Apple finally admits it deliberately slows down old iPhones

iPhone users who complain about slower device speeds have finally been proven right by Apple.

According to the tech company, iPhones are slowed down to protect the lithium-ion battery from becoming faulty. The batteries are particularly susceptible in cold weather. The software was rolled out in 2016 to protect from a common problem with the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6S.

Apple has denied claims that it slows down iPhones to sell newer models and maintains it is in the best interest of users to have slightly slower phones. In its official statement reported by Techcrunch, Apple said:

"Our goal is to deliver the best experience for customers, which includes overall performance and prolonging the life of their devices. Lithium-ion batteries become less capable of supplying peak current demands when in cold conditions, have a low battery charge or as they age over time, which can result in the device unexpectedly shutting down to protect is electronic components.

Last year we released a feature for iPhone 6, iPhone 6S and iPhone SE to smooth out the instantaneous peaks only when needed to prevent the device from unexpectedly shutting down during these conditions. We've now extended that feature to iPhone 7 with iOS 11.2, and plan to add support to other products in the future."

Apple's admission contradicts earlier information released by benchmarking company Futuremark. By testing an iPhone 5S for GPU over the past 18 months, researchers found that performance remained consistent, even after iOS was upgraded.

Between April 2016 and September 2017, iPhones were tested monthly on iOS 9, iOS 10 and iOS 11. According to Futuremark, Apple has not been deliberately slowing the phones.

"Our benchmarking data shows that, rather than intentionally degrading the performance of older models, Apple actually does a good job of supporting its older devices with regular updates that maintain a consistent level of performance across iOS versions."