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Apple Makes $29 Battery Replacements Available Immediately for iPhone 6 and Newer
Apple today announced it is making its reduced $29 battery replacements available immediately for iPhone 6 and all newer models.
Apple previously said it would offer the cheaper battery replacements in late January, but it has removed that timeframe from its letter to customers, and has confirmed immediate availability in a statement to TechCrunch.
Given a lack of nuance in some mainstream coverage, many headlines have fueled speculation that Apple artificially slows down older iPhones to drive customers to upgrade to newer models, but the actual issue was Apple's lack of transparency about the power management changes it made starting in iOS 10.2.1.
When it released iOS 10.2.1 in February, Apple only vaguely said it made "improvements" to reduce occurrences of unexpected shutdowns. It only chose to explain that the changes it made may result in temporary slowdowns on some older iPhone models with degraded batteries after controversy recently reignited.
The issue came into the spotlight in early December after a Reddit user claimed that his iPhone's performance significantly increased after replacing the device's battery. Soon after, analysis of iPhone 6s benchmarks visualized an apparent link between lower performance and degraded battery health.
Apple responded by noting the power management process is a "feature" rolled out to iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, and iPhone SE, but since it didn't fully communicate this change, some iPhone users may not have realized all they needed was a new battery.
Apple said it will release an iOS update in early 2018 with new features that give users more visibility into the health of their iPhone's battery, so they can see for themselves if its condition is affecting performance. It's unclear if Apple will ever let customers opt out of the power management process.
Apple said the cheaper iPhone battery replacements will be available worldwide through December 2018. The $29 fee applies to the United States, with prices varying in other countries based on exchange rates.
To initiate the battery replacement process, we recommend contacting Apple Support by phone, online chat, email, or Twitter, or scheduling a Genius Bar appointment at an Apple Store with the Apple Support app. You can also inquire about a battery replacement with select Apple Authorized Service Providers.
Apple previously said it would offer the cheaper battery replacements in late January, but it has removed that timeframe from its letter to customers, and has confirmed immediate availability in a statement to TechCrunch.
We expected to need more time to be ready, but we are happy to offer our customers the lower pricing right away. Initial supplies of some replacement batteries may be limited.Apple normally charges $79 for out-of-warranty iPhone battery replacements, but it reduced the price by $50 following a wave of controversy over its process of dynamically managing the peak performance of some older iPhone models with degraded batteries to prevent unexpected shutdowns.
Given a lack of nuance in some mainstream coverage, many headlines have fueled speculation that Apple artificially slows down older iPhones to drive customers to upgrade to newer models, but the actual issue was Apple's lack of transparency about the power management changes it made starting in iOS 10.2.1.
When it released iOS 10.2.1 in February, Apple only vaguely said it made "improvements" to reduce occurrences of unexpected shutdowns. It only chose to explain that the changes it made may result in temporary slowdowns on some older iPhone models with degraded batteries after controversy recently reignited.
The issue came into the spotlight in early December after a Reddit user claimed that his iPhone's performance significantly increased after replacing the device's battery. Soon after, analysis of iPhone 6s benchmarks visualized an apparent link between lower performance and degraded battery health.
Apple responded by noting the power management process is a "feature" rolled out to iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, and iPhone SE, but since it didn't fully communicate this change, some iPhone users may not have realized all they needed was a new battery.
Apple said it will release an iOS update in early 2018 with new features that give users more visibility into the health of their iPhone's battery, so they can see for themselves if its condition is affecting performance. It's unclear if Apple will ever let customers opt out of the power management process.
Apple said the cheaper iPhone battery replacements will be available worldwide through December 2018. The $29 fee applies to the United States, with prices varying in other countries based on exchange rates.
To initiate the battery replacement process, we recommend contacting Apple Support by phone, online chat, email, or Twitter, or scheduling a Genius Bar appointment at an Apple Store with the Apple Support app. You can also inquire about a battery replacement with select Apple Authorized Service Providers.
Related Roundup: iPhone 7
Tag: iPhone Slowdown
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Top Rated Comments
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11 months ago
No, no, no, Apple. You profited massively from the sales of new phones by conveniently failing to tell your customers that you were slowing their current phones, thereby making them falsely believe they needed to upgrade. Yet you think we should go out of our way and take time from our day to travel to your stores, and *still* pay you more money to fix it? Had you been upfront and given customers the option to decide how their phones perform from within the OS, a replacement battery fee would be perfectly acceptable. I got a kit from Amazon that included tools and replaced my own for $24.95.
11 months ago
Transparency is key. Don’t know why it’s hard for people or companies to be transparent and up front.
11 months ago
I still don't think Apple did anything nefarious here with the IOS. But I think it's good they are offering reasonably priced battery replacements. Congrats to everyone who needed a new battery. :-)
11 months ago
('https://www.macrumors.com/2017/12/30/apple-29-usd-iphone-battery-replacements-now-avail/')
Apple today announced it is making its reduced $29 battery replacements ('https://www.macrumors.com/2017/12/28/apple-iphone-battery-performance-price-drop/') available immediately for iPhone 6 and later.
Apple previously said it would offer the cheaper battery replacements in late January, but it has removed that timeframe from its letter to customers ('https://www.apple.com/iphone-battery-and-performance/'), and has confirmed immediate availability in a statement to TechCrunch ('https://techcrunch.com/2017/12/30/apples-29-iphone-battery-replacements-are-available-starting-today/').Apple normally charges $79 for out-of-warranty iPhone battery replacements, but it reduced the price by $50 following a wave of controversy ('https://www.macrumors.com/2017/12/21/apple-lawsuit-slowing-down-old-iphone-models/') over its process of dynamically managing the peak performance of some older iPhone models ('https://www.macrumors.com/2017/12/20/apple-addresses-iphone-throttling-degraded-battery/') with degraded batteries to prevent unexpected shutdowns.
Given a lack of nuance in some mainstream coverage, some headlines have fueled speculation that Apple artificially slows down older iPhones to drive customers to upgrade to newer models, but the actual issue was Apple's lack of transparency about the power management changes it made starting in iOS 10.2.1.
Apple said it will release an iOS update in early 2018 with new features that give users more visibility into the health of their iPhone's battery, so they can see for themselves if its condition is affecting performance. It's unclear if Apple will ever let customers opt out of the power management process.
Apple said the cheaper iPhone battery replacements will be available worldwide through December 2018, and it will share more details soon.
Article Link: Apple Makes $29 Battery Replacements Available Immediately for iPhone 6 and Later ('https://www.macrumors.com/2017/12/30/apple-29-usd-iphone-battery-replacements-now-avail/')
The real questions still needs to be investigated; what other devices has Apple purposely throttled and not disclosed? MacBooks, Airbooks, iPad, etc. This needs to be investigated by the Apple Consumer Community!
Also how are iPhone users going to be compensated for the resell value lost because of this? Resell of iPhones has been a good market for users to sell their phones. This will certainly impact resell value...
11 months ago
This is getting tiring...
Apple is guilt-tripping us to give up the outrage with these staggered 'gifts'.
Nothing has changed:
- the iPhones were under-designed at the battery, unable to power the CPU
- they are still expecting us to pay for their coverup and mass recall
- newer iPhones will still throttle after about a year
- iPhones with replaced battery will again throttle after a year
- iPhones with low battery charge (not health) will still throttle
- iPhones above 80% battery health will still throttle and we will be denied any service to the battery since it's above 80%
- the throttling will still be permanent regardles of moment-to-moment conditions
- absolutely no goodwill to those tricked into upgrading to a newer iPhone
- we will still not get an option in iOS for wether to throttle or not
- the scam and coverup is not acknowledged at all
I'll edit the post if more comes to mind.
Apple is guilt-tripping us to give up the outrage with these staggered 'gifts'.
Nothing has changed:
- the iPhones were under-designed at the battery, unable to power the CPU
- they are still expecting us to pay for their coverup and mass recall
- newer iPhones will still throttle after about a year
- iPhones with replaced battery will again throttle after a year
- iPhones with low battery charge (not health) will still throttle
- iPhones above 80% battery health will still throttle and we will be denied any service to the battery since it's above 80%
- the throttling will still be permanent regardles of moment-to-moment conditions
- absolutely no goodwill to those tricked into upgrading to a newer iPhone
- we will still not get an option in iOS for wether to throttle or not
- the scam and coverup is not acknowledged at all
I'll edit the post if more comes to mind.
11 months ago
"We expected to need more time to be ready, but we are happy to offer our customers the lower pricing right away."
Translation: Damage control override from the top.
The staff member who said "it's holiday time, can't this wait until the end of January so we have time to train the geniuses that $79 is now $29" is feeling butthurt right now.
Translation: Damage control override from the top.
The staff member who said "it's holiday time, can't this wait until the end of January so we have time to train the geniuses that $79 is now $29" is feeling butthurt right now.
11 months ago
This gesture is still meaningless .
Your battery has to fail thier test for Apple to allow you to hand over $29, yes , they have to approve the replacement.
You cannot walk in and ask for a $29 replacement . Questions are being asked how valid thier test is.
My 5S passed all their tests, and when the genius replaced it anyway, my battery life increased by some 40% .
Let me make this very clear Apple owns the approval , you cannot walk in and hand over $29 and ask for a new battery for a device you own.
Edit : apple may change this - given the current situation .
Your battery has to fail thier test for Apple to allow you to hand over $29, yes , they have to approve the replacement.
You cannot walk in and ask for a $29 replacement . Questions are being asked how valid thier test is.
My 5S passed all their tests, and when the genius replaced it anyway, my battery life increased by some 40% .
Let me make this very clear Apple owns the approval , you cannot walk in and hand over $29 and ask for a new battery for a device you own.
Edit : apple may change this - given the current situation .
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