Apple statement on iPhone battery slowdown and government inquiries


Apple statement via CNBC:

"About a year ago, we delivered a software update that improves power management during peak workloads to avoid unexpected shutdowns on certain iPhones with older batteries. We know that iPhones have become an important part of the daily lives of our customers and our intention was to improve the customer experience."

"We sought to further improve the customer experience in December by announcing a significant discount on replacement batteries for certain iPhones. We also announced that we began developing a new iOS feature to show battery health and which would recommend when the user should consider replacing their battery. These actions were taken to further assist our customers and help extend the life of their iPhones. In addition, users will be able to see if the power management feature is being used to prevent unexpected shutdowns, and turn if off if they so choose. These features will be included in a developer release next month and a user release this Spring."

"As we told our customers in December, we have never â€" and would never â€" do anything to intentionally shorten the life of any Apple product, or degrade the user experience to drive customer upgrades. Our goal has always been to create products that our customers love. Making iPhones last as long as possible is an important part of that."

"We have received questions from some government agencies and we are responding to them."

I like the focus on the customer experience and changes coming to make the battery situation more transparent, particularly the controls. The battery program, although temporary is also a good move. The "sought to further improve the customer experience" is candy-coated spin. I think Apple did a reasonable thing but didn't do enough to communicate the change.