Apple apologises for slowing down older iPhones
Apple has apologised for deliberately slowing down older iPhones, to compensate for ageing batteries.
The tech firm says it didn’t intend for customers to feel forced into upgrading to newer models.
A statement on their website said: "We have never - and would never - do anything to intentionally shorten the life of any Apple product, or degrade the user experience to drive customer upgrades.
"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 apologise. There's been a lot of misunderstanding about this issue, so we would like to clarify and let you know about some changes we're making.
"All rechargeable batteries are consumable components that become less effective as they chemically age and their ability to hold a charge diminishes.
"Device use also affects the performance of a battery over its lifespan. For example, leaving or charging a battery in a hot environment can cause a battery to age faster. These are characteristics of battery chemistry, common to lithium-ion batteries across the industry."
Technology journalist, Basil Kronfli, says he can understand Apple’s decision.
He said: "When your battery gets worse, a way to prevent from dying earlier is to slow down your phone a little bit; it’s called throttling or underclocking.
"Then what you get is a phone that runs slower but at least potentially gets you through the day."
