Apple has confirmed it is slowing down the performance of older iPhones, but for a good reason.
Old iPhones have seen a perceived slowdown in performance with every iOS update throughout the years. Last week, Reddit users have pointed out what seems to be a bigger problem in this trend in a subthread. This prompted Geekbench developer John Poole to map out the performances of iPhone 6S and iPhone 7 through time.
His findings show that the Apple iOS 10.2.1 and 11.2.0 introduced the throttling of CPU for various devices, as a bid to prevent random shutdowns. The iOS 10.2.1 does it for iPhone 6 and iPhone 6s, while iOS 11.2.0 introduced it to iPhone 7.
This is specific, however, to units with older batteries. As Redditors noted, replacing their battery brought back the original performance and CPU clock speeds to normal.
But as mentioned by Poole in his post, this slowdown of gadgets might be making some users think that the solution is buying a newer unit, not knowing that changing the battery alone will improve the performance of what they already have.
In a recently released statement, however, Apple clarified it is indeed slowing down the performance of slower gadgets, but not to urge consumers to switch to newer models.
"Our goal is to deliver the best experience for customers, which includes overall performance and prolonging the life of their devices," the tech giant said.
Apple explained that lithium-ion batteries become "less capable of supplying peak current demands" when exposed to cold environments, have a low battery charge, or as they age over time. As a result, the device shuts down on its own 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," the statement continued.
The last paragraph basically confirms what Poole already mapped out. While this explains that the company has actually been trying to help consumers instead of trying to make more money out of them, some think that a little bit more transparency could have gone a long way.
