APPLE DELIBERATELY SLOW DOWN OLD IPHONES: THIS IS WHY...
Apple finally confirmed that more and more users are thinking: It is deliberately slowing down the processor of old iPhones after the new iPhone was released. But before you want to burn down Apple headquarters, read more to know the full story and whether you are affected.
The main reason why Apple started slowing down old processors is due to the battery in the iPhone you own. iPhone uses lithium-ion batteries. These batteries deteriorate with age and thus cannot supply "peak current demands", according to Apple. In other terms, when the iPhone's processor needs to perform at full-speed, the battery can't give it enough power to do that.
By slowing down the processor, the battery can meet the processor's demands. Basically, your phone will be slower, but the idea is to keep your phone functional, rather than having it shut down unexpectedly. As said, older iPhones were shutting down at peak performance since the battery's voltage could not keep up. It is said that Apple has to do this, but lithium-ion batteries do pose such problems.
So far Apple says it has slowed down the processors for:
- iPhone 7
- iPhone 6s Plus
- iPhone 6s
- iPhone 6
- iPhone SE
How to know if Apple is slowing down your iPhone
If you think your phone is among those that Apple has slowed down due to battery issues, there is an app you can download to check:
1. Download Geekbench ($0.99) or CPU Dasher X ($0.99) from the App Store on your iPhone.
2. Run the app's test once
3. Check the CPU Frequency to know if it's lower than the advertised frequency it should be at:
So it's true Apple intentionally slow down old iPhones. Proof: My iPhone 6 was bought 3years ago and recently got really slow. APP 'CPU DasherX' shows iPhone CPU is under clocked running at 600MHz. After a iPhone battery replacement. CPU speed resumed to factory setting 1400MHz. pic.twitter.com/pML3y0Jkp2
— Sam_Si (@sam_siruomu) December 20, 2017
Here’s what each phone’s clock speed should be at:
- iPhone 7: 2350 MHz
- iPhone 6s Plus: 1848 MHz
- iPhone 6s: 1848 MHz
- iPhone 6: 1400 MHz
- iPhone SE: 1848 MHz
If the results are more than 10% lower, then there is a good chance Apple is throttling your iPhone processor. The big thing that Apple hid was the fact that you could replace your battery instead of buying a new iPhone.
“Users expect either full performance or reduced performance with a notification that their phone is in low-power mode,” says John Poole of Geekbench. “This fix creates a third, unexpected state… (it) will also cause users to think, ‘my phone is slow so I should replace it’ not, ‘my phone is slow so I should replace its battery’.”
Do you think Apple is wrong about slowing down old iPhones? Should they at least inform users about it, and tell them that a battery replacement can fix the problem?