Apple Apologizes For Slow iPhone Issue, Says It Would Never Knowingly Shorten Life Of Products

In the face of severe backlash and multiple lawsuits, Apple finally issued an apologetic statement on its website regarding older iPhones and how it handled performance issues on them.

REUTERS

Apple didn't mince any words in the letter, starting off with an apology to its users for "letting you down" and not being more transparent with the 'older iPhones slowing down due to older batteries' issue.

Apple also pointed out an accompanying technical article in its Knowledge Base, emphasizing on how certain iOS-level and other changes made a year ago were regrettably slowing down iPhones with older batteries.

Furthermore, Apple will also offer a one time out-of-warranty battery replacement for older iPhones affected for a reduced cost of $29 (approximately Rs 1900) instead of $79.

The battery replacement scheme will run for a year from late January till December 2018.

reuters

In its clarification, Apple also spoke about some changes it's making towards being more transparent about how older batteries slowdown iPhones in the longer run. To that end, an iOS update is planned for early 2018, offering new features that give users more information about the health of their iPhone¡¯s battery -- this way users can take remedial measures, if their iPhone's battery is indeed slowing down performance.

This latest statement comes a week after Apple confirmed that it did intentionally slow down older iPhones due to battery concerns, and the admission of guilt by Apple obviously attracted a lot of negative reactions. Why Apple wouldn't be honest and transparent about this issue right from the beginning, if it was acting in the interest of its consumers (as it claims), is beyond our understanding. At a time when Apple is charging over a lakh for its newest flagship model, the iPhone X, one would imagine the company to be forthright and upfront about any issues pertaining to the quality and durability of its products -- and that is what this current statement from Apple's all about.

Too little too late or will this restore Apple fans' trust in the company?

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