Apple Did Not Consider How Battery Replacement Program Would Impact iPhone Upgrade Rates

During today's earnings call covering the first quarter of 2018, Apple CEO Tim Cook was asked whether investors should be concerned about slowing upgrade rates due to Apple's battery replacement program and the fact that consumers may opt to replace their batteries instead of purchasing a new iPhone.

iphone 6s battery
In response, Cook said that he couldn't answer because it wasn't something that Apple took into account. Apple "did not consider, in any way, shape, or form, what it would do to upgrade rates," said Cook.

We did it because we thought it was the right thing to do for our customers. I don't know what effect it will have for our investors. It was not in our thought process of deciding to do what we've done.

In the same answer, Cook said the iPhone has fantastic reliability, and that the previously-owned market is continually expanding, with customers handing down older iPhones and using trade-ins to get new devices. Cook said he believes customers handing their devices down is a positive, because "the more people on iPhone, the better."

Following the revelation that Apple introduced power management features that slow older iPhones in order to prevent unexpected shutdowns in devices with degraded batteries, Apple was accused of planned obsolescence and deliberately slowing devices to prompt customers to upgrade.

Apple has vehemently denied that the power management features were implemented to spur customers to upgrade, and the company has said that instead, the features were meant to expand the life of an iPhone for as long as possible.

Apple has apologized for the misinformation that has circulated about the power management features, and it has also introduced a program allowing customers to get $29 battery replacements for the iPhone 6 and newer. In iOS 11.3, Apple will provide more information about battery health and give customers the option to toggle off the power management feature all together.

Popular Stories

Generic iOS 18

Apple Releases iOS 18.0.1 With Touch Screen Bug Fix and More

Thursday October 3, 2024 2:22 pm PDT by
Apple today released iOS 18.0.1 and iPadOS 18.0.1, the first updates to the iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 operating systems that debuted earlier in September. iOS 18.0.1 and iPadOS 18.0.1 come two weeks after the launch of iOS 18. The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to Settings > General > Software Update. According to Apple's release notes, the...
macOS Sequoia Night Feature

Apple Releases macOS Sequoia 15.0.1 With Bug Fixes

Thursday October 3, 2024 2:27 pm PDT by
Apple today released macOS Sequoia 15.0.1, the first update for the macOS Sequoia operating system. The 15.0.1 update comes a week after Apple first released macOS Sequoia 15. Mac users can download the ‌macOS Sequoia‌ update by using the Software Update section of System Settings. According to Apple's release notes, macOS Sequoia 15.0.1 fixes a bug that could cause the Messages app...
maxresdefault

Two Weeks With the iPhone 16 Pro Max

Friday October 4, 2024 12:04 pm PDT by
Now that it's been two weeks since the iPhone 16 models were released, we've been able to spend enough time with the new devices to share a more in-depth review on their performance, battery life, feature set, and more. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. We've been testing the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max, but the gap between the Pro models and the standard iPhone 16...
Prime Big Deal Days Hero 3

The Best Early Prime Day Deals on AirPods, Apple Watch, and More

Friday October 4, 2024 10:43 am PDT by
Amazon is hosting another Prime Day event this year, called Amazon Prime Big Deal Days and offering shoppers the first chance to save on holiday shopping from a major retailer. Similar to the first Prime Day, it will last for two days (October 8-9) and you can already find a large selection of early deals across Amazon's storefront, covering savings on tech, clothing, video games, groceries, and...
top stories 5oct2024

Top Stories: iOS 18.1 Coming Soon, October Apple Event Rumors, and More

Saturday October 5, 2024 6:00 am PDT by
It's hard to believe we're already into October with the iPhone 16 launch behind us, but there's lots more still to come from Apple this year on both the hardware and software fronts. We're still expecting a number of Mac and perhaps some iPad updates in the very near future, while Apple Intelligence features are set to begin rolling out with iOS 18.1 and related operating system updates....
15 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18

15 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18.1

Friday September 27, 2024 6:14 am PDT by
Apple is set to release iOS 18.1 in October, bringing the first set of Apple Intelligence features to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models. This update marks a significant step forward in Apple's AI integration, offering a new Siri contextually-aware experience and a range of additional capabilities powered by on-device machine learning and large language models. There are a couple of handy new...
ipad mini 2021 youtube

New Report Reveals When to Expect the iPad Mini 7

Tuesday October 1, 2024 2:09 pm PDT by
Apple is working on a new iPad mini that will "potentially" be released "by the end of 2024," according to a report today from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Last month, Gurman reported that Apple had "new iPads in the works," including an upgraded version of the iPad mini. At the time, he said the device was "on deck for Apple's October event" alongside the first M4 Macs. The wording in his...
M4 Real Feature Red

Gurman: Apple to Launch New M4 Macs and iPad Mini 7 on November 1

Sunday October 6, 2024 6:40 am PDT by
Apple will announce several new M4 Mac models around the end of October, with the company planning to launch at least some of them as soon as Friday, November 1, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Writing in his latest Power On newsletter, Gurman said that Apple will launch a new M4 version of its low-end 14-inch MacBook Pro, as well as higher-end 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models...

Top Rated Comments

Count Blah Avatar
87 months ago

We did it because we thought it was the right thing to do for our customers. I don't know what effect it will have for our investors. It was not in our thought process of deciding to do what we've done.
Uhhh no, you did it because you got caught, and it was the only way you could quickly think of, to keep the customers and governments off your back. The lawsuits will still come, but this greatly reduced the calls to tar and feather everyone at Apple.
Score: 61 Votes (Like | Disagree)
lostngone Avatar
87 months ago
HA! Sure they didn't... ;) Just like they didn't think how slowing peoples phones down in the first place would impact upgrade rates.
Score: 27 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Defthand Avatar
87 months ago

Apple "did not consider, in any way, shape, or form, what [the battery replacement offer] would do to upgrade rates," said Cook.
Really? Which Apple is that? The Apple that looks at design challenges and logistics from every angle before moving a chess piece? Or some slow-witted twin in charge of customer relations?
Score: 25 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Act3 Avatar
87 months ago
Count me as just replacing 3 iPhone 6s batteries and not upgrading 3 phones in my house. May even keep these three for 2 more years.
Score: 20 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TonyRS Avatar
87 months ago
Uhhh no, you did it because you got caught, and it was the only way you could quickly think of, to keep the customers and governments off your back. The lawsuits will still come, but this greatly reduced the calls to tar and feather everyone at Apple.
No, Tim. Every single decision is about maximizing shareholder value. That's your mandate. To claim otherwise is completely disingenuous.
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Hal~9000 Avatar
87 months ago
Cook said that he couldn't answer because it wasn't something that Apple took into account. Apple "did not consider, in any way, shape, or form, what it would do to upgrade rates," said Cook.


See kids? this is why Cook makes the big bucks... because he's able to say complete horse**** like the above while somehow keeping a straight face ;)

Of course they thought about it at one point or another. You're telling me Apple, the richest company in the world, got to that point by being idiots and not even considering how intentionally sabotaging customers older devices via software throttling might spur some new upgrades? Riiiiiight :rolleyes:
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)