Getty/PAApple CEO Tim Cook has finally announced they will stop the intentional battery slowdowns of old iPhones.
Cook apologised to the massive customer base of Apple products for the firm’s tactic of slowing down older models, and has vowed to fix the problem.
Users of affected handsets will be able to turn off the function, and will be able to use a battery health monitor to keep track of just how worn out their batteries get.
GettyA beta version of the software is set to be released next month, and will be rolled out to the wider public some time after.
In an interview with ABC News, Cook said the slowdown feature was not installed to force users to upgrade to newer models, but to prevent unexpected shutdowns of devices due to tired batteries.
He said:
If you don’t want it, you can turn it off. We’re going to give people the visibility of the health of their battery so it’s very, very transparent.
This hasn’t been done before.
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In another damage limitation move, Apple have vowed to reduce the price of an out-of-warranty iPhone battery replacement for anyone with an iPhone 6 upwards between January and December 2018.
The price has been cut from £75 to £25, but this resulted in a massive surge of people trying to get their batteries replaced, and many stores quickly ran out of stock.
Cook has apologised to Apple users who reckon the company slowed down the processors on older models.
He reckons that when Apple released software updates to slow down the older devices so that they could keep up with new features, people might not have listened when Apple explained just what it was.
PAHe said:
Maybe we weren’t clear. We deeply apologise to anyone who thinks we have some other kind of motivation.
Cook has also announced that he will be investing $350 billion in the US economy over the course of five years.
He has pledged to create more than 20,000 jobs and has announced they will be paying $38 billion in tax.
PAHe said:
I hope – I have that faith – that it will be used for great purpose for the country, whether that’s infrastructure or education, or what have you, that will further supply jobs in the US.
Cook said Apple officials have ‘always viewed’ that the company could only have been started in America, and said they have a responsibility ‘to give back’.
The tech giant has been the subject of numerous lawsuits in different federal courts over the past week as a result of customers complaints about lack of transparency.
PexelsPeople are also alleging that Apple attempted to conceal the battery issue rather than offer up a solution to the issue such as an easy replacement.
In their statement, Apple said:
Lithium-ion batteries become less capable of supplying peak current demands when in cold conditions, [when they] have a low battery charge or as they age over time, which can result in the device unexpectedly shutting down to protect its electronic components.
Last year, we released a feature for iPhone 6, iPhone 6s and iPhone SE to smooth out the instantaneous peaks only when needed to prevent the device from unexpectedly shutting during these conditions.
We’ve now extended that feature to iPhone 7 with iOS 11.2 and plan to add support for other products in the future.
Our goal is to deliver the best experience for customers.
PAIt might be too little, too late for Apple.
