Is this guy the mouthpiece for Apple or what, when he's not busy going on political rants that have nothing to do with his craft of writing a tech, Apple-centric blog?
https://daringfireball.net/2017/12/iphone_battery_throttling
Let's dissect the many arguments he puts forth that I take immediate issue with
"Basically, Apple is being painted in a damned if they do, damned if they don’t corner"
This isn't true, if a good amount of people on pre-throttle iOS versions do not experience shutdowns on worn batteries. They've been caught with their pants down and are now trying to articulate throttling as "extending a feature" after the fact. Reality distortion fields are down and more vulnerable than ever. Also, it wasn't an option a) to tell people about it after they've verified it through their own scientific research to where its irrefutable, b) do nothing whatsoever. Surely there must be some sorta middle ground that, might not make some people happy, but could be handled way better than this has been -- which is really not at all, and still unresolved and with even more clouds of confusion and prompted questions. It has been suggested to allow people an easy and native iOS way to check battery degradation and/or have a prompt letting people know its time to service their battery (not like they haven't done this with macOS)
"But now Apple faces accusations that they’re deliberately slowing these devices down to convince people to buy new iPhones. The thing to keep in mind is that there is nothing Apple can do about the fact that lithium-ion batteries decline over time."
Why is this just *now* a problem, after a decade of iPhones, all using lithium ion batteries?
And how is it that 6s was the affected unit, but now since they've throttled iPhone 7 on 11.2 moving forward, its affected too. and "other models" so the 8 and X are affected, too? Why give iOS the throttle feature later in its software life and not upfront with new shipping iOS versions?
since it was just 6s, but now 7, and soon 8/X to get the throttle, does this mean all iPhones 6s onwards are poorly made and have major engineering faults as common practice?
is this common practice for portable consoles too, which coincidentally, rely on lithium ion batteries?
or laptops? or tablets? or androids?
One way or another, older much-used iPhones are going to suffer in some way.
except there are people experiencing problems in their first year of usage, and some very shortly after that. I have a 2009 3gs that still works fine, and as best I can tell, does not throttle. Same with a heavily degraded 4s I got off craigslist. Anecdotal, to be sure, but I had a 5 with a quite worn battery, and hung out on older iOS for jaiilbreak, and shut downs or throttle was never an issue. same with SE, on 10.2, but still with a good capacity battery. Same with my 7+ on 10.1.1 with 85% capacity and 500ish charges. Im also not really thrilled that after a year and a month or two, I'm sitting pretty at 5% above the threshold for throttling should I ever update iOS on it. Very reassuring future ahead, for a device I paid $879 for.
I agree with Panzarino, though, that Apple should do a better job communicating about this:
"Better job communicating" -- oh, you mean like communicating it at all? Not *AFTER THE FACT*
He's quoting someone but agrees:
The point at which iOS will tell you that your battery has gone to hell is currently very, very conservative. Perhaps this can be set to be more aggressive. Then, of course, users will complain that Apple is cash grabbing on battery replacements but humans will remain humans.
cash grabbing is gas lighting people into thinking they need a new phone, when they might just need a battery replacement. But I guess "humans will remain humans" -- wut?
An official battery replacement from Apple is only $79, and free under AppleCare.
So $79 for a battery is now "only" $79? and something that's needed to restore original performance of the cpu? Apple could charge a lot more, but still hardly a deal.
"Free" under "AppleCare" -- does this even need to be broken down?
Also, I've heard varying stories that even if you want to pay for a battery out of pocket, but doesn't meet the diagnostic guidelines (when one still has throttling), they refuse to replace it even for money. That puts consumers in a tough spot, to boss their way into paying for something they should be able to pay for, without being met with any resistance whatsoever. especially after this story has become huge. If this is common practice, this is an obvious form of deception and bullying ("well my iPad reads your battery is fine even though I see your throttled performance") a customer into a corner of giving up, getting a new iPhone, or going to the dark side of android.
If more users with older iPhones knew that replacing the battery could restore the original performance, they might happily opt for that.
"might happily opt" -- yes, this is the entire reason throttle gate is a gate. They weren't given options, due to lack of transparency
I’ve said the following before, but I’ll say it again: Apple does not purposefully cripple older devices to encourage users to buy new devices.
He has personally no way to verify this, its merely his sentiment. Apple had to have known without people having enough information, that upgrading because their old phone has slowed to a crawl, is a common reason people upgrade/justify their upgrade. It is a common perception on this board that even one major iOS leap can introduce enough features that modern hardware can't keep up any longer. I call BS, outright+all around.
(he's quoting himself here from iOS 7 days)
If older iPhones suffer upon being updated to iOS 7 — getting slower, or worse battery life, or losing Wi-Fi — to such a degree that the users conclude they now need to buy a new phone, would not the most likely and logical result be that it would inspire many of them to switch to Android (or Windows Phone, or anything) rather than to buy another iPhone?
Has he looked at macrumors forums? For many people, they will still get X-S or X-2 or X+ next year, fully knowing this throttle thing is a thing. Apple is abusing customers' loyalty, and though it may not be the tipping point for all, it certainly will be for some.
the (or Windows Phone, or anything) parantheses cracks me up. Oh yeah, windows phone. big market share, lots of apps. And the "or anything" option, because there's always a good flip phone or Jitterbug out there for everyone.
If your car breaks down after just a few years, are you not more likely to replace it with a different brand? To posit that Apple customers are somehow different, that when they feel screwed by Apple their response is to go back for more, is “Cult of Mac” logic — the supposition that most Apple customers are irrational zealots or trend followers who just mindlessly buy anything with an Apple logo on it. The truth is the opposite: Apple’s business is making customers happy, and keeping them happy. They make products for discriminating people who have higher standards and less tolerance for design flaws or problems.
Apple does have a cult-like following, the ecosystem keeps people attached despite pains and lack of options (if one doesn't like android), and since iPhone's popularity, their market isn't entirely "discriminating people with higher standards" some people see zero design flaws in iOS 11 whatsoever. Are you telling me every one and their mother, and grandmother, has "discrimination for higher standards and less tolerance for design flaws"?
And at the engineering level, I’ve heard from multiple Apple sources over the years that even if such a dictate were issued from on high, it would result in a revolt. If some shortsighted senior executive demanded that an iOS software update render older iPhone hardware artificially slow, the engineers tasked with the job would almost certainly object. Even if some unscrupulous engineer were willing to implement such a booby trap, how would they keep other engineers on the team from noticing it, fixing it, and figuring out who was responsible? Something along the lines of “if (deviceAgeInYears > 2) { [self _runF****Slow]; }” is going to stick out in code review after being checked into the iOS source code.
Lol a revolt-- people placing principles over having to put food on the table. Where is the revolt for outspoken Tim assuming 100% of his employees are in lockstep with his pol views every time he sends out some memo about reactions to US policies, and oppose the president at every turn? Maybe most, being Silicon Valley, but definitely not 100%. Statistically impossible. These outliers keep their mouth shut, and collect their paychecks. They don't wanna get into a pissing contest over pol when they were paid to do tech.
Gruber's evidence that this isn't malicious, is that it doesn't have expletives explicitly outlined in the code to internally give a tip of the hat to screwing over customers. Gimme a break.
Would they resign in protest if their objections were ignored? Yes, actually, they would.
Who is this unnamed, "they"? I would argue "they" wouldn't, since we don't know who he's talking about whatsoever and because economics are usually a big factor in everything.
Given that Uber found engineers willing to create a “god view” monitoring system that allowed employees to spy on celebrities, politicians, and ex-boyfriends and girlfriends, it’s not hard to believe Apple could find engineers willing to make apps run slower on two-year-old iPhones. Such cynicism is understandable, but Apple is not Uber.
Apple is not Uber. there you have it. Close the books, stop discussing throttle gate, and wait in line for the next iPhone.
https://daringfireball.net/2017/12/iphone_battery_throttling
Let's dissect the many arguments he puts forth that I take immediate issue with
"Basically, Apple is being painted in a damned if they do, damned if they don’t corner"
This isn't true, if a good amount of people on pre-throttle iOS versions do not experience shutdowns on worn batteries. They've been caught with their pants down and are now trying to articulate throttling as "extending a feature" after the fact. Reality distortion fields are down and more vulnerable than ever. Also, it wasn't an option a) to tell people about it after they've verified it through their own scientific research to where its irrefutable, b) do nothing whatsoever. Surely there must be some sorta middle ground that, might not make some people happy, but could be handled way better than this has been -- which is really not at all, and still unresolved and with even more clouds of confusion and prompted questions. It has been suggested to allow people an easy and native iOS way to check battery degradation and/or have a prompt letting people know its time to service their battery (not like they haven't done this with macOS)
"But now Apple faces accusations that they’re deliberately slowing these devices down to convince people to buy new iPhones. The thing to keep in mind is that there is nothing Apple can do about the fact that lithium-ion batteries decline over time."
Why is this just *now* a problem, after a decade of iPhones, all using lithium ion batteries?
And how is it that 6s was the affected unit, but now since they've throttled iPhone 7 on 11.2 moving forward, its affected too. and "other models" so the 8 and X are affected, too? Why give iOS the throttle feature later in its software life and not upfront with new shipping iOS versions?
since it was just 6s, but now 7, and soon 8/X to get the throttle, does this mean all iPhones 6s onwards are poorly made and have major engineering faults as common practice?
is this common practice for portable consoles too, which coincidentally, rely on lithium ion batteries?
or laptops? or tablets? or androids?
One way or another, older much-used iPhones are going to suffer in some way.
except there are people experiencing problems in their first year of usage, and some very shortly after that. I have a 2009 3gs that still works fine, and as best I can tell, does not throttle. Same with a heavily degraded 4s I got off craigslist. Anecdotal, to be sure, but I had a 5 with a quite worn battery, and hung out on older iOS for jaiilbreak, and shut downs or throttle was never an issue. same with SE, on 10.2, but still with a good capacity battery. Same with my 7+ on 10.1.1 with 85% capacity and 500ish charges. Im also not really thrilled that after a year and a month or two, I'm sitting pretty at 5% above the threshold for throttling should I ever update iOS on it. Very reassuring future ahead, for a device I paid $879 for.
I agree with Panzarino, though, that Apple should do a better job communicating about this:
"Better job communicating" -- oh, you mean like communicating it at all? Not *AFTER THE FACT*
He's quoting someone but agrees:
The point at which iOS will tell you that your battery has gone to hell is currently very, very conservative. Perhaps this can be set to be more aggressive. Then, of course, users will complain that Apple is cash grabbing on battery replacements but humans will remain humans.
cash grabbing is gas lighting people into thinking they need a new phone, when they might just need a battery replacement. But I guess "humans will remain humans" -- wut?
An official battery replacement from Apple is only $79, and free under AppleCare.
So $79 for a battery is now "only" $79? and something that's needed to restore original performance of the cpu? Apple could charge a lot more, but still hardly a deal.
"Free" under "AppleCare" -- does this even need to be broken down?
Also, I've heard varying stories that even if you want to pay for a battery out of pocket, but doesn't meet the diagnostic guidelines (when one still has throttling), they refuse to replace it even for money. That puts consumers in a tough spot, to boss their way into paying for something they should be able to pay for, without being met with any resistance whatsoever. especially after this story has become huge. If this is common practice, this is an obvious form of deception and bullying ("well my iPad reads your battery is fine even though I see your throttled performance") a customer into a corner of giving up, getting a new iPhone, or going to the dark side of android.
If more users with older iPhones knew that replacing the battery could restore the original performance, they might happily opt for that.
"might happily opt" -- yes, this is the entire reason throttle gate is a gate. They weren't given options, due to lack of transparency
I’ve said the following before, but I’ll say it again: Apple does not purposefully cripple older devices to encourage users to buy new devices.
He has personally no way to verify this, its merely his sentiment. Apple had to have known without people having enough information, that upgrading because their old phone has slowed to a crawl, is a common reason people upgrade/justify their upgrade. It is a common perception on this board that even one major iOS leap can introduce enough features that modern hardware can't keep up any longer. I call BS, outright+all around.
(he's quoting himself here from iOS 7 days)
If older iPhones suffer upon being updated to iOS 7 — getting slower, or worse battery life, or losing Wi-Fi — to such a degree that the users conclude they now need to buy a new phone, would not the most likely and logical result be that it would inspire many of them to switch to Android (or Windows Phone, or anything) rather than to buy another iPhone?
Has he looked at macrumors forums? For many people, they will still get X-S or X-2 or X+ next year, fully knowing this throttle thing is a thing. Apple is abusing customers' loyalty, and though it may not be the tipping point for all, it certainly will be for some.
the (or Windows Phone, or anything) parantheses cracks me up. Oh yeah, windows phone. big market share, lots of apps. And the "or anything" option, because there's always a good flip phone or Jitterbug out there for everyone.
If your car breaks down after just a few years, are you not more likely to replace it with a different brand? To posit that Apple customers are somehow different, that when they feel screwed by Apple their response is to go back for more, is “Cult of Mac” logic — the supposition that most Apple customers are irrational zealots or trend followers who just mindlessly buy anything with an Apple logo on it. The truth is the opposite: Apple’s business is making customers happy, and keeping them happy. They make products for discriminating people who have higher standards and less tolerance for design flaws or problems.
Apple does have a cult-like following, the ecosystem keeps people attached despite pains and lack of options (if one doesn't like android), and since iPhone's popularity, their market isn't entirely "discriminating people with higher standards" some people see zero design flaws in iOS 11 whatsoever. Are you telling me every one and their mother, and grandmother, has "discrimination for higher standards and less tolerance for design flaws"?
And at the engineering level, I’ve heard from multiple Apple sources over the years that even if such a dictate were issued from on high, it would result in a revolt. If some shortsighted senior executive demanded that an iOS software update render older iPhone hardware artificially slow, the engineers tasked with the job would almost certainly object. Even if some unscrupulous engineer were willing to implement such a booby trap, how would they keep other engineers on the team from noticing it, fixing it, and figuring out who was responsible? Something along the lines of “if (deviceAgeInYears > 2) { [self _runF****Slow]; }” is going to stick out in code review after being checked into the iOS source code.
Lol a revolt-- people placing principles over having to put food on the table. Where is the revolt for outspoken Tim assuming 100% of his employees are in lockstep with his pol views every time he sends out some memo about reactions to US policies, and oppose the president at every turn? Maybe most, being Silicon Valley, but definitely not 100%. Statistically impossible. These outliers keep their mouth shut, and collect their paychecks. They don't wanna get into a pissing contest over pol when they were paid to do tech.
Gruber's evidence that this isn't malicious, is that it doesn't have expletives explicitly outlined in the code to internally give a tip of the hat to screwing over customers. Gimme a break.
Would they resign in protest if their objections were ignored? Yes, actually, they would.
Who is this unnamed, "they"? I would argue "they" wouldn't, since we don't know who he's talking about whatsoever and because economics are usually a big factor in everything.
Given that Uber found engineers willing to create a “god view” monitoring system that allowed employees to spy on celebrities, politicians, and ex-boyfriends and girlfriends, it’s not hard to believe Apple could find engineers willing to make apps run slower on two-year-old iPhones. Such cynicism is understandable, but Apple is not Uber.
Apple is not Uber. there you have it. Close the books, stop discussing throttle gate, and wait in line for the next iPhone.
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