Image Source: Daniel L. Lu (user:dllu), CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
What was the Accusation?
Apple faced widespread criticism in December 2017 after consumers learned that software on certain older iPhones could deliberately reduce the devices’ maximum processor performance as their lithium-ion batteries aged. The controversy emerged after users reported that replacing an aging iPhone battery could substantially improve the performance of a device that had become slow. On December 18, 2017, Geekbench founder John Poole published an analysis of benchmark results from the iPhone 6s and iPhone 7. The results showed distinct clusters of lower processor scores on particular versions of iOS, providing evidence that performance on some devices was being reduced rather than declining simply because newer software required more processing power.
Apple subsequently confirmed that it had introduced a power-management feature beginning with iOS 10.2.1 for the iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, and iPhone SE and later extended the feature to the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus. Apple explained that chemically aged lithium-ion batteries can become unable to provide the instantaneous peak power demanded by an iPhone, which can cause the device to shut down unexpectedly. The software was designed to manage these power demands dynamically and prevent shutdowns. The controversy centered less on whether aging batteries presented a legitimate technical problem than on Apple’s failure to clearly tell customers that its software could reduce their phones’ performance in response to that problem.
The disclosure reinforced a longstanding suspicion among some consumers that smartphone manufacturers intentionally make older devices perform poorly in order to encourage customers to purchase newer models. Apple strongly denied that accusation. In its December 28 response, the company said it had never intentionally shortened the life of an Apple product or degraded the user experience in order to drive upgrades. Apple maintained that its objective had been the opposite: keeping iPhones operating despite batteries that could no longer reliably deliver the power required for peak performance. Nevertheless, critics argued that customers experiencing a noticeably slower iPhone might reasonably conclude that the entire phone needed replacement when replacing its battery could instead restore performance. Apple acknowledged that its communication about the performance-management system had contributed to the loss of trust.
On December 28, 2017, Apple issued a public letter titled “A Message to Our Customers about iPhone Batteries and Performance.” The company apologized to customers, explained how lithium-ion batteries chemically age, defended the purpose of its performance-management software, and announced corrective measures. Apple reduced the price of an out-of-warranty battery replacement for an iPhone 6 or later from $79 to $29 through December 2018. It also promised an iOS update that would provide customers with additional information about battery health so they could determine whether the condition of a battery was affecting their phone’s performance.
The controversy, commonly called “Batterygate,” continued beyond Apple’s apology. Consumers filed lawsuits alleging that Apple had concealed the performance reductions and caused some customers to replace their phones unnecessarily. Apple later agreed to settlements related to the controversy while denying wrongdoing in the litigation. In 2020, Apple agreed to pay up to $500 million to resolve a U.S. consumer class action and separately agreed to a $113 million settlement with U.S. states and the District of Columbia over allegations concerning its disclosures about iPhone performance management. The controversy became a prominent corporate image-repair case because Apple simultaneously apologized for its communication, denied deliberately shortening product life to encourage upgrades, explained the technical justification for its actions, and offered concrete remedies intended to restore customer trust.
Apple, “A Message to Our Customers about iPhone Batteries and Performance” (December 28, 2017)
“We know that some of you feel Apple has let you down. We apologize. There’s been a lot of misunderstanding about this issue, so we would like to clarify and let you know about some changes we’re making. First and foremost, we have never — and would never — do anything to intentionally shorten the life of any Apple product, or degrade the user experience to drive customer upgrades. Our goal has always been to create products that our customers love, and making iPhones last as long as possible is an important part of that.”
