Here’s What’s Been Happening While Your Phone Was Being Slow

For years, consumers have suspected Apple of slowing down their older iPhones to get them to buy new ones. The controversy came to light in late December, 2017 after a post on Reddit highlighted the relationship between iPhone performance and battery condition.

Apple later confirmed in an emailed statement to Time that it has been deliberately slowing down older phones in some situations to extend battery life through a software update: “Last year we released a feature for iPhone 6, iPhone 6s and iPhone SE to smooth out the instantaneous peaks only when needed to prevent the device from unexpectedly shutting down during these conditions. We’ve now extended that feature to iPhone 7 with iOS 11.2, and plan to add support for other products in the future.”

Users saw this announcement as proof that the company had engaged in “planned obsolescence,” meaning they were degrading the old devices, forcing consumers to upgrade.

This led to more than 30 lawsuits being filed in a number of different courts throughout the U.S. Similarly, an advocacy group in South Korea, Citizens United for Consumer Sovereignty, has also sued Apple. They told CNN it filed a civil suit in a South Korean court, and is now preparing a criminal lawsuit alleging destruction of property. Additionally, the public prosecutor's office in Paris has opened an inquiry into the iPhone slow-down after consumer advocacy group, Stop Planned Obsolescence, filed a complaint. French law states it’s a crime to deliberately shorten the lifespan of products in order to make consumers buy new ones. Those caught violating the law may face prison sentences of up to two years, and their companies can be fined up to 5% of their annual sales, according to the group.

Employees stand outside an Apple store on the release day of the iPhone X in Paris on November 3, 2017.

Apple has since apologized and decided to cut the $79 price of a battery replacement by $50 for anyone with an iPhone 6 or later, starting in late January, so you’ll only have to pay $29 through December 2018. They’ve also stated that they plan to release a new update that will "give users more visibility into the health of their iPhone's battery." Although it has not been confirmed whether the ability will be given to turn the feature off or on.

"We know that some of you feel Apple has let you down. We apologize.” The company insists that it has "never -- and would never -- do anything to intentionally shorten the life of any Apple product, or degrade the user experience to drive customer upgrades.”