Apple Shockingly Admits It Slows Down Old iPhones, Confirming All Of Our Worst Fears

The cat is finally out of the bag ladies and gentlemen. Earlier this week, it became apparent that the rumours about Apple slowing down older iPhones are true. In fact, Apple has even come out and said as much now, so you can put those doubts to rest.

Of course, there is more to the story as well than just simple capitalist greed. As it turns out, it seems a module of Apple¡¯s iOS slows down devices with older batteries, in order to preserve their battery life. After all, Lithium-ion batteries degrade over time, so limiting the processor¡¯s clock speed makes sure the iPhone isn¡¯t pushing itself until the point it goes dead in your hand.

Now, Apple has admitted that the findings are true. The company does in fact take measures to reduce power demands in iPhones with older batteries. That¡¯s why replacing your phone battery seems to give a boost of speed you haven¡¯t seen in a while.

¡°Last year we released a feature for iPhone 6, iPhone 6s and iPhone SE to smooth out the instantaneous peaks (a large burst of current supplied from the battery) only when needed, to prevent the device from unexpectedly shutting down during these conditions,¡± Apple said in a statement to Reuters. ¡°We¡¯ve now extended that feature to iPhone 7 with iOS 11.2, and plan to add support for other products in the future.¡±

When an iPhone¡¯s processor suddenly draws a large amount of power from an old battery, the current is delivered in spikes that can damage the internal electronics. Because of this, the iPhone would likely shut down to protect the expensive components.

This was a pretty common problem in 2016, forcing Apple to come up with a software fix. Unfortunately, that also resulted in older phones slowing down when running an old battery. Thankfully, all you need to sort that out is a new battery, though that¡¯s not exactly cheap either.

It's going to cost you to replace the battery, as well as specifically having to visit an Apple service centre to get it done, instead of just being able to buy a battery and pop it in yourself. That and the fact that your phone shouldn't be slowing down in the first place, even as a side effect of a bugfix. It's way past time the Apple figured out a different patch method that can keep your iPhone safe from power spikes without resulting in it's processor trudging along at the speed of potato.