Apple apologises for slowing iPhone, slashes battery prices

Apple has posted a letter on its website apologizing for how it handled performance on iPhones with older batteries and offered a large reduction in the price of replacement batteries for the next year.

“We’ve been hearing feedback from our customers about the way we handle performance for iPhones with older batteries and how we have communicated that process. We know that some of you feel Apple has let you down. We apologize. There’s been a lot of misunderstanding about this issue, so we would like to clarify and let you know about some changes we’re making,” Apple said in a letter posted to its website.

To make things up, the Cupertino based tech giant is dropping the cost of iPhone battery replacements for anyone with an iPhone 6 from $79 to $29. “Apple is reducing the price of an out-of-warranty iPhone battery replacement by $50 — from $79 to $29 — for anyone with an iPhone 6 or later whose battery needs to be replaced, starting in late January and available worldwide through December 2018.”

Moreover, to address the issue, the company says it will soon release a new version of iOS that will offer users more insight into battery health. The letter also throws light on how batteries age. The company has explained that all rechargeable batteries are “consumable components that become less effective as they chemically age.” More information regarding the specifics of the replacement battery program will be available soon.

Earlier this week, Apple confirmed that it is underclocking older iPhones purposely in order to avoid the devices from shutting down because of ageing batteries. Since confirming that it slows down older iPhones, the company has been hit with several lawsuits. In the latest of a number of lawsuits filed by iPhone owners contended that Apple defrauded iPhone users by slowing devices without signalling to compensate for poor battery performance.