IPhones with old batteries are throttled in their performance by Apple, to avoid a sudden crash. That caused a scandal. Now this function can be switched off by the user.
The performance throttling of iPhones can now be switched off automatically by the user.
Photo: Fernando Gutierrez-Juarez / dpa central image / dpa
Apple will let iPhone users turn off the controversial throttling of their device's performance with worn out batteries. "We do not recommend this", because this could lead to sudden reboots of the equipment, confined CEO Tim Cook in an interview with the US broadcaster ABC.
Apple was focused on the introduction of the function about a year ago to enable the smooth use of the devices, even with weakened batteries. But "if you do not want it, you can turn it off."
So far, Apple had just announced that in a next version of the iPhone operating system, more information on the health of the battery will be seen. In addition, the group capped for this year, the price for the replacement of the iPhone batteries - in Europe from 89 to 29 euros.
Apple had come under fire because the company kept consumers in the dark for months on whether the performance of iPhones with worn out batteries might be cut back to avoid a sudden shutdown under full load.
In the US, several consumer lawsuits have been filed against Apple. The plaintiffs argue that they have been tempted to buy new phones, instead of making their iPhones fit again with a battery change. Cook said that Apple did indeed explain the function at the time, but that had received little attention and "maybe we should have been clearer". He apologized and denied again that Apple had a different motivation than the experience of the users.
