Apple has been all over the news in the past couple of weeks – and it’s no longer for their innovative Face ID technology. After admitting that they do, in fact, slow down older iPhones, the company has been dealing with a huge amount of negative press. The issue of a slow phone can usually be remedied by replacing your battery. Here’s a quick guide on how to see if your device is being slowed down by an older iPhone battery.
The iPhone Battery Fiasco
Since the iPhone 6, most every major iOS update has been accompanied by a spike in searches like “iPhone is slow.” While there was previously a possibility that this was mere coincidence, Apple has since confirmed that they are, indeed, slowing down older models – supposedly to protect the iPhone battery.
The iPhone battery, starting with the iPhone 6, uses a lithium-ion technology. While there are a lot of advantages to this updated tech, this new iPhone battery starts to lose its capacity after several hundred charges. When the battery depletes to a certain point, the iPhone can randomly crash – and the slow down of old iPhones purportedly prevents this issue.
The explanation is definitely believable, but many people are more cynical about the whole situation. With a yearly release schedule, Apple has a vested interest in selling as many new iPhones as possible every season. While new features and a loyal fan-base may be enough to score some significant sales, people are more likely to upgrade to the latest model if their current phone isn’t working anymore. Apple has apologized for the lack of transparency regarding the iPhone battery issue, and has drastically reduced the cost of battery replacement, but they’ve definitely lost the trust of a lot of their customers.
How To Check iPhone Battery Health
The company has stated that they’ll add a feature this year that will let owners know when their device is being slowed down due to a depleted iPhone battery, but until then it’s up to you to figure out whether your sluggish phone is due for a battery replacement.
Fortunately, the process is as simple as downloading an app from the Apple store and comparing your iPhone speed to the maximum potential that the CPU is capable of when being allowed to run unhindered. Follow the steps below to see if it’s time to replace your iPhone battery.
- Go to the App Store and download the free app “Lirum Device Info Lite.”
- Open the app, tap the options button at the top-left of the display, and then tap “This Device”
- Tap CPU
- At the bottom of the information listed, you should see two different metrics. One number is how fast your iPhone CPU is currently running, and the other is its maximum potential. In a phone with a healthy iPhone battery, the two numbers should be identical – or at least very similar.
If you’ve noticed an iPhone battery issue, you can get your battery replaced for just $29 by following our guide here.
Hopefully Apple will be more transparent about their iPhone slow down practices in the future, but at least we now have a confirmation of the practice and can work to address if. If your device is sluggish, consider replacing the iPhone battery – it’s much cheaper than a $1000 iPhone X!
