Apple Admittedly Slows Older iPhones to ‘Protect Electronic Components’

Surprise: Apple iPhone performance slows as the device (and its battery) ages.

The struggle is real for iFans who, like clockwork, see a decline in their smartphone or tablet's efficiency after about a year of use.

Conspiracy theorists claim it's Cupertino's way of encouraging folks to upgrade their handset for the latest and greatest version. But, according to Apple, it's actually the battery's fault.

In a statement published by TechCrunch, the company admitted that it deliberately slows older iPhones to prevent damage:

"Our goal is to deliver the best experience for customers, which includes overall performance and prolonging the life of their devices. Lithium-ion batteries become less capable of supplying peak current demands when in cold conditions, have a low battery charge, or as they age over time, which can result in the device unexpectedly shutting down to protect its electronic components.

"Last year, we released a feature for iPhone 6, iPhone 6s, and iPhone SE to smooth out the instantaneous peaks only when needed to prevent the device from unexpectedly shutting down during these conditions. We've now extended that feature to iPhone 7 with iOS 11.2, and plan to add support for other products in the future."

The news broke this week after a recent Reddit post sparked discussion about the long-standing problem, addressed via benchmark tests by Primate Labs' John Poole.

"While we expect battery capacity to decrease as batteries age, we expect processor performance to stay the same," Poole wrote in a Monday blog post. "However, users with older iPhones with lower-than-expected Geekbench 4 scores have reported that replacing the battery increases their score (as well as the performance of the phone). What's going on here?"

What's going on—as Apple confirmed—is that the tech titan added power management to limit functionality once the battery condition declines past a certain point.

As TechCrunch pointed out, it's not just age that can negatively affect the power unit: excessive heat (whether from the sun or overuse) will also cripple a battery.

But before you start sending angry tweets to Apple, remember that this is the fault of lithium-ion chemistry, not Cupertino.

Which is, in large part, why graphene has gained such attention among battery manufacturers with the allotrope's top-notch physical and chemical stability. Graphene is 100 times more efficient than copper in conducting electricity and boasts electron mobility 140 times faster than silicon.

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Source: Apple Admittedly Slows Older iPhones to 'Protect Electronic Components'