Apple has admitted to slowing down its iPhones on purpose due to an update. Read what the historic Italian antitrust ruling says
The news is official: Apple slowed down iPhones on purpose. The Cupertino company has published on its Italian website an admission of guilt related to malfunctions of its smartphones. In particular, the old generation iPhones were artificially slowed down (through a module of the operating system) in order not to consume too much battery.
For this reason, the Company has been condemned and fined by AGCM - Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato. The malfunction affected the iPhone 6 range, which includes not only the standard version, but also the 6 Plus, the 6s and the 6s Plus. According to the Italian Antitrust ruling, owners of these models were not adequately warned about the possible drop in performance caused by the iOS 10.2.1 update. Why did Apple decide to cause such a slowdown? The Antitrust Authority has tried to clarify just that. Here are what the conclusions are and what the statement published online by Apple reads.
Why Apple slowed down iPhones
Following the iOS 10.2.1 update several iPhones have shown a drastic drop in performance. The incident caused general discontent among Apple customers and prompted the Antitrust Authority to investigate. The episode was the subject of a ruling involving one of the world's largest companies.
It was discovered that the slowdown occurred in iPhones with an outdated battery, therefore unable to support the operating system update. To avoid sudden shutdowns, Apple tried to limit the damage by causing a general drop in smartphone performance.
The Cupertino company did not inform its customers before the installation, however, omitting the truth. At the end of 2018, the ruling therefore decreed a penalty of 10 million euros to Apple, which in published the following statement on its Italian website:
"While we are appealing the measure in respect of the Competition Authority, we are working with the authority to address their concerns. Our goal has always been to create safe products that our customers love, and making iPhones last as long as possible is a key part of achieving that goal."
Apple, in an effort to meet consumers' needs, has come up with a program that allows you to change the battery in iPhones for $29 instead of $79. It has also launched an update that lets you know the health of your battery. To view this important information, you need to access Settings, then Battery and Battery Status. Here you can check the Maximum Capacity and make sure that the percentage is great.