Apple makes old iPhones slow: Controversy, truth & what iPhone 6, iPhone 6s, iPhone 7 users can do

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Your fears were true. Apple on Thursday confirmed that it slows down older iPhones. But it says that it does so because it is in the interest of users. The culprit, according to Apple, is the battery in your old phone that loses charge as it ages. Although, this might be the case many iPhone 6, iPhone 6s and the iPhone 7 users may not find any solace in these words. These are the users complaining that their iPhone runs slow after an update to the iOS 11.2.
Apple acknowledged the issue a few days after the iPhone users found the reasons why their older iPhones -- these are the iPhone 6, iPhone 6s and the iPhone 7 -- were running slow after update to the iOS 11.2. If you are new to the issue, here is what has happened so far.

The controversy

Until now it was a conspiracy theory. The theory was that after a new iPhone was launched, Apple would make the older iPhones slow after updating them to a new version of the iOS so that people move to the new iPhone and update their phone. Apparently there is some truth in the claim, although Apple says that the reason why the phones like the iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6S run slow with the iOS 11 is not because the company wants the users of these phones to buy the iPhone 8 but because of the battery.
The issue came to light on Reddit where a user found that when he upgraded the battery in his iPhone 6S it ran much faster, at original performance level, with the iOS 11 compared to how it was with the older battery. This is something the user found after testing his phone with Geekbench, as well as with by observing the performance of the phone.
Geekbench later did its own tests and reached the same conclusion. It found that Apple was deliberately reducing the performance of the iPhone 6S and the iPhone 7 with the iOS 11 update. 

The Apple statement

As more and more people talked about the issue, Apple issued a statement. Here is what Apple says:
"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 its 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 for other products in the future."

What it means

In simple words this means that if you use the iPhone 6, iPhone SE, iPhone 6S or the iPhone 7 and then update your phone to the latest iOS that is iOS 11, you may find your phone slow after the update. This "slowness" is particularly going to be noticeable when you are launching apps and playing games
Apple says that to ensure that the aging battery doesn't lead frequent shutdown of the phone, it has to reduce the amount of peak power that the processor can draw from battery, which means processor is slower compared to how it will work in a new iPhone with the new battery.
It's up to you whether you believe or not in the conspiracy that states Apple is doing this to force people to upgrade to the latest iPhone. But the older iPhones do get, theoretically, slower after the latest software update. Actually, it is not entirely theoretical. The older iPhones with the latest iOS do feel slow during use.

What iPhone 6, iPhone 6S and iPhone 7 users can do

Not much actually. Now that Apple has explained the reason why the iPhone 6, iPhone 6S and the iPhone 7 may run slow with the latest iOS update, the users have four options. None of them good.
1- You can choose not to upgrade to the latest version of iOS. However, it is not easy to avoid the updates in the world of Apple, and if you have already updated your phone, you may not be able to roll back to the previous version.
2- Replace the battery. This is the best option for most people, although in India it is not feasible. In India, Apple doesn't repair phones and hence may not change the battery in your older iPhone. In India, Apple only replaces the whole using unit and in case of out of warranty phones -- a one year old iPhone 7 is definitely out of warranty -- means spending extra if you want to get your phone replaced.
3- Live with the slightly slower iPhone. After all it is old, and actually all old phones do see performance regression.
4- Update to the latest iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus or the iPhone X. Ouch!

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