Apple explains CPU throttling to Canadian government, denies planned obsolescence

by Alan Friedman / Mar 01, 2018, 9:33 PM

Apple explains CPU throttling to Canadian government, denies planned obsolescence

Apple has already explained to its customers why it throttled the CPU on several older units. Back in December, when it was discovered that certain iPhone models were set by Apple to run slower, the company explained that the batteries in these units were getting weaker and could not keep the phone running while working on certain complex tasks. Apple explained that it was not throttling CPU speeds as a way to force iPhone users to buy the latest models.

What ticked off iPhone users was that Apple had slipped in the software allowing it to throttle these handsets, with the update to iOS 10.2.1. The iPhone models involved include the Apple iPhone 6, Apple iPhone 6s and Apple iPhone SE.

Apple released a statement today to Canada's committee on industry, science and technology. The letter, from Apple Canada Manager of Legal and Government Affairs Jacqueline Famulak, pointed out that Apple felt that it had to throttle the CPU on affected units so that users won't have their iPhone shut down in the middle of an emergency call, taking a photo of a loved one, or during other activities. "The sole purpose of the software update in this case was to help customers to continue to use older iPhones with aging batteries without shutdowns - not to drive them to buy newer devices," said the Apple Canada executive.

"We do not want our customers to experience interruptions in the use of their iPhones, whether that is making an emergency phone call, taking a picture, sharing a post, or watching the final minutes of a movie. To address the issue of unexpected shutdowns, we developed software that dynamically manages power usage when, and only when, an iPhone is facing the risk of an unexpected shutdown."-Jacqueline Famulak, Manager of Legal and Government Affairs, Apple Canada

While beta versions of iOS 11.3 have been released, the final version of this build will include a battery monitor allowing iPhone users to know the strength of their battery. In addition, iOS 11.3 will allow those with throttled units to disable the slowdown.

source: AppleInsider

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12 Comments

2. L0n3n1nja

Posts: 1504; Member since: Jul 12, 2016

I still don't understand why Apple's batteries degrade in a way they no longer provide enough power while no other manufacturer has this problem. Other manufacturers you just get reduced battery life as it degrades. I still think they cheaped out and used inferior batteries, they've had battery related recalls in the past.

posted on Mar 01, 2018, 10:01 PM 7

11. WakaFlakaD

Posts: 575; Member since: Apr 30, 2011

I previously worked at T-Mobile USA retail and currently at Verizon retail. Roughly 2 years in, I had seen random shut down from Moto Droid series, HTC M8/9 and iPhone would randomly shut down. Samsung usually fails at the charging port and LG with the bootloop.

posted on Mar 01, 2018, 11:15 PM 1

14. Sammy_DEVIL737

Posts: 1497; Member since: Nov 28, 2016

My Moto X 2014 too have random restart problems. Though it only happens very rarely like once in a 4-5 months but it has that same problem. I guess this is because of my aging battery. But the performance is still the same not much difference at all.

posted on Mar 02, 2018, 12:51 AM 0

7. thetruthhasbeenspoken

Posts: 81; Member since: May 02, 2017

Why is PhoneArena not reporting about thishttp://www.yugatech.com/mobile/samsung-galaxy-s9-plus-takes-top-spot-in-dxomarks-tests/

posted on Mar 01, 2018, 10:46 PM 1

10. GreenMan

Posts: 2687; Member since: Nov 09, 2015

I quote: "The sole purpose of the software update in this case was to help customers to continue to use older iPhones with aging batteries without shutdowns - not to drive them to buy newer devices," End quote. Okay, the batterygate wasn't meant to drive consumers to buy newer devices. But how would a consumer know? If my phone start to slow down, naturally, I'd think that there's something wrong with the SoC. No one in his right mind would even think about a degraded battery to be the culprit. Bad, rotten Apple! G'Day!

posted on Mar 01, 2018, 11:09 PM 4

20. Cicero

Posts: 1101; Member since: Jan 22, 2014

Totally agree with you. And Apple throttled down after only 1 year use of iPhone. Why they did not inform customers to check the battery because it can be a problem there and not doing a undercover throttle down cpu?

posted on Mar 02, 2018, 2:53 AM 4

13. serge327

Posts: 79; Member since: Aug 27, 2012

Why Apple did not let users know while doing this early in the IOS update? "the batteries in these units were getting weaker and could not keep the phone running while working on certain complex tasks, Apple Quoted."

posted on Mar 02, 2018, 12:24 AM 2

16. SIGPRO

Posts: 2810; Member since: Oct 03, 2012

Apple knew about this issue because they used rotten batteries, probably really really cheap ones. They decided to throttle the phones down because of battery decay. They deliberately not informed customers about this issue. Only when it was found and proven by others they had to admit. Apple you are truly the cockroach of this planet. Hope that people ditch your products!

posted on Mar 02, 2018, 1:22 AM 7

21. duckofdeath unregistered

The phone doesn't work according to specifications. Apple is admitting this themselves. That battery exchange program scam they're running is going to cost them the full cost once commissions and lawmakers are done looking at this disaster.

posted on Mar 02, 2018, 4:30 AM 1

22. whatev

Posts: 2084; Member since: Oct 28, 2015

It’s really cute seeing the android army trying to destroy apple by ranting on the comment section, you don’t realize you do nothing by doing this, apple is the most successful and relevant company in the world and will keep like this no matter what you do, wake up! Get off those screens and your parent’s basement, get a job and do something better with your life