Apple’s olive branch to iPhone owners affected by the CPU throttling saga could end up costing the company a small fortune.
The firm promised to replace the batteries of iPhone 6 and later handsets for $29 instead of the usual out-of-warranty price of $79. At the time, Apple said it was extending the discount to any customer “whose battery needs to be replaced.”
However, it has now emerged Apple is honouring the discount, even for customers whose batteries pass an in-store diagnostics test.
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The news comes via French Apple site iGeneration, who happened upon an internal Apple Store memo.
MacRumors checked with Apple and the company confirmed the policy applies to all customers regardless of whether it meets the criteria of holding less than 80% of its original capacity.
That means it’s a good opportunity for any iPhone 6 (or later) owner to grab a cheap battery replacement, regardless of whether the current one is on its last legs.
Countering the backlash
The offer runs until the end of December 2018, so there’s plenty of time to capitalise. It’s likely Apple’s flexibility is designed to counter the backlash, which has inevitably followed the controversy.
It all comes after it emerged Apple was deliberately throttling CPU speeds on iPhones with aging batteries.
The company said it was acting to prolong the lives of older iPhone devices and guard against unexpected shutdowns. However, it raised suspicions the slow down was designed to push customers into upgrading to a new iPhone.
Last week Apple issued an apology and acknowledged some customers felt “let down” by the issue. The company also said it is planning to release a battery diagnostics tool within a future iOS update, so users can see for themselves when the cell may need replacing.
Does this whole episode shake your trust in Apple? Or do you take the company at its word? Share your thoughts with us @TrustedReviews on Twitter.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
