The controversy

Apple has been accused of slowing people old iPhones in order to sell them new ones. And that accusation is ridiculous. The reality is that Apple does slow old iPhones at times (peak performance) in order to EXTEND its life not to reduce it.

See Apple official statement: A Message to Our Customers about iPhone Batteries and Performance

All batteries degrade over time and can cause the device to shut off randomly, not be able to hold a charge or not power at all. In order to reduce this problem, Apple implemented a software feature that reduces the stresses on the battery at times.

People looking to sensationalize anything Apple related had been spreading the false narrative that Apple does this to sell more phones when the fact is that iPhones remain usable over 2 times longer than comparable high-end smartphones running Android. And this is thanks to Apple looking to maximize the battery life.

The One Apple Failing

If Apple is guilty of something is in not making this clear at first. A lot of people didn’t know they could just replace the battery on their old iPhones and bring them up to speed. This is been addressed on an incoming software update that will give the user more information on the state of their batteries.

A great solution: Battery replacement for just $29

If you notice your iPhone been slower, shutting off randomly even when the battery says it has charge left that means your battery is bad and putting a fresh one in will drastically increase your iPhone performance and extend its life.

How to get a new battery?

Apple usually charges $79 for a battery replacement but only if the phone battery health is below 80 %. That's changing at least until December 2018. Starting now if you have an iPhone 6 or later you can have your battery replaced for just $29 and the only condition is that the phone has no damage. The 80% health requirement has also been removed so over 500 million iPhones are eligible to have a new battery installed for just $29.

Elegible devices:

iPhone 6
iPhone 6 Plus
iPhone SE
iPhone 6S
iPhone 6S Plus
iPhone 7
iPhone 7 Plus
iPhone 8
iPhone 8 Plus
iPhone X

You have until December 2018 to get a fresh battery at $29. If you have an iPhone 8 or X I will wait until December to get a new one as your device one is already new but for anyone with a 7 or below I get one immediately.

So in short

Apple was making something good that was poorly communicated and uneducated or malicious people used to slander Apple but Apple responded by clarifying the “issue” and even giving it’s customers a $50 discount on batteries.

And this is what separates Apple from the competition. That been said I will like to see Apple and other major players investing heavy on battery R&D since the current state of battery tech is not optimal.