Apple Inc. – the Cupertino-based company responsible for the design of the iPhone and iPad units – has recently come under fire due to comments of deliberately slowing down older model of their phones. Right now, the American-found company is getting a lot of stick from consumer groups in China, and they have been directed to answer the questions that the group is posing to them.
It is understandable that every business will always want to make more money on its new releases, hence the introduction of appropriate marketing strategies. However, what Apple did is simply inexcusable, rolling out a software update that would make the older models of the phone slower. By so doing, the newer models would be appealing, forcing the consumer to make a switch. Since this has become news, various consumer groups and media houses are not letting the iOS brand have breathing space.
In China, the Shanghai Consumer Council wrote to the management of Apple, demanding an explanation on the issue on ground. Going into the specifics of the inquiry, the consumer council asks Apple Inc. to explain in details just how serious the hit in performance was to the older models, and what rectifications they were offering to customers that have been affected. Giving the company until Friday to reply to this letter, the council has also lamented an increased number of complaints reaching them about Apple products of recent.
To be fair, Apple did release a statement to go along with the shutdown fix to the iOS 10.2.1, but did not in any way make it clear that the changes to the power management option would negatively affect the batteries. In a bid to right their wrongs, Apple issued an apology to the customers who were affected by this update. To crown it all, they also offered an out of warranty battery replacement at a reduced price of $29 to affected customers.