There is no doubt that the Apple’s iPhone smartphones are one of the best in the industry, either in design or performance aspects. It always catches the headlines in the news and people stand over-night to get their hands on new iPhone every year. The built quality, iOS performance, security, iTunes, iOS ecosystem those things that make iPhone such loved and demanded product. Sometimes, it’s been criticised for slowing down iPhone performance, compelling users to buy new expensive ones.

But, recently something happened, after the update to iOS 11.0, suddenly the battery in older iPhones drained quickly, mainly in iPhone 6 Plus and below. Even iPhone 6S Plus’s battery was not as good as it used to be in iOS 10. There was a significant change in battery back up and performance. For few days, I thought the problem was only with my iPhone 6s Plus, but later on, I found that a lot of users were having the similar problem.

Well, people began haggling all over the internet, and finally, the Apple spoke out. They admitted its iOS software slows down the performance and drains the battery in older iPhones. The company says iOS does this to counteract problems found in aging lithium-ion-batteries. When a battery gets older it doesn’t hold a change as well and can unexpectedly shut down if it put under too much stress. Well, maybe as it is, at least they should have suggested user about it earlier and should have avoided the legal problems.

Actually, Apple has been criticized over the years that they hinder older deice and compel users to buy new models by slowing down iPhone performance and stop iOS support for older devices, which they always have denied.

Official Statement

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.

Now what?

As the batteries get old, they can’t hold their charge for the longer period as compared to new ones. It gets worse when the charge is low or in cold temperature. Even though there are alternatives to lithium-ion batteries, they can’t hold up like the lithium-ion-batteries.

To speed it up, well, the best option is to change the battery of your older iPhones, which is not easy actually. Apple’s been criticized for making very difficult to replace the batteries. This also could be a strategy of Apple to compel the users to switch to new one.

That doesn’t mean that you cannot replace it. There are tons of DIY video tutorials on YouTube, and all needed tools are also available. Still, if you can’t figure out, you can just go the service center and have it replaced.

After the replacement, the feature that slows down the performance will turn off automatically. But keep in mind, it’s not only the battery issue that Apple compel users to buy new ones. So, replacing a battery might work for a year or so. Eventually, Apple will stop iOS support for older iPhones.

This problem or situation is drawing a legal fire. Apple is facing multiple lawsuits against the software tweaks. It was very stupid of Apple keeping such information hidden, or you can say very short-sightedness.