Apple has today admitted to slowing down old models of the iPhone as they age – so you have to buy another phone.
The lucrative tech brand, which made $8.7 billion profit in the third quarter of this year, confirmed suspicions that they slow down older iPhones to encourage people to upgrade.
The latest iPhone 8 costs punters up to £700 to buy new, although some may be discouraged to let go of their money given the latest revelations.
The practice of slowing down models was confirmed after a customer shared performance tests on Reddit, suggesting their iPhone 6S had slowed down considerably as it had aged but had suddenly sped up again after the battery had been replaced.
Apple say they only slow down models because the phones’ battery performance diminishes over time, adding that they want to “prolong the life” of customers’ devices.
“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,” the company said.
“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.”
RELATED
