Apple Says It Slows Old iPhones, Stoking Conspiracy Theorists

The Apple Planned Obsolescence Conspiracy Theory Party—of which I’m a vocal, card-carrying member—obtained a substantial piece of new evidence this week: Apple acknowledged it had issued a software update that slows down iPhones with dying batteries. Apple said this is meant to prevent phones from shutting off suddenly, helping people to get the most out of their aging batteries. That might be a reasonable policy if Apple had been more honest with customers about what they were doing. Even Daring Fireball, a stalwart Apple defender, agreed that the company had not communicated what it was doing very well.

For some background, the initial Apple announcement of the battery program in February said that the update would “reduce occurrences of unexpected shutdowns.” It omitted, however, the tradeoff that the company was making. This week, Apple disclosed to reporters that it had capped speeds on older models with faulty or weak batteries to protect against crashing. So, in exchange for a more stable battery, you get a slower phone. That might be a reasonable negotiation. I can see why Apple’s defenders think the POCTP crowd is overreacting to this morsel.