Abigail Tobis ’20, Managing Editor
On Dec. 28, 2017, Apple released a statement, admitting that they do in fact slow down older phones when new releases come out. People that own Apple phones have experienced the same problem in that their phone slows down, or starts to have issues right around the time a newer phone is released. This has caused many people to become upset because they feel that Apple is trying to manipulate the user into buying a new, more expensive phone, when that may not be the case.
In Apple’s statement that they released on their website they said, “We’ve been hearing feedback from our customers about the way we handle performance for iPhones with older batteries and how we have communicated that process. We know that some of you feel Apple has let you down. We apologize.” They then go on to explain the battery and how it works.
According to Apple, “All rechargeable batteries are consumable components that become less effective as they chemically age and their ability to hold a charge diminishes.” How old the phone is and the amount of times the phone is charged are factors that continue the batteries’ aging process. Apple uses lithium-ion batteries in their phones, and as these batteries age, the time it holds charge may be shorter.
Apple released the statement admitting that they were giving batteries that would not be long term, because they were getting sued. One of the first times was by iphone owners Stefan Bogdanovich and Dakota Speas from California. They said that Apple slowing down their phones, does not help, but instead causes their phones to ‘suffer.’ A different approach towards this situation might have been more applicable. Also, five iPhone owners that range from the iPhone 5 to the iPhone 7 from Illinois, Ohio, North Carolina, and Indiana, also sued Apple. They claim that the actions Apple is taking to slow down the phone is “deceptive, immoral, and unethical.”
Even though Apple has released the statement many people still are unaware of what Apple is doing, including iPhone 6s owner sophomore Anjelina Barton. She said, “It makes me mad because I could be doing something important, and it just shuts down.” She added, “It does it all the time. I was listening to music today and it just shut off, and even one time it shut down three times in one day.” This is a continuing problem, and Apple releasing a statement admitting that they are slowing phones down just saying ‘sorry’ does not seem to be enough, especially when phones can cost up to $999. Sophmore Sierra Steckle said, “I went and got the new Google Pixle, because it was cheaper than the new iPhone, and I was getting so tired of my phone shutting down on me.”
The company does in fact give some tips to extend your battery life, such as: avoid using your phone in high or low temperatures, remove cases during charging (the case might make the phone hot, which will affect the battery), and update your phone when it tells you to. They also suggest that you put your phone in low power mode, turn down the brightness, and to keep wifi on at all times because it uses less battery than your cellular data. Apple has lowered the price of the battey so that it is easier to buy when it is needs to be replaced.
Apple releasing this statement has caused a huge uproar, and this anger by Apple owners is not projected to end anytime soon. Many people are frustrated and overall just annoyed with Apple’s actions. The big question is, what else is Apple hiding, and what are other companies hiding from us? Hopefully, this is all resolved soon, and the company decides a different course of action, because the one that they took, is not making people happy.
Photo courtesy of iMore
Lyon Life 