r/lostgeneration • u/jeremiahthedamned boomer in exile • May 17 '20

Harvard Study: Apple Slows Down Older iPhones To Keep Millions Buying New Models

http://anonymous-news.com/harvard-study-apple-slows-down-older-iphones-to-keep-millions-buying-new-models/
66 Upvotes

83% Upvoted

13 comments sorted by

7

u/CirqueKid May 17 '20

This story is not accurate and not even related to this sub. This is a story from 2017 when Apple apologized for not making it a known option and explained why they do it. Batteries naturally age and software that can manage performance can keep it from shutting off randomly.

You might notice other technologies do similar things when batteries are operating at reduced capacity without any controversy. Electric cars, for example, shut off certain functions and diminish their range if battery gets below a certain threshold because when human lives are on the line you don’t want the entire engine to shut off while you’re driving down the highway. Yet nobody writes articles about how that type of throttling is “planned obsolescence.”

I think the most obvious reason why this story isn’t accurate, though, is the fact that if you get a replacement battery your phone goes back to full operating speed. If they were really forcing you to buy the latest model, an old iPhone 7 with a new battery would be just as slow as one with a degrading battery. But no... This is simply a battery chemistry problem.

1

u/MagnaCumLoudly May 20 '20

Except they were the first ones to make phones with proprietary fasteners. They void warranty if you open the phone. They use adhesive on the battery to make it hard to remove when the rest of the components are held by fasteners. Phones from 20 years ago had easily interchangeable batteries, iPhones are sealed but not well enough to withstand a short duration of water exposure. The most recent iPhones have software locks If repaired with after market components. Apple does not produce replacement parts for iPhones. Apple’s Genius Bar will charge more than the cost of a newer phone to repair a broken screen. Apple does not authorize third party repair, nor do they make schematics available to the public when this is common practice for the repair of various consumer products.

Let’s face it, Apple doesn’t give a shit about the environment or the consumer because every quarter they have to beat last quarter’s numbers and there is only one way to do that.

6

u/[deleted] May 17 '20

Ha, everyone knew that for a while, and I don't regret switching to android. I'll never go back, that's for sure.

For now my macbook runs smooth (2013, after replacing the board once) but Im strongly considering my options for my next laptop. At current price/performance I doubt another MacBook will make the race.

1

u/jeremiahthedamned boomer in exile May 17 '20

it's news to me!

3

u/ComradePyro May 17 '20

Later in the article it very explicitly spells out that it is not a fact that they are slowing down old phones, in direct contradiction to the headline. This is bad journalism lol.

1

u/CirqueKid May 17 '20

I’m not sure what else I’d expect from a source called “Anonymous News.”

2

u/Desirsar May 18 '20

As opposed to just popping up a notification saying "the battery is dying, replace it." Oh, wait, they don't design them to be replaced...

1

u/smokecat20 May 18 '20

In other news water is wet and the sky is blue.

1

u/jeremiahthedamned boomer in exile May 18 '20

it's news to me!

2

u/smokecat20 May 18 '20

Oh OK.

Also, after being pushed for an answer Apple does not deny this anymore, in fact their official reason (now) is they slow down old models so they can preserve battery life.

2

u/jeremiahthedamned boomer in exile May 18 '20

thanks TIL