Apple has recently confirmed that they have been deliberately slowing down older iPhones in an attempt to improve performance.
Certain models including the iPhone 6, iPhone 6S, iPhone SE, iPhone 7 (more to come in the future) run into trouble when the iPhone tries to draw power from the battery in order to run the phone’s processor. If the battery in the phone is in a poor condition this could cause the phone to shut down, as it can’t safely supply the power to the phone’s hardware. Apple has limited the processor speed on these phones to prevent this from happening.
To check if you could be effected follow the steps below.
How to tell if Apple is slowing down my iPhone
The effected models:
- iPhone 6
- iPhone 6S
- iPhone SE
- iPhone 7
Additional models will be affected in future.
Check your iOS version
These changes first came in for the iPhone 6, iPhone 6S and iPhone SE with iOS 10.2.1. For the iPhone 7, the changes came in with iOS 11.2. You can double check the version of iOS you’re currently running, by going to into Settings > General > About.
Check the status of your battery
The health of your battery will dictate weather you’ll be impacted by these changes or not. Batteries will be less effective the more they are used, so if you’ve had your battery for a few years it’s more than likely going to be effected.
To get an idea of your battery’s health, go into the App Store and download Battery Life Doctor. Fire up the app, and go to the details on “Battery Life”. The following will rate the performance of your battery, as well as give you an impression of its wear level.
If you’re using one of these phones on the mentioned iOS versions, and your battery’s health comes back as poor, you are likely to be effected by these changes. Replacing your iPhone’s battery is probably your best course of action from here, which can be done through Apple.
If you’re a new iPhone user or have been a veteran for years, you’ll find something useful in our collection of iPhone tips & tricks.
The wider issue here is not that Apple are slowing down older iPhones to promote performance, it’s that they didn’t tell anyone they were doing it.
iPhones already feature a low power mode, and the inclusion of this hidden power throttling adds another layer of power saving that the user doesn’t have control over.
If your phone’s battery is running down quickly, you’re likely to believe the obvious solution is to replace the battery. If your phone feels sluggish and takes time opening up apps and web pages, you’re more likely to believe you need a new phone.
Some critics have accused Apple of masking poor battery performance by making your phone slower, which if looked at from a slightly cynical perspective, could make people believe they’re in need of a new phone when just a new battery would do.
Much of the storm surrounding this could have been avoided had Apple just announced the changes directly, as much of the negative feedback about this situation isn’t so much about the changes themselves, but the way in which they were handled.
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