Apple Confesses to Intentionally Slowing Down Your Old iPhones

Our suspicions have been confirmed.

Have you ever tried to hold on to your old iPhone for more than two years, only to accept the fact that it's probably more practical to just revert to those old Nokia bricks? Well, there's actually a reason why they aren't lasting more than a few years.

After years of suspicions and conspiracy theories, Apple has finally confirmed to The Verge that they do, indeed, purposely slow down your phone with each update.

The tech giant admitted that, while they didn't tell anyone before, the tactic is supposed to help deliver the "best experience" for their customers (of course!) as their phones' batteries start to fail.

"As [the iPhone's lithium batteries] age over time," a statement from Apple read. "[It] can result in the device unexpectedly shutting down to protect its electronic components."

Apple’s statement on iPhone 6, iPhone 6s, iPhone SE power management (the slowdown): pic.twitter.com/3RpE3fKCQc

— Rene Ritchie (@reneritchie) December 20, 2017

They've explained that the function is included in updates and slows down the running of older phones so that they can cope with peak demands.

But not everyone's happy with this explanation.

They argue they're protecting users by optimizing their battery 'magically' -- so be up front about it and tell them about it.

Anything less is not excusable if you're lead to believe it's slow.. when a replacement battery will do the trick.

— ⚡️ Owen (@ow) December 20, 2017

This will be seen by many as a new Apple tax - forcing users to upgrade early, pay for a replacement battery... or be stuck with a slow phone.

— Jim Connolly (@JimConnolly) December 20, 2017

If Apple is going to slow down an old phone so the battery can handle it, you should receive several alerts about it. They're coercing people to buy something new, even if they want to pretend that isn't their intention.

— Nicole Cozma (@c0z) December 20, 2017

Why not just have easy user replaceable batteries? @Apple @AppleSupport Or is that too consumer friendly?

— Street Guru (@LordStreetGuru) December 20, 2017

Take note, Apple.

Photo: iStock.com/Onfokus