Apple offers cheap battery replacements following iPhone 6 'throttling' complaints
Apple reduces price of battery replacements to mollify angry users
Apple has offered iPhone users new batteries for rock-bottom prices following an outcry over its 'throttling' of old devices in iOS operating system updates.
It comes as the company faces a trio of lawsuits instigated by angy users.
In mid-December, Apple was forced to confirm what many had suspected: it was deliberately crippling the performance of older iPhones when users upgraded to newer versions of iOS.
It claimed it was doing this in order to prevent processors from demanding too much power from older and degraded Lithium-ion battery packs.
Batteries typically decline in power output over time, reducing the amount of power they are able to provide to the device.
The company is already facing lawsuits from three plaintiffs in the US who have claimed that Apple failed to inform them about the processor throttling and that such enforced slowdowns were unethical and deceptive - an attempt to force people into upgrading.
"Apple's failure to inform consumers these updates would wreak havoc on the phone's performance is being deemed purposeful, and if proven, constitutes the unlawful and decisive withholding of material information," said James Vlahakis from the Sulaiman Law Group, representing the plaintiffs taking legal action in Chicago.
While these lawsuits bubbled away, Apple released a further statement on its deliberate slowdowns of older iPhones, explaining how Lithium-ion batteries age and why processor throttling is needed to prevent unexpected shutdowns, noting that when an iPhone battery is replaced performance hops back to normal.
it has also thrown-in a steep reduction in the price of out-of-warranty battery replacements for iPhones.
"We've always wanted our customers to be able to use their iPhones for as long as possible. We're proud that Apple products are known for their durability, and for holding their value longer than our competitors' devices," claimed the company.
"Apple is reducing the price of an out-of-warranty iPhone battery replacement by £54 — from £79 to £25 — for anyone with an iPhone 6 or later whose battery needs to be replaced, available worldwide until December 2018."
Apple will also bring out an iOS update enabling users to better see the health of their batteries.