Unless you have been living under a rock during the past few weeks, you probably know by now that Apple have admitted throttling overall performance for phones that have an "old" battery.

After years of rumours, Apple has confirmed that it does indeed slow down older iPhones, a feature introduced last year to protect against problems caused by ageing batteries.

The feature was implemented on the iPhone 6, 6S and SE last year during a software update, and on the iPhone 7 as of December with the release of iOS 11.2. The feature is planned to be rolled out to newer devices in the future. [...]

The reason invoked by Apple is to prevent phones from shutting down completely when batteries don't have enough power.

The company explained that when a battery is in a poor condition it may not be able to supply the required maximum current demanded by the phone’s processor at full speed. If that happens, the iPhone can shut down unexpectedly to protect the internal components.

Where do you stand on the matter? Do you believe this makes sense from a technical standpoint? Or do you think it is an elaborate scheme to get people to buy new phones every couple of years? Vote and tell us what you think.

 

[kevin corms]

Never. Buy. Apple. ...unless you've got more money than sense, and prefer style (objective opinion, but not my opinion of style) over substance.

They haven't been a serious contender in the tech field for almost 20 years now.

Yet nobody makes a phone that can compete spec wise lol. Apples socs are years ahead of anything android offers. Here are some facts https://www.androidauthority.com/why-are-apples-chips-faster-than-qualcomms-gary-explains-802738/

If you still prefer android despite the facts that’s up to you, but I think it’s time people stop lying.

 

[Xzi]

Yet nobody makes a phone that can compete spec wise lol. Apples socs are years ahead of anything android offers. Here are some facts https://www.androidauthority.com/why-are-apples-chips-faster-than-qualcomms-gary-explains-802738/

If you still prefer android despite the facts that’s up to you, but I think it’s time people stop lying.

The thing is that past a certain point, I don't think performance on smartphones really matters. There's no "killer app" that requires a high-end smartphone. Essentially anything a $1000 iPhone can do, a $150 Android phone can do. Of course Apple is going to keep pushing high-end hardware, that's the only way they can keep overpricing their products, but at the end of the day the people who are buying iPhones are just doing it for the status symbol anyway. I don't think their core customer base cares much about the performance, ease of use is probably the biggest draw.

 

[codezer0]

The thing is that past a certain point, I don't think performance on smartphones really matters. There's no "killer app" that requires a high-end smartphone. Essentially anything a $1000 iPhone can do, a $150 Android phone can do. Of course Apple is going to keep pushing high-end hardware, that's the only way they can keep overpricing their products, but at the end of the day the people who are buying iPhones are just doing it for the status symbol anyway. I don't think their core customer base cares much about the performance, ease of use is probably the biggest draw.

Not sure I would go that far back for an Android.

I've had some mainstream and basic Android phones that were horrendous for usability, and were missing features that would otherwise be expected to be there, in a second-hand one that would sell for the same price.

Case in point: Every Moto e/g phone that I've had flat out didn't even have the hardware to support Pokemon Go as an example, and had so little storage and RAM, coupled with Google's "war on the SD card" policy of refusing to allow app installs to an SD, that you'd be lucky to get even 5 apps installed before you'd be running out of space. And in the case of said Moto E/G phones, seeing them choke and force close on the game I happen to be playing on them isn't exactly what I would call a good time. That gap just seems to only get worse instead of better. More still, is this design philosophy of phone makers to make their phones intentionally disposable.

I just recenlty managed to build a retro level Socket A pc since I managed to scavenge a top-end Barton cpu for it for free. Conversely, the Moto X Pure Edition phone I tried to settle with at the time for compatibility and freedom to switch carriers at will didn't even survive one year before being completely unusable, entirely thanks to the miserable battery that it came supplied with. At the same time, my international Note 3 is still good as a glorified mini-tablet thanks to being able to replace the battery and flash custom ROMs to keep it on a modern enough Android build. At this point I wouldn't even touch a Samsung newer than an S6 or Note 7 thanks to their desire to make exploding phones, and the staunch refusal to eliminate the risk at the source.

 

[Xzi]

I've had some mainstream and basic Android phones that were horrendous for usability, and were missing features that would otherwise be expected to be there, in a second-hand one that would sell for the same price.

Yeah it just kinda depends on a number of factors. My LG Stylo 2 was right around that $150 mark, and it does absolutely everything I need it to (including playing Pokemon Go). Galaxy S7 you can get for about $150-$200 now too. The market is flooded with so many options, you just have to wait a couple years after release for the price to drop drastically. The same can't be said of iPhones, of course, which cost around the same price as a high-end custom PC.

 

[Foxi4]

Apple has completely abandoned their desktop and laptop users in favour of the mobile sector, which is to be expected as their iPhone business is going gangbusters. They *do* make the best SoC's while the rest of the industry only has access to what Qualcomm and NVidia design and license. There is an exception from this rule, Samsung, who design their own Exynos line, but all three major players are greatly limited by ARM's own stock designs which they mostly just license and repurpose. All three are constrained for licensing, design and monetary reasons - Apple has no such constraints because they market to people who are not bothered by the final product being overpriced. Apple will happily burn money if it means that they get to brag about a few percentage points of performance in their advantage for a few months - by that time a more mainstream chip usually beats the custom Apple model. I'm not particularly excited by any of those because I'm not a huge fan of ARM, or the current dynamics in the mobile industry.

 

[duwen]

Yet nobody makes a phone that can compete spec wise lol. Apples socs are years ahead of anything android offers. Here are some facts https://www.androidauthority.com/why-are-apples-chips-faster-than-qualcomms-gary-explains-802738/

If you still prefer android despite the facts that’s up to you, but I think it’s time people stop lying.

Same thing could be said of the current consoles, with the Xbox1X being the 'best' in terms of spec... would I recommend one over a PS4Pro - no chance.

I have android devices, but not my phone - I don't require anything more than a device that can make/receive phone calls and send/receive text messages... so, I have an 8yr old Nokia - which outperforms ALL android and iOS devices in terms of battery life, it will never be 'stealth-bricked' by the manufacturer, it will never be a target for thieves, and it doesn't upload any personal data or location data.