Worth mentioning here is that this wasn't just about the "sneaky" fix for battery degradation, it was about doing this <i>without notice</i>, and having internal tooling that would deny a replacement (even at full retail price) if the battery was above an arbitrary health threshold (but still low enough to cause throttling).<p>Before Apple changed their tune, if you read about this, and went into an Apple store for a replacement, they absolutely would not give you one, even if you paid full retail for it.<p>This left people in a no-win situation. The only way you could get a working device was to have a third party replacement done (and kill your warranty) or shell out for a new phone.
Interesting side note:<p>Apple has completely wiped their battery-gate "apology"[0] letter from their website. It simply doesn't exist any more. If you visit that URL, you're immediately redirected (301) to a general battery information page which (surprise!) has no mention of the surrounding controversy.<p>Make of that what you will.<p>[0] It was only an apology in the <i>"we're sorry you got upset"</i> sense but it was something. Here's the URL: <a href="https://www.apple.com/iphone-battery-and-performance/" rel="nofollow">https://www.apple.com/iphone-battery-and-performance/</a> Here's the content that used to be at that page: <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20171229003922/https://www.apple.com/iphone-battery-and-performance/" rel="nofollow">https://web.archive.org/web/20171229003922/https://www.apple...</a><p>For those that need it, here's some context: <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2017/12/28/apple-apologizes-for-not-being-clearer-about-slowing-down-iphones-with-older-batteries/" rel="nofollow">https://techcrunch.com/2017/12/28/apple-apologizes-for-not-b...</a>
So, I'm somehow developing a pro-Apple bias these days. This whole batterygate to me is kind of based on conjecture-- that Apple slowed old phones with the intention to sell more new ones. If there's any supporting evidence, or anything that's come up in discovery that Apple acted in bad faith, I'd possibly change my (admittedly biased) mind.<p>But really, slowing the phones down to extend battery life is a reasonable tradeoff and there's just not a preponderance of evidence suggesting Apple acted in its own interests and hurt existing users. The main problem is this "feature" wasn't out in the open, but again, it just doesn't seem that bad to me.
Yet they're still ignoring Flexgate which affects devices made across a number of years. I paid an arm and a let for a Macbook Pro (that's what they cost in my country), only to have it turned into a paperweight by a manufacturing defect that Apple acknowledges but won't remedy except for devices made in 2016.<p><a href="https://www.tomsguide.com/news/apple-sued-over-macbook-pro-flexgate-what-you-need-to-know" rel="nofollow">https://www.tomsguide.com/news/apple-sued-over-macbook-pro-f...</a><p><a href="https://www.macrumors.com/2020/08/20/apple-faces-another-flexgate-lawsuit/" rel="nofollow">https://www.macrumors.com/2020/08/20/apple-faces-another-fle...</a><p><a href="https://support.apple.com/13-inch-macbook-pro-display-backlight-service" rel="nofollow">https://support.apple.com/13-inch-macbook-pro-display-backli...</a><p>EDIT: Astounding to see I'm getting downvotes here. I mean, what kind of mindset must one have to see regular people getting screwed over by a multibillion dollar corporation like this, and then side with the corporation. It boggles the mind.
As usual, it doesn’t seem like the end consumer benefits from these settlements.<p>I would like to see one time where the end user receives a free iPhone if their model was included in the lawsuit.
I think it's clear Apple intentionally* degrades software quality on older iphone/mac models in order to drive purchase of newer hardware.<p>I've been considering switching away from Apple hardware, not because of hardware quality, but because of software.<p>* By pushing software updates optimized to new hardware with obvious regressions on older models.
The good news is - partly as a result of this, anyone can get a genuine battery replacement by paying $79 to Apple or an AASP. If you have a phone that's an iPhone 8 or later, you can definitely skip upgrading this year and get a battery replacement instead.
still less than what they made on "oh yeah your phone is old and slow, but totally not broken!!1. Let me upgrade you for only $499.95" bullshit up-sell
From the BBC coverage (<a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-54996601" rel="nofollow">https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-54996601</a>):<p>> The tech titan also agreed for the next three years to provide "truthful information" about iPhone power management across its website, software update notes and iPhone settings.<p>Great! They must be truthful for the next 3 years... and then?
Last update recently applied to my iphone 6 is doing it again... touchscreen lockups to the point of frustration ( can't scroll, can't type when messaging, etc... ), whereas 2 months ago it wasn't a problem... seems to me every product cycle for apple soon causes degredation of older phone's perceived GUI performance, and what a coincidence, just in time for Christmas!