Apple is in trouble with Brazilian authorities for throttling the performance of older iPhones.
A state agency dedicated to tackling consumer issues has demanded that Apple explains to customers how they can obtain cheap battery replacements. Company employees have reportedly refused to sign the notification.
Apple’s iPhone battery replacement program could cause the company to lose out on millions of new iPhone sales, according to analysts at Barclays.
It was revealed last month that the company intentionally throttles CPU speeds on some iPhones with older batteries to provide an overall better experience. Apple has offered $29 battery replacements to make up for it, but that might be bad news for its bottom line.
Apple’s not the only smartphone manufacturer having PR issues involving its phone batteries. Some owners of Samsung’s Galaxy Note 8 are reporting that their handsets refuse to charge or turn on after running out of charge.
According to Samsung, this issue affects a, “very limited number of reports which could be associated with the power management circuit.”
Thanks to batterygate, the good news is that Apple will now switch out the battery in your old iPhone for $29 instead of $79, a price so cheap it would be crazy not to do it. But how do you take care of that new battery to stop it going bad? The truth is, the lithium ion batteries in phones and notebook computers have a finite life. But you can prolong that life with a few easy tricks.
Apple’s decision to throttle CPU speeds on iPhones with older batteries isn’t a feature its competition is eager to copy.
Both Samsung and LG have come out with statements today saying that none of their phones use similar power management tactics. Their claims echo other Android makers Motorola and HTC who made the same claim yesterday.
Apple has offered iPhone customers yet another apology for intentionally slowing down the CPU on some older iPhone models in order to increase overall performance.
In a letter to customers this afternoon, Apple explained that it added a feature in iOS 10.1.2 that successfully reduced the occurrence of unexpected shutdowns on iPhones. Apple was able to do so by lowering CPU performance so that it drew less power from older batteries, but the company is now offering an olive branch to customers: cheap battery replacements.
Well that didn’t take long! Within a day of Apple acknowledging that it’s software updates cause older iPhone models to slow down, Apple has been hit with not one, but two class action lawsuits from folks outraged that it would behave in this way.
Both suits are asking for unspecified damages from the company.
According to reliable Apple analyst KGI Securities’ Ming-Chi Kuo, Apple will focus on increasing the iPhone’s battery capacity for both the 2019 and 2020 models.
Kuo claims that Apple’s semiconductor manufacturing processes and substrate-like printed circuit boards will enable it to create the required space in its handsets for these larger batteries. He also suggests that Apple will opt for new “superior” radio frequency printed circuit board (RFPCB) batteries.
Swapping out the battery in a slow old iPhone could drastically improve the device’s performance.
That claim comes from a Reddit user who says he almost doubled the clock rates of his lagging iPhone 6s simply by popping in a new battery. His theory that Apple intentionally slows down old phones sparked a furious debate online.
Frequently reliable KGI Securities’ analyst Ming-Chi Kuo says that all three of Apple’s 2018-era iPhones will pack more powerful batteries, while two will take advantage of the redesigned L-shaped battery created for the iPhone X.
The latest version of the YouTube app finally addresses a frustrating battery drain issue on iOS. Version 12.45 is available to download now from the App Store, and we recommend you get yours hands on it as soon as possible.
Did you read our guide to switching on the iPhone X’s Unofficial Battery Saver Dark Mode in order to stretch the battery life of your new iPhone X? Well, it turns out that blacking out as much of the screen as possible really can save a whole lot of juice. In testing, running the iPhone X in dark mode saves a staggering amount of battery power.
The slowest way you can charge your iPad is to hook it up to a USB port on your MacBook. The fastest? Let’s just say it’s not the charger that Apple puts in the iPad’s box.
Usually guides to increasing the battery life of phones and tablets involve impractical advice like disabling Wi-Fi, turning off all background activity, killing notifications, and other “tricks” that make using the device pointless. After all, you could gain almost infinite battery life simply by never switching your iPhone on.
This piece of advice is just like those. It involves turning off the color on the iPhone X’s OLED screen to save juice. However, this tip actually turns out to be pretty useful, and makes the iPhone look totally badass, too.
The iPhone X is Apple’s most exciting iPhone in years. It packs an incredible portrait camera, ditches the home button so it can squeeze and iPhone Plus-sized screen into a regular-sized body, and adds Face ID.
If you want to read all about your new iPhone X, or to see what the fuss is before you purchase one, check out this roundup of all Cult of Mac’s iPhone X coverage.
Thanks to the notch eating up a big chunk out of the top of the iPhone X screen, there’s not as much space up there for useful menubar widgets. The clock now sits alone at the top left, displaced by the notch. The cellular, Wi-Fi, and battery icons sit squashed together on the right side. But what about the carrier name? What about the battery percentage? Can they be displayed permanently in the menu bar?
No. But it doesn’t take much to reveal them.
iPhone X is still hot off the factory presses, but that doesn’t mean it’s too early to get some awesome peripherals. We’ve rounded up some of the best accessories for Apple’s best ever phone. We’ve got wireless charging pads, charging cases and more. Most are discounted by more than half off. Read on for more details:
Feel like spicing up the digital dimensions of your life? If so, today is your lucky day. That’s because we’ve rounded up massive deals on top shelf accessories, from Bluetooth speakers and headphones, to an awesome digital camera and portable power pack. It’s all discounted by nearly half off or more. Plus, you can get an additional 15 percent off when you use the coupon code “SAVE15” at checkout. Read on for more details:
Component shortages are still causing problems for some Retina MacBook Pro repairs. Apple is hoping to appease customers with free battery replacements for affected 2012 and early 2013 units — but only if you’re willing to wait around a month.
The more we lean on our mobile devices, the more of a headache a dead battery becomes. That makes carrying a backup battery a must, but where to start? Whether you’re in need of something compact and quick, or a massive hub for a suite of devices, this roundup of battery packs has you covered. Everything is discounted by 30 percent or more. Read on for more details:
Details on the battery and RAM packed into iPhone X have been revealed ahead of its launch this November.
Apple has registered the device with Chinese regulator TENAA, and its filing confirms the specifics the company doesn’t normally share with the public.
The long wait for Apple’s big iPhone 8 upgrade is nearly over.
Apple is set to unveil its new lineup of iPhones during an event at the Steve Jobs Theater in Cupertino on September 12. This year’s model has been hyped more than any in recent memory. Tons of new features are being packed into the 10th edition of the iPhone for what will likely be the most innovative smartphone Apple has released in years.
Here are all the details and new features we know are coming:
Sometimes an app gets out of control and eats up your battery, even while it doesn’t seem to be active. Once, I had an iPad drained almost completely by a runaway instance of Skype. Or you may have an app that is supposed to run in the background — a synthesizer, or another music app, for example — and you forget you left it running, draining your iPhone battery.
Or perhaps you just want to see how much battery your various apps use. In any of these cases, you can open up a Settings screen that will report which apps have used how much battery, and for how long, over the past day or week. It’s a very handy screen indeed.
Summer’s drawing to a close. But the deals rolling into the Cult of Mac Store are showing no signs of slowing. This week, we’ve got a guide cryptocurrency investing for beginners started in, and a digital marketing masterclass. Additionally, we’ve got a stereo pair of portable Bluetooth speakers, and a powerful but slim backup battery. Everything is massively discounted, some by more than 90 percent. Read on for more details:
Thanks to secrets discovered in Apple’s own firmware, we already know a lot about the iPhone 8. Now an apparent X-ray of the device has all but confirmed even more of its hottest features ahead of its official debut this fall.
