Following some rather technical research and testing from Geekbench, Apple have finally admitted that they do indeed slow down iPhones.
It’s long been a suspicion of iPhone owners, who tend to feel that their handset slows just before the launch of the next Apple phone. Now though, we have proof and a statement by Apple themselves which confirms that some iPhone models are deliberately hindered performance-wise.
Apple call this an attempt to “prolong life” and, like us humans, seems to want us to believe that age means you can’t perform as well any more.
Despite me using this old man as a reference to the “older iPhones”, some of those iPhones aren’t that old at all.
The company states that the battery performance degrades over time, so they put measures in place that prevent the OS being so “demanding” on the battery. The admission came after customer performance tests were shared on Reddit, and customers found that performance dramatically improved if the battery was replaced.
Apple tell us that..
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 down 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.
Come on, let’s not dress this up. The goal is to make your phone slow down as it ages. End of. It’s not up for debate.
If this was genuinely done to help users, you’d think they would have told us in advance.
Due to this enforced slow down, using a newer Phone means you’re suddenly shocked by the performance gain, even if it’s the same model. The fact is that Apple are purposefully degrading the performance of your iPhone. It’s like a car being stuck in “limp home” or “eco” mode all the time just because it’s a couple of years old.
If you want to spend a bit less money getting that performance back, you could instead replace the battery, but we suspect many will instead go for the newer model.