Chinese Consumer Group Demands Answers From Apple Over Older iPhone Slowdowns - MacRumors
Skip to Content

Chinese Consumer Group Demands Answers From Apple Over Older iPhone Slowdowns

by

Apple's iPhone slowdown controversy extended to China on Tuesday after a Chinese consumer group asked the tech giant for information about iOS updates that reduce the performance of older iPhones (via Reuters).

The Shanghai Consumer Council has written to Apple and requested an explanation for the slowdowns and information about what Apple planned to do to rectify the problem. The consumer group, which is a non-government organization approved by the Chinese authorities, demanded a response by Friday, according to state news agency Xinhua.

iphone 6 plus battery
The council explained that its query came in response to consumer feedback that old iPhones became sluggish after upgrading the operating system to iOS 10.2.1. It said it had received 2,615 complaints about Apple products and services in 2017, compared to 964 complaints in 2015.

Last month Apple confirmed that it introduced power management features in the update to improve performance and prevent unexpected shutdowns as the battery in the devices starts to degrade. The company faces an increasing number of lawsuits that either accuse the company of intentionally slowing down older iPhones, or of failing to disclose power management changes it made starting in iOS 10.2.1.

For more information about the power management system that Apple implemented in the update, check out our frequently asked questions.

Tags: China, iPhone Slowdown

Top Rated Comments

69Mustang Avatar
69Mustang
108 months ago
Do they have difficulty reading? Apple have already done this.

Apple should just copy and paste their last statement on the matter.
I think part of the problem is the statement that Apple released. It introduced more questions than it answered. Plus it was pretty deflective. Batteries degrade over time? Well yes, yes they do. No one was questioning that. Why are Apple's batteries randomly shutting down? Why didn't they institute the program they have now? Why be so secretive when they were already thought to be obsoleting phones? The situation was compounded by Apple refusing to replace batteries unless the phone passed a battery test. So yeah, people have questions.

There's a subset of people who simply believe everything Apple says. Apparently, there's another subset who are less accepting. That group is a bit more vociferous.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Fzang Avatar
Fzang
108 months ago
...a simple Google search is obviously beyond their expertise.
Reach*
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
M
mrzz
108 months ago
Why not. Everyone else is cashing in on this
as IP6 user you would talk differently. This crap just half killed perf. of phones which were COMPLETELY FINE and without any reboots etc. before they introduced this trash. They just more than deserve it.
[doublepost=1516106463][/doublepost]
Do they have difficulty reading? Apple have already done this.

Apple should just copy and paste their last statement on the matter.
their explanation is unsatisfactory
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
R
Rufuss Sewell
108 months ago
I want to know why my 4S can’t type letters on a screen. It was lightning fast for the first 3 OSes. Then each update made it slower and slower.

Now it’s completely useless.

No one will convince me that this wasn’t done on purpose. No OS optimization for newer phones would cause a perfectly fine device to take 10 seconds per letter to type. My old VIC 20 from 1980 can type letters on a screen with no lag.

Purposeful slowing of older devices has been happening long before this particular issue.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
N
neutralguy
108 months ago
I mean. They gave a legitimate explanation. Not sure why people aren’t happy with it - it makes sense and is much preferred to shutdowns.
That was not an explanation. That was a cover up press release. It was very carefully crafted with the help of management and lawyers. The explanation that battery degrades over time is not something new. We all know battery degrades over time. So Apple being Apple just tried to create more smokescreen with that release. The actual explanation should have been that people should upgrade every two years. And apple is trying to. Ake it easy to upgrade by slowing down the phone. That's the truth. We all know it. At this point, I just want to see how long Apple can keep going with this explanation.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
69Mustang Avatar
69Mustang
108 months ago
A simple disclaimer stating performance may degrade based upon battery age would have worked wonders.
I disagree. No one was questioning whether batteries degrade over time. That's a known fact. Also a known fact is that degradation doesn't normally cause sudden shutdown. More importantly, Apple's battery management algorithms are about mitigating that sudden shutdown, not simple battery degradation. So a simple disclaimer would have done nothing. Too many people are pointing to general battery degradation as the genesis of the problem. That ain't true at all.

In addition, a no nonsense battery replacement program would also be valuable.
I 100% agree. When you tell a customer, if your battery doesn't fail our test you may as well put your money back in your pocket... to paraphrase Jobs, you're doing it wrong.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Read All Comments

Popular Stories

Apple Intelligence General Feature 2

Apple Intelligence Accidentally Goes Live in China Before Regulatory Approval

Monday March 30, 2026 12:48 pm PDT by
Apple accidentally started rolling out Apple Intelligence features in China before receiving regulatory approval, reports Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Some Chinese users began seeing Apple Intelligence features listed as available and active in the Settings app on their iPhones, but Apple made no formal announcement. Gurman says that Apple is not planning to launch the feature imminently, and...
Read Full Article • 29 comments
iphone 17 pro dark blue 1

Apple Leads Top Brands for China Smartphone Growth as Market Declines

Friday April 17, 2026 8:03 am PDT by
China's smartphone shipments fell 4% year over year in the first quarter of 2026, according to data from Counterpoint Research, with Apple delivering the strongest growth among the top six brands. Counterpoint's Market Monitor Tracker attributed the decline primarily to a high base effect from last year's government subsidy program and rising component costs. Counterpoint noted that...
Read Full Article • 14 comments
Foldable iPhone 2023 Feature 1

Apple Apparently Sees Camera Control as Key Foldable iPhone Feature

Monday April 20, 2026 7:40 am PDT by
Apple's first foldable iPhone will be eSIM only and feature a Camera Control despite its ultra-thin design, according to a known leaker. In a series of new posts, the leaker known as "Instant Digital" said that Apple has made deliberate engineering compromises to ensure that the first foldable iPhone features a Camera Control button, despite it being at least 1.1mm thinner than the iPhone...
Read Full Article • 41 comments