Will you disable Apple's power management if your older iPhone could shut down?

by Daniel Petrov / Jan 18, 2018, 4:50 AM

Apple did the right thing after the whole older-iPhones-get-throttled controversy, and, besides a $29 battery replacement service, will be giving users the right to choose whether they want a performance hit but stable operations, or would gamble on current peaks that can force an aging battery to shut the handset down in certain scenarios.

Yes, in a future iOS update, Apple will give iPhone owners the ability to turn off that particular thread in its power management software that throttles the CPU on handsets with older battery packs. Users will be warned of the potential risks for unexpected shutdowns in extreme scenarios, but will be able to choose their poison, if they haven't opted for the $29 battery replacements that Apple is giving out.

That is why we wanted to ask you whether you would take advantage of the new option, and which way you would lean - towards a faster, more powerful, but more unstable handset, or you would be fine with the way things are. Needless to say, you can also shell three tens, swap the battery on your older iPhone with a new one, and be on your merry way.

Will you disable Apple's throttling if your iPhone could potentially shut down?

Yes

57.31%

16.11%

I'll be taking advantage of Apple's $29 battery replacement offer

26.58%

Options

42 Comments

1. Zack_2014

Posts: 677; Member since: Mar 25, 2014

Why does this have to happen with iPhones only?

posted on Jan 18, 2018, 5:08 AM 2

2. mootu

Posts: 1527; Member since: Mar 16, 2017

It's due to Apple using cheaper smaller cells that have to be charged more often which leads to faster degradation. If they had spent a few dollars more for cells that can take 600 or 1000 charge cycles the problem would not exist.

posted on Jan 18, 2018, 5:15 AM 23

4. shaineql

Posts: 522; Member since: Apr 28, 2014

They have 1000 ish charge cycles , but you use those twice as fast compared to Android phones with 3000mah+ cells

posted on Jan 18, 2018, 5:24 AM 11

5. mootu

iPhones have no where near a rating for 1000 charge cycles, why do you think the warranty on their cells is only 1 year. It's more likely they are rated around 300 cycles. They are $4 cells.

posted on Jan 18, 2018, 5:37 AM 17

28. yann

Posts: 614; Member since: Jul 15, 2010

Very, very biased article, masked as poll. "Apple did the right thing..." How slowing down performance with 60-70%, without to inform the client(user) is right thing?!? The whole case lead to following thoughts: 1. Apple force you to buy new iPhone; 2. Apple force you to change your battery. If battery itself cost 4-5-7-10$ why they charge you 29$, not to mention 79?!? How Tim Cook explain as pure lie: we just take fraction of the performance... Fraction? 60-70% is a fraction??? And you poll is just masked advertisement of Apple.

posted on Jan 18, 2018, 10:44 AM 3

43. deleon629

Posts: 469; Member since: Oct 04, 2014

Reading your post shows the benefit of Tim Cook's lie: The enhanced obsolescence of their products is the reason why they get sold equally as fast as they hit the shelves, in addition to having higher resale values as well, because no iPhone user ever gets the full usage of their device to the same degree as would a premium Android user: Premium Android users have the features of a small computer in-hand, and this puts a heck of a lot of 'wear and tear' on a device. So is everything you said unethical? Yes. Does it guarantee more money in the short run? YES.

posted on Jan 18, 2018, 3:43 PM 0

13. sgodsell

Posts: 7433; Member since: Mar 16, 2013

The thing is Apple right now is in full control of the speed of all your iPhones. You have no say. Also Apple could hide things like faulty SoCs that might fail and reboot at regular clock rates, but might not fail at all at lower clock rates. Apple could point the problem at a battery issue. But in reality it would require an iPhone replacement, and since it's clock speed is reduced some users would never notice if they browse the web, or do task that don't tax the iPhones SoC. This iPhone that needs to have a recall could slip right by, and Apple gets by Scott free. Talk about shady.

posted on Jan 18, 2018, 7:07 AM 2

9. DolmioMan

Posts: 334; Member since: Jan 08, 2018

Nothing to do with that, just the availability of batteries, even the suppliers are having trouble keeping up with 500 cycle batteries just for replacements. The problem is iPhone parts draw more power when on full tilt. This issue affects the Nexus 6P and surely other phones.

posted on Jan 18, 2018, 6:25 AM 0

21. piyath

Posts: 2445; Member since: Mar 23, 2012

Wrong answer. Apple never uses cheap components in their products ever like some Android manufacturers. This battery issue is universal, it even effects android phones. The thing is android people do not notice this battery degradation due to larger mAh capacities in their batteries. Even that reason is maybe irrelevant in this case as this is all about peak current flow for power hungry heavy tasks, not the typical current for normal usage. Yes Apple has rated their batteries to have 1000 full charge cycles without degradation, beyond that point Lithium ion batteries will start to lose their charge and thus performance of the phone.

posted on Jan 18, 2018, 7:40 AM 0

26. Back_from_beyond

Posts: 1438; Member since: Sep 04, 2015

For iPhones Apple uses batteries that only go 400 cycles before they expect a battery capacity to drop below 80% due to degradation. I'd call that pretty cheap since most people expect them to last 2 years and Apple only expects them to last 1 year at best.

posted on Jan 18, 2018, 9:38 AM 1

53. vincelongman

Posts: 5723; Member since: Feb 10, 2013

Apple claims that only 500 cycles will degrade iPhone batteries to below 80% So that's ~1.5 years until below 80% (assuming only being charged once a day)https://www.apple.com/batteries/service-and-recycling/ For comparison, most Android phones take 2+ years until below 80% Recent flagships, such as the S8, 2 years causes degredation to 90% Apple is 100% cheaping out in BOTH battery size and quality

posted on Jan 18, 2018, 11:23 PM 0

7. Shubham412302

Posts: 581; Member since: Nov 09, 2011

It ussually happens only after 30 months. Apple just uses bad battery

posted on Jan 18, 2018, 5:42 AM 2

10. Cat97

Posts: 1923; Member since: Mar 02, 2017

I have seen a 1-month old iPhone 6s shutting down at 6 degrees Celsius, while no Android phone that I had ever shut down in cold weather.

posted on Jan 18, 2018, 6:58 AM 8

14. cmdacos

Posts: 4260; Member since: Nov 01, 2016

I already have an easy quick toggle for power management to balance battery life or performance, my choice. Also customizable options within to tailor to my needs. Although I haven't had any random shut offs, I do like the feature and just leave it maxed out for the most part.

posted on Jan 18, 2018, 7:13 AM 0

45. Dingy_cellar_dweller

Posts: 339; Member since: Mar 16, 2013

It happened with my Nexus 3 when I put in a $3 replacement battery after a few months.

posted on Jan 18, 2018, 4:04 PM 0

3. mootu

I didn't vote as i don't use an iPhone but if i did i would just go for a new battery, problem solved.

posted on Jan 18, 2018, 5:19 AM 0

44. Dingy_cellar_dweller

Same here I didn't vote but I wouldn't want to be changing batteries every six months either.

posted on Jan 18, 2018, 4:00 PM 1

54. vincelongman

What about in 1-1.5 years time? Then you'll have to pay $79+ for a replacement battery

posted on Jan 18, 2018, 11:26 PM 0

8. whatev

Posts: 2321; Member since: Oct 28, 2015

I’d definitely do, there are really good power banks out there as well as battery cases

posted on Jan 18, 2018, 5:55 AM 1

11. Cat97

The $29 offer does not actually fix the problem. I have seen a nearly new iPhone 6s shutting down in above-freezing temperatures with 30% battery left.

posted on Jan 18, 2018, 6:59 AM 3

15. cmdacos

Shhh, thats because it had nothing to do with batteries in the first place, lol.

posted on Jan 18, 2018, 7:14 AM 3

12. MarvzIsFallen

Posts: 646; Member since: Aug 11, 2017

I don’t mind throttling my iphone since the phone itself is fast enough for my daily needs. It would be more disappointment if in the middle of working thru your phone suddenly shutdowns and you need to restart doing important things again. Now if I’m goong to do intensive tasks that requires utmost performance of the phone, i would rather do it on my macbook pro. Love  products, but they need to be transparent.

posted on Jan 18, 2018, 7:04 AM 0

16. cmdacos

I voted yes I would but my context is different with my work iPhone 7. It's near brand new still because I don't use it and will take about 50 years before I hit 500 charge cycles...

posted on Jan 18, 2018, 7:16 AM 0

19. afrohoxha

Posts: 258; Member since: Mar 13, 2014

My 4 year old chinese OnePlus One always shuts down at 0%, never before. Although I experience lets say a 30 % more battery drain in a typical usage compared when purchased. Why should a phone manufactured from the most valuable company in the world shut down before reaching the dead point which is the 0% one?

posted on Jan 18, 2018, 7:36 AM 0

29. L0n3n1nja

Posts: 1576; Member since: Jul 12, 2016

Apple did the right thing for itself and it's investors, not its customers. Use a low quality battery that degrades in a way most competitors batteries don't, then throttle phones to prevent consumers from having their phones crash, then charge money to replace the faulty battery they sold you! Great business tactic actually to make profits, cheap out on the original component and charge for a replacement.

posted on Jan 18, 2018, 10:53 AM 1

30. isprobi

Posts: 797; Member since: May 30, 2011

I have never used an iPhone mainly because they do not seem to have as much customization available as Android. I have noticed that most newer Android phones now give you a choice of battery charging modes like normal of quick charge modes. Some even go further than that. I would want this on an iPhone if I bought one.

posted on Jan 18, 2018, 10:57 AM 0

37. whatev

I’m surprised I can finally agree with fandroids on this poll, cause obviously 80% of the votes are from fandroids that don’t have an iPhone

posted on Jan 18, 2018, 1:36 PM 0

39. tedkord

Posts: 17410; Member since: Jun 17, 2009

Why do got need to own an iPhone to answer this question?

posted on Jan 18, 2018, 2:49 PM 1

41. whatev

Would you vote for presidential elections of a country where you don’t live? Well, this is kind of similar, I don’t know if you did understand or I have to make it even more for dummies

posted on Jan 18, 2018, 3:18 PM 0

48. tedkord

That's maybe the dumbest comparison I've ever heard. First, you can't vote in a foreign election. Second, anyone, iPhone owner or not, can have an opinion on whether they'd disable throttling. In fact, non iPhone owners have more reason to be able to vote, since most other phones have such options.