Multinational technology company Apple on Thursday apologised to its customers over the misunderstanding about an update that makes older batteries of iPhones slow down to prevent an unexpected shutdown. Nine lawsuits were filed against the company for fraud, after the company said it slowed down older iPhones to compensate for poor battery performance.
“We have never – and would never – do anything to intentionally shorten the life of any Apple product, or degrade the user experience to drive customer upgrades,” the firm said in a statement. “About a year ago in iOS 10.2.1, we delivered a software update that improves power management during peak workloads to avoid unexpected shutdowns on iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, and iPhone SE.”
The operating system adjusts the performance of some system components when it needs to prevent a shutdown, the statement said. “While these changes may go unnoticed, in some cases users may experience longer launch times for apps and other reductions in performance.”
Apple also said it would make it cheaper to replace batteries outside warranty by $50 (about Rs 3,200), to $29 (about Rs 1,900), for those with an iPhone 6 or later versions.
On December 20, Apple admitted that it ensures iPhones with older batteries slow down so that they do not start shutting down unexpectedly. While some users said it was a strategy adopted by Apple to force customers to upgrade their phones, the company had denied it.
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