Same Old Same Old – Apple did it again … Update OS to kill older iPhones so that you will have no choice but to upgrade to their infamous overpriced new releases.
Is this an allegation?
Of course not. I personally own iPhone and witnessed how an upgrade of OS will kill even basic function like WIFI… Apple will resort all kind of dirty tricks to to killing your phone eg. OS upgrade whenever they need to boost sales.
The only advice we have is never upgrade software or better still, simply avoid iPhone altogether. It may be a nice phone. but it is also a slavery machine. Unfortunately.
A Reddit post over the weekend has drawn a flurry of interest after an iPhone 6s owner reported that a battery replacement significantly increased the device’s performance running iOS 11. The ensuing discussion thread, also picked up by readers in the MacRumors forum, has led to speculation that Apple intentionally slows down older phones to retain a full day’s charge if the battery has degraded over time.
According to TeckFire, the author of the original Reddit post, their iPhone had been very slow after updating to iOS 11, especially compared to their brother’s iPhone 6 Plus, so they decided to do some research with GeekBench and battery life apps, and ended up replacing the battery.
Wear level was somewhere around 20% on my old battery. I did a Geekbench score, and found I was getting 1466 Single and 2512 Multi. This did not change wether I had low power mode on or off. After changing my battery, I did another test to check if it was just a placebo. Nope. 2526 Single and 4456 Multi. From what I can tell, Apple slows down phones when their battery gets too low, so you can still have a full days charge.
Just over a year ago, Apple launched a repair program for iPhone 6s owners after some users reported their devices were unexpectedly shutting down. Apple said the problem was down to a manufacturing issue affecting a “very small” number of iPhone 6s devices, and offered battery replacements free of charge to owners of devices within a limited serial number range.
Around two months later, Apple released iOS 10.2.1 and said the update resulted in an 80 percent reduction in unexpected shutdowns on iPhone 6s and a 70 percent reduction on iPhone 6 devices. However, Apple explained this was about fixing a more widely reported issue caused by uneven power delivery from older batteries, and claimed it was separate from the manufacturing fault that had caused it to recall a select number of iPhone 6s devices.
This weekend’s Reddit thread – running to over 500 comments as of writing – appears to have kicked off a wave of speculation about whether the two shutdown issues are in fact related, and that Apple’s fix involves dynamically throttling the phones’ maximum clock speeds relative to battery output (voltage), to prevent them from drawing too much power and shutting down.
Reports that the performance of iPhone 6 series models can be improved by replacing the battery aren’t entirely new, but the suggestion that Apple is intentionally throttling the performance of older devices, for whatever reason, is bound to cause controversy. We’ve contacted Apple for comment or clarification.
In the meantime, users interested in checking their phone’s performance are also using the free CpuDasherX app to compare running clock speeds (a factory iPhone 6s comes in at 1,848MHz, for example). Let us know your findings in the comments below. Lastly, it’s worth noting that DIY iPhone battery replacements or repairs performed by a third party will void any Apple warranty still covering said devices… Source
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BoyCriedWolfBlitzer: This isn’t a conspiracy theory it’s a FACT
BrocoliAssassin: My Iphone 5s has been working perfectly fine all these years..no problems…. battery is great…
Did the update.. now I can have my phone at 50% or so..listen to a few songs on my soundcloud and its dead…
TilapiaTale: I bought a 6s as an emergency/extra phone right before the 7 came out. But I barely used it, my work phone is my main phone. I had no apps installed on this 6s, I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve used the browser, and I have only about 20 pics saved. I rarely have location or imessage turned on. And never wifi-assist, which is a known battery-drain. It’s basically a “virgin”. Aaaaaand.. it started to get f**ky within a few months, right after its first update(coinciding w the 7 release). And every update since it’s gotten worse- I have stopped updating, but will never buy another iPhone. I still have barely used it, it’s like a 1980s Cadillac driven by a grandma and kept in a garage with only 2,000 miles on it – so I consider my situation a “control” example in the theory, if we are even still calling it a “theory”. More like an “open secret”.
Apple is sh*t, let’s face it. They still haven’t owned up to the magnitude of the graphics failure in their laptops a few years back. They offered “repairs”, but only after the likely majority of those affected had already moved on to new laptops. It’s all diabolical, but predictable.
imdatim: Never update new firmware with your old phone
ABagOfFritos: I just want to share a somewhat related anecdote about iphones. I have a 6S, and a few months back I dropped it several times in one week and the speaker and microphone stopped working so phonecalls and voice recordings became impossible. The speaker would spew static or not work at all, and the mic picked up no sound. This was about two weeks before ios 11 was released.
Now if you’re decently knowledgeable of computers and electronics in general, these symptoms were that of very clear hardware failure and I knew I had to take the thing in to replace or fix. I just dealt with it for a while since I don’t make calls often enough that it was a major concern but then I accidentally updated to ios 11 when I was drunk. Everything started working after the update. I firmly believe that apple could be using the accelerometer to detect drops to mimic hardware failures to push updates as the updates (especially major ones) are giving them additional access to our information every time.
This would push many people to just outright buy a new phone as well, so it’s a win/win for them to pull something like this and it bothers me.
piles_of_SSRIs: I’ve lost a shit ton of battery reading this post on my iPhone 6, it’s so fucked up it makes me never want to purchase another apple product being that their products aren’t exactly affordable. I could goto a pawn shop and get an older phone but eventually that phone will poop out as well.
Also WTF is up with iPhone chargers? They goto shit almost immediately, even the official Apple ones.
Stewdill51: Since the update for iOS 11 my brother in law and sisters phones have been having serious battery drain issues. I’ve told them they needed to switch to android for years but, they are like well we are in their ecosystem now and it’s uh easier. Me when they have issues ¯_(ツ)_/¯
Vault32: Since the newest phone came out, practically to the day, our iPhone 5s (my wife and Mine) have had continuous and consistent battery drainage- to the point that we have to keep it plugged into the wall or car at all times. I’ve got maybe 2 apps on mine, send any photos I take to the cloud and delete them for space, and clear my web memory constantly but my available memory is next to nothing. I can take maybe 3 pics before I’m told there’s no more free space- after two years of owning, this is new to the past couple months.
feilox: It’s been known for years Apple is a proponent of “planned obsolescence. There’s even documentary on it and Apple is on top of their “examples”.
shrillingchicken: IOS upgraded my iPhone 5 some time ago. Result: battery life more than halved.
CastleFrankl: This is only one example that I always use Androids with custom ROM. After a while, when it start zagg down, I reflash. Good as new again.
Only phone for me that never throttle down, is my CopperheadOS. 8.1 now. Just faster and smoother. Shall even stockpile a few of them for when battery gets depleted after 500 cycles.
auneakeffect: “and I would have gotten away with it too if it hadnt been for you meddling kids”
Lutherkiss3: Yep it’s a “tech drug” and we are all addicted and need our fix. Those updates are bs, if you refuse to update your iPhone it literally freezes any ap use or Internet use until you succumb. Hence the Apple icon, an apple, the forbidden fruit with one bite out of the fruit hmmm
UphillGinger: This is not exclusive to Apple. Samsung and Sony do the same. Just google any older phone model followed by “battery issue” or “battery draining fast” and you will see tons of people who share the problem
Digiguy25: Happened to my wife’s phone which was an iPhone 6! Of course it conveniently happened 1 month after we had paid off the phone. Thy want us to continuously pay for these phones, it’s BS and makes me want to go back to flip phones.
logga: I see this story every year and I’m fed up with it.
To address the article first, this is good system management. It’s reducing the CPU clock-speed dynamically during a very processor intensive task, i.e Geekbench (which maxes the phone’s potential out). A scenario which wouldn’t normally happen in day-to-day use. it’s literally stopping the phone from breaking as the battery simply cannot handle it. Or would you prefer a high Geekbench score and a broken phone?
Your phone is an “always on” mobile computer, an incredibly advanced piece of technology that most of us couldn’t have even imagined possible when we were younger. It’s a device used consistently daily (constantly for some), carried everywhere from the freezing cold winters to the hot humid summers. They get thrown around, dropped and have their memory filled to capacity, yet most never even turn them off.
Li-ion batteries are the only viable power cell (at present) for these devices, it’s a battery that actually requires a bit of maintenance yet most don’t power cycle them properly, further damaging the cell over years of daily drain, charge, drain in ever changing environments. Maybe the latest version of iOS is more taxing on the device as Apps demand more power, memory and CPU power, which results in a faster battery drain.
However, we expect these years old devices to run the very latest software, latest Apps, and function like they did when new. Really? Mobile technology moves forward perpetually. Would we rather innovation slowed down and the capabilities of new mobile phones was throttled so that the old phones still keep up?
Apple could easily drop support for older devices and you’d have the same people moaning that they can’t get the latest version of iOS. App developers want to make use of the latest hardware, API’s and so on, if they don’t fully optimise their App for a 3/4 year old device then it will cause slow-down and battery drain. I don’t see the finger pointed at them though.
Apple develops iOS to run on the latest hardware. It’s then tailored to work on older devices, for which they do for around 4 years. No other manufacturer does this and it’s not a cheap thing to maintain.
Would you expect a 4 year old “gaming” PC to run games at the same resolution and FPS as one released (at the same price point) in 2017. The same goes for laptop batteries, they age.
I personally think that for a device which is so heavily relied upon in our day-to-day lives, it doesn’t seem so unreasonable to upgrade it every few years.
Edit: If you have an iPhone which is draining ridiculously fast and it’s only a couple of years old then take it to Apple, quite often they have replacement programs for specific models. It’s happened with a few of the models. I had my 6s battery replaced for free.
Install Geekbench on your phone and run a test with each update, it keeps a history.
I’ve been doing it on my Iphone 7 plus and the score has consistently gone UP with each update.
I’ve just checked now and the score is 3488 single-core, 6011 multi-core.
A few months ago it was 3301 single and 5411 multi.
originalskin: I’ve got the 6plus and immediately after trying the public beta it slowed to a crawl. More than 20secs from hitting a button to anything happening.
I’ve got plenty of memory left hardly any apps etc.
The main public release of 11 made it speed up dramatically, almost back to normal. Then every further release it’s getting slower than ever before.
Time to move away from apple!
Torx: The only reason i can see them doing this is to give old phones better battery life on batteries that are…old and worn out.
Dunno if its a good or bad thing but apple should give the user that choice to throttle down.
Do a benchmark on your phone new, then do it again in 2yrs afters plethora of updates. I believe android does this too, weakens your old phone so you buy into new.
BoppeBoye: Can someone explain this in laymans terms? Or “like I’m five” I guess.
DrDerpinheimer: I suppose it should be an option to do one or the other. It’s not inherently bad to do this, but it is wrong to hide it and claim to fix the issue when it was really a bandaid.
A: Your battery degrades 20% and you get 20% less battery life
B: Your battery degrades 20% and your phone runs 20% slower.
Default would of course be “A”. Apple uses “B”.
Since you can’t (easily) replace Apple phone batteries, I’m not sure this really counts as planned obsolescence. I used to replace old phones because the battery degraded – the extra speed was just a bonus.
Pebo1: This is a shock to no one.
hidflect1: Critics of Apple will not be allowed permission to have their ashes scattered at the base of Steve Jobs’ statue.
masterreal: Finally someone caught these bastards. It was well known fact – slow reminder from Apple to buy new phone every 2-3 years. I’d wish someone would file the class action suit against them, I’d happily join.
Dummy_Detector: F*** you apple. Don’t buy anything from them, tell your friends and family never to buy anything from them. Let the dominos fall. We can realistically fuck over their profits with enough of a boycott.
Mr_Quagmire: THEN STOP BUYING IPHONES
Get this non-conspiracy shit out of here.
Moral of the story: Apple will never let you stay with your old phone. They will not hesitate to F you just so you will buy their newest nonsense (which is ironically always one step behind some of their bigger competitors like Samsung, technologically speaking).
Sorry, I can never respect a company who instead of innovating a better and compelling product, choose to sabotage those who do not fancy upgrade just for the sake of having a (meaningless) new phone … Shame on Apple.
Whaddaya Say?