixit. Hopefully that will get my performance back up.

 

[Merode]

I'll just say this. I have recently dug up a screenshot of Coconut Battery report of my old iPhone 4S when I was selling it. At 213 cycles battery health was at 96,6%.

My iPhone SE is not yet 6 months old. I am at 110 cycles and battery life is at 95%.

I know these are only two devices, but in my experience Apple uses worse batteries nowadays.

 

[JosephAW]

Kept my 7+ on iOS 10.
When my 6 battery was old it would decrease in steps. 100,80,65,55,20,10,1 with huge jumps. Then it would stay on 1% for almost an hour.

 

[147798]

I don't have a problem with power management routines reducing CPU speed to compensate for low battery capacity - what I have a problem with is Apple HIDING WHAT THEY DID, and not allowing the user to have a choice. That's pretty shameful.

Apple, put a setting in the dang battery settings that allows a user to choose "longer battery life -vs- better performance". A 3 or 4 position slider would be perfectly adequate.

I've mentioned this in the other threads, about my experience with my iP6.

Under old battery -- system crawled along with GB showing 1050 single CPU score. New battery running in low power mode -- GB still clocking at 1050, but not massive system slowness. I think Apple should -- with a bad battery -- force Low Power Mode (including reduce other system resources) and tell you what's happening, and not just slow the CPU down. Slowing the CPU down without shutting down services like LPM does, just causes a crappy experience.

 

[deanthedev]

When my 6S used to shut down at about 30% they diagnostics showed it as working just fine.
I had to have a discussion with the manager before I got it replaced. I have read of the same experience in these forums.

And my daughters battery at 60% got replaced no questions asked. Your point is?

 

[MH01]

Everyone with an iPhone I know takes their devices into Apple to get checked out. A bad battery would be quickly diagnosed as being faulty.

Nope. You may want to read this article from the beginning.

 

[ipooed]

Where’s your source that batteries at 80% are being throttled?

My phone! Take a look at the screenshots i posted my wear level at the time was 91% (down to 87% now)

Edit: added pics, one above 50% one below along with my current wear level. I've seen worse, but that doesn't excuse it.

 

[Septembersrain]

And my daughters battery at 60% got replaced no questions asked. Your point is?

That if it's not below 80% capacity they can and do deny you.

 

[deanthedev]

So everyone with an iPhone that you know goes to Apple and tell them their phone is moving slower or not opening apps as fast as it use to? I fail to believe that.

In addition, many persons reported they have been experiencing the issue and Apple said their battery is fine and won't even replace it even when the customer requests it and offers to pay the 80 dollars.

So no, a bad battery would not quickly be diagnosed to be faulty.

What's the next excuse?

No, they go for the poor battery life. I’ve never had issues with battery replacements. Anecdotes mean squat.

 

[Atomic Walrus]

That if it's not below 80% capacity they can and do deny you.

This is definitely the root of the issue -- if the battery is worn enough that it cannot power the SOC properly, it should be considered defective and replaced.

The update in question introduced the throttling because the SOCs were actually crashing. Combined with the fact that these same batteries pass Apple's tests, it's currently looking like the goal of the update was to make sure Apple did not have to replace those batteries for free.

 

[AZ63]

Batteries are problematic.
Rechargeable batteries even more so.
The harder the battery is used and the more cycles put on the battery will lead to a faster decline in the stability of the battery. This is not just an Apple problem. The plaintive crys of lawsuits or massive recalls are silly. Apple did do a recall of some iPhone 6s batteries when it was shown that a set of batteries were acting in a non-standard way. My 6s battery was replaced under this program.
What does bother me is not the fact that Apple maybe trying to lengthen the charge life of a battery by hindering the performance of the phone but that Apple is not letting users know that the phone is beginning to experience performance hits because the battery has begun to lose its efficiency. If this story is true, Apple already has software that determines when the battery is showing signs of wear so Apple could include a message to the user that the user may experience some performance hits due to the aging battery and that the user may wish to consider replacing the battery when the performance of the phone significantly hampers its use. Apple could have this pop up on the screen on a monthly basis once its software has determined that performance needs to be throttled to lengthen phone usage time.
Complainers will complain but batteries don't last forever and I would rather know when the downward cycle has begun so I can determine when replacing the battery best fits my schedule. This is also good news in that the slow downs in older phones could more than likely be because of an aging battery and not because my older phone can't adequately run the new software.

 

[Sefstah]

Just buy an iPhone X. Problem solved. SMH

 

[C DM]

A section of the iPhone 6s were slowed down on iOS 10.2.1. A section of the iPhone 7 were slowed down on iOS 11.2. Why is this happening every year? If it's a bad battery why doesn't Apple display a message that the CPU is being throttled thanks to battery. The fact they slowed it down on iOS 11.2 shows they are doing it intentionally every year.

The fact that things are slowed down shows that things are slowed down, it doesn't show anything when it comes to reasons or intentions. That can be extrapolated and conjectures can be made about it all.

The charts show the proof.

They show evidence of a slowdown, they don't show the reasons or intentions that might relate to it.

 

[Analog Kid]

This is incorrect. It does not demonstrate planned obsolescence -- it demonstrates Apple's attempt to cover up an engineering fault in their power delivery hardware.

In fact it's kind of funny, because it was just recently demonstrated that no previous iOS update has EVER slowed down a CPU. This is a new phenomenon, and it is about stopping battery-related CPU crashes, which would give users a valid reason to insist on a free battery replacement. The under-clocking removes Apple's warranty responsibility to replace these batteries.

The fact that it encourages upgrades is just a nice side-effect. But it is not the actual issue, and focusing on that aspect is just going to muddy the water and make it harder to get a resolution.

This is incorrect. It does not demonstrate Apple attempting to cover up an engineering fault, it demonstrates Apple trying to maximize performance and operating life within the electro-chemical-mechanical constraints of batteries.

Battery replacement isn't based on crashes, it's based on hitting the 80% health mark. If it's 80% or better after 500 cycles it's an out of warranty replacement, if it's below 80% in less than 500 cycles it's a warranty replacement, if you have AppleCare+ it doesn't matter they just replace it at 80%. Nothing here affects any of that. This just lets you keep using your phone without replacing the battery.

 

[Blaze4G]

No, they go for the poor battery life. I’ve never had issues with battery replacements. Anecdotes mean squat.

Your anecdote means squat as well so...

And explain why apple refuses to replace batteries that passes the test even when customers are willing to pay. This is a known fact, so try and deny this one.

 

[C DM]

This is incorrect. It does not demonstrate planned obsolescence -- it demonstrates Apple's attempt to cover up an engineering fault in their power delivery hardware.

In fact it's kind of funny, because it was just recently demonstrated that no previous iOS update has EVER slowed down a CPU. This is a new phenomenon, and it is about stopping battery-related CPU crashes, which would give users a valid reason to insist on a free battery replacement. The under-clocking removes Apple's warranty responsibility to replace these batteries.

The fact that it encourages upgrades is just a nice side-effect. But it is not the actual issue, and focusing on that aspect is just going to muddy the water and make it harder to get a resolution.

This is incorrect. It does not demonstrate Apple attempting to cover up an engineering fault, it demonstrates Apple trying to maximize performance and operating life within the electro-chemical-mechanical constraints of batteries.

Battery replacement isn't based on crashes, it's based on hitting the 80% health mark. If it's 80% or better after 500 cycles it's an out of warranty replacement, if it's below 80% in less than 500 cycles it's a warranty replacement, if you have AppleCare+ it doesn't matter they just replace it at 80%. Nothing here affects any of that. This just lets you keep using your phone without replacing the battery.

Ultimately, at least so far, it doesn't really show either, it just provides information that can then be interpreted to come up with conclusions which can be different and are would basically be conjectures as far as what possibilities might exist.

 

[44267547]

Apple loves copying their competitors then marketing it as an innovation.

Interesting. Can you please provide specific details about how Apple copies other competitors ? Again, please be specific in your reply exactly what you're referring to how Apple copies other competitors and claims innovation.

 

[deanthedev]

Your anecdote means squat as well so...

And explain why apple refuses to replace batteries that passes the test even when customers are willing to pay. This is a known fact, so try and deny this one.

Known fact? By people posting anecdotes online?

 

[thadoggfather]

Why should I fully trust Face ID again?

And all this Secure Enclave, locally stored and encrypted hoopla, if the leaders of the company are amoral?

How can supposed tech implementation safeguards overcome thick amorality? Much less gross negligence/incompetence (at Best)? Or both?

 

[Septembersrain]

Just buy an iPhone X. Problem solved. SMH

This statement I hope is sarcasm.

If not, it's exactly why we are all calling out Apple.

 

[Kramerjn]

I don't have a problem with power management routines reducing CPU speed to compensate for low battery capacity - what I have a problem with is Apple HIDING WHAT THEY DID, and not allowing the user to have a choice. That's pretty shameful.

Apple, put a setting in the dang battery settings that allows a user to choose "longer battery life -vs- better performance". A 3 or 4 position slider would be perfectly adequate.

This is almost exactly my sentiment as well. Don't hide it, and give us a choice.