It's still amazing to think that a seeming conspiracy theory was true: On Dec. 20, Apple admitted it'd been secretly slowing down iPhones as their batteries aged. The company's explanation: The throttled speeds kept those phones from unexpectedly shutting down.
That explanation wasn't enough for some, who accused Apple of quietly driving people to upgrade their phones to fill the company's coffers. Lawsuits have already been filed.
Now, just over a week later, Apple has issued a formal apology to its customers that tackles the accusation head-on. It also promises a $29 battery replacement that, Apple says, will immediately return an iPhone 6 or later model to its original performance. The new batteries, which normally cost $79, will be available starting in January and through 2018, the company said Thursday in a message to customers on its site.
In addition, Apple will issue an iOS software update with features "that give users more visibility into the health of their iPhone's battery, so they can see for themselves if its condition is affecting 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. Our goal has always been to create products that our customers love, and making iPhones last as long as possible is an important part of that," Apple said.
"We know that some of you feel Apple has let you down. We apologize."
It's too early to say whether an apology and a cheaper battery replacement will be enough to restore full trust in Apple, one of the the most valuable brands in the world and a company that prides itself on touting top customer satisfaction ratings at each new product launch.
Noted Apple watcher (and Tumblr co-founder) Marco Arment tweeted that "Apple has incurred huge reputation damage from the battery-throttling issue that will likely linger for years," but added that "this is a good move that will start to rebuild trust once the update is out." Creative Strategies analyst Ben Bajarin tweeted that"it looks like they are stepping in [the] right direction."
Apple didn't immediately respond to an additional request for comment, including a question about why its batteries experience unexpected shutdowns to begin with. It's important to note that Apple isn't actually apologizing for slowing down old iPhones. The company still argues throttling speeds was the right decision to keep phones from shutting down. The apology is more about Apple's choice to keep the decision secret until now.
Source:Cnet
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