iOS 11.3 Beta Next Month Will Add CPU Throttling Toggle As Apple Confirms US Government Inquiry In The Matter

Following a report by Bloomberg yesterday, Apple has today confirmed that it has been contacted by “some government agencies” believed to be the Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission regarding its slowing down of iPhones via a software update in order to prevent unexpected shutdowns.

In response to the questions posed by the two agencies, Apple has released a statement to Axios which again reiterated that it does not slow phones in an attempt to force users to upgrade to newer devices, although that will surely not be enough to convince everyone.

Apple has not confirmed which government agencies have been in touch, but merely said that it had “received questions from some government agencies” and that it is “responding to them”.

“As we told our customers in December, we have never — and would never — 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.”

Apple continues to offer replacement batteries at a reduced $29, and with iOS reducing the speed of iPhones when poor batteries cannot provide the power required, a replacement should return an older iPhone to its former glory. The offer is currently available to iPhone 6 and new devices, although faulty batteries within warranty periods will obviously continue to be replaced under AppleCare.

Apple has also confirmed that it will offer a toggle to disable throttling as part of new power management options in a beta release of iOS 11.3 next month, although this is not expected to be made available to users until Spring time.

United States DOJ, SEC Investigating Apple For Deliberately Slowing Down iPhones With Degraded Batteries

A new, perhaps unexpected, twist in the story that saw Apple begin artificially throttling the speed of older iPhones with poor quality batteries in them has occurred today, with the news that the U.S. Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission will both investigate whether the company violated securities laws.

Apple disclosed information recently that it had issued a software release that slowed older iPhones, prompting the investigations.

The government has apparently requested information from Apple, with Bloomberg citing sources that, understandably, do not wish to be named. Those same sources also reiterated that it is very early days in the investigation and that it is too soon to know whether any action will be taken against Apple. Unsurprisingly, neither Apple nor the SEC offered comment when asked by Bloomberg, although the company’s shares do appear mildly affected by the news.

This whole situation came about after Apple told users a number of weeks ago that it was slowing down older iPhones in order to make their poor quality batteries last longer. The move was carried out via a software update that arrived earlier in 2017, with Apple subsequently apologizing for their poor communication surrounding exactly what that software update was doing.

Replacing an impacted iPhone’s battery with a new one will rectify the issue, with Apple offering a 75% discount on the price of a replacement by way of making amends. Anyone wishing to get a new battery installed in an iPhone 6 or newer can do so for the reduced price of $29 for the remainder of 2018.

Apple has also confirmed that it will offer users control over their iPhone’s speed as part of the upcoming iOS 11.3 update, although that is not expected to arrive for a few weeks yet.