14 DAY TRIAL // The discounted battery replacement program that Apple launched last year proved to be highly successful, with CEO Tim Cook revealing in a meeting with employees that no less than 11 million iPhones were serviced in 2018.
This is no less than 11 times more batteries than usual, as John Gruber at Daring Fireball indicates that according to Cook’s figures, Apple typically replaces 1 million to 2 million batteries every year.
Apple reduced the price of battery replacements for the iPhone from $79 to $29 in early 2018 after the company acknowledged it deliberately slowed down devices with degraded batteries.
Cupertino allowed iPhones to be serviced at the discounted price until December 31, and starting January 1, the price of replacing a battery has been increased back to $79.
Apple acknowledges weaker demand for new iPhones
Apple revised its guidance for Q1 2019 earnings, explaining that it anticipates slower iPhone sales than it originally projected, partially because of this battery replacement program.
“We’ve started a program worldwide where we dramatically lower the battery replacement price. We had sort of a collection of items going on, some that are macroeconomic, some that are Apple-specific. We’re not going to sit around waiting for the macro to change. I hope that it does, and I’m actually optimistic, but we’re going to focus deeply on the things we can control,” Cook said.
Given many iPhone owners replaced the degraded batteries of their devices, some decided not to upgrade to newer iPhone models, especially given the high prices of the 2018 generation.
iPhone XS starts at $999 in the United States, while the top-of-the-range iPhone XS Max costs $1,449. Customers thus wait longer before purchasing a new iPhone, especially as the new battery restores the performance of their older models.