iPhone 6, iPhone 6s, and iPhone SE devices could be affected

Dec 20, 2017 20:10 GMT  ·  By

Apple has just confirmed that it indeed temporarily slows down older iPhone devices so that they won't shut down unexpectedly during certain conditions.

Earlier this week, the developers behind the Geekbench cross-platform processor benchmarking software posted an in-depth report on their discovery, based on a Reddit post from last week, that Apple is slowing down the performance of iPhone devices with older, degraded batteries. Today, Apple confirmed the suspicion, saying it's a feature to prevent sudden shutdowns.

Many of us had experienced sudden shutdowns with their iPhone devices, especially in cold weather or when the capacity of the battery was reduced, usually under 20 percent. For this, Apple developed a feature in iOS 10.2 that smooths out the instantaneous peaks only when needed, thus preventing them from unexpectedly shutting down during those conditions.

"Our goal is to deliver the best experience for customers, which includes overall performance and prolonging the life of their devices. Lithium-ion batteries become less capable of supplying peak current demands when in cold conditions, have a low battery charge or as they age over time, which can result in the device unexpectedly shutting down to protect its electronic components," Apple said.

The company plans to extend the feature to other iPhone devices

AppleInsider reports the level of throttling varies for each device, depending on how degraded the battery is on the respective iPhone. It would appear that many Reddit users have reported higher performance on their iPhone devices after they replaced the battery at an authorized Apple service, so if you're experiencing slowness, it means it's time to replace the battery.

The said feature is currently available for iPhone 6, iPhone 6s, and iPhone SE devices, according to Apple, and it was implemented with the iOS 10.2.1 software update. The company also said that it extended the feature to iPhone 7 devices with the latest iOS 11.2 update, and they plan to add it to other products in the near future, but Apple didn't say which products.