“Apple Inc has seen ‘strong demand’ for replacement iPhone batteries and may offer rebates for consumers who paid full price for new batteries, the company said in a Feb. 2 letter to U.S. lawmakers made public on Tuesday,” David Shepardson and Stephen Nellis report for Reuters. “Apple confirmed in December that software to deal with aging batteries in iPhone 6, iPhone 6s and iPhone SE models could slow down performance. The company apologized and lowered the price of battery replacements for affected models from $79 to $29.”
“Senator John Thune, a Republican who chairs the committee, said in a statement that ‘consumers rely on clear and transparent disclosures from manufacturers to understand why their device may experience performance changes,'” Shepardson and Nellis report. “Thune said that in discussions with the [U.S. Senate Commerce Committee] ‘Apple has acknowledged that its initial disclosures came up short. Apple has also promised the committee some follow-up information, including an answer about additional steps it may take to address customers who purchased a new battery at full price.'”
“Consumers so far have filed some 50 proposed class action lawsuits over Apple’s latest iPhone software update, which they allege caused unexpected shutdowns and hampered the performance of iPhone models of the SE, 6 and 7 lines,” Shepardson and Nellis report. “Government agencies in countries ranging from Brazil to France and Italy to South Korea are also investigating Apple following complaints.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: In terms of needless self-inflicted wounds, this one is a doozy.
SEE ALSO:
How will new iPhones manage power? Apple’s response to U.S. Senator raises questions – February 6, 2018
Apple tells U.S. Senate company may offer rebates for battery purchases amid iPhone blowback – February 6, 2018
Apple previews iOS 11.3 with new battery health features, ability to turn processor throttling on and off, and more – January 24, 2018
Tim Cook: ‘Maybe we should have been clearer’ over throttling iPhones with aging batteries – January 18, 2018
China consumer group seeks answers from Apple over batterygate – January 16, 2018
South Korean consumer group considering criminal case against Apple over iPhone batterygate – January 11, 2018
Republican Senator John Thune, Chair of the U.S. Commerce Committee, has some questions for Apple over throttling old iPhones – January 10, 2018
French prosecutor launches probe into Apple planned obsolescence – January 8, 2018
Apple’s design decisions and iPhone batteries – January 8, 2018
Apple now faces over two dozen lawsuits for ‘purposefully’ or ‘secretly’ slowing down older iPhones – January 5, 2018
Why aging batteries don’t slow down Android phones like Apple iPhones – January 5, 2018
Apple’s $29 replacement batteries expected to hurt new iPhone sales – January 4, 2018
How to see if Apple’s throttling your iPhone – January 4, 2018
Brazilian agency requires Apple to inform consumers on batteries – January 3, 2018
Analyst: Apple’s ‘batterygate’ solution may mean 16 million fewer iPhones sold this year – January 3, 2018
An Apple conspiracy theory blooms – January 2, 2018
Apple clarifies policy on $29 battery replacements: All iPhone 6 and later devices are eligible – January 2, 2018
delays significantly delay iPhone upgrades. iPhone users considering the upgrade to iPhones released fall ’17, emboldened to delay purchase as result of battery refresh of older iPhones. The near-trillion dollar behemoth shows still another cost of market/consumer dislocation.
“ significantly” imo not… some yes… i dont think it will be a big deal
Lets mark this post and renember it when next lineup is released …..
As softwares advance so do the need for advanced computing power.. …
Pl
I know that I’m not alone in this sort of calculation:
“So let’s see:
Spend $999 for a mostly-just-a-bit-better than what I have now, and oh yeah, also lose my headphone jack…or spend $29 to keep the headphone jack?
Hmmm….”
No, this is not a *hard* decision. $29 for the battery & keep the 6s for another 18-24 months.
Apple needs to wake up – – they’re pricing themselves into a smaller market niche with the iPhone.
Shame on you! Don’t you know you should be rallying against the headphone jack right now? And what about Apple, huh? /s
Since when does a GOP politician care about consumer protection? Thune is going for a cheap political score at Apple’s expense! Sad!
Frankly this is a real good indicator on just how pervasive the “lame batteries due to thinness” problem and cover up was.