So Are They Actually Slowing Down Our Phones?

So this week, Apple showed off the new iPhone 15. Now, keep in mind, I stay way out of the loop when Apple shows off their new products. I didn't even know that you could put your phone down on one of those little charging surfaces until, like this year. Imagine how long it took me to realize my own phone could do that. I think technology is wicked. Super. Mondo cool, even. But you could write a Farmer's Almanac on everything I don't know an iPhone can do. Discovery is like, half the fun!

So seeing that newfangled iPhone on my email made my brain go "Woah! Wow!"

But then I got to thinking. Well shoot, my phone is now yet another generation behind the standard. Wonder if my phone is gonna get slow. Do Apple and other smartphone companies actually flip a few switches at HQ to slow down our geriatric phone models?

For this week's blog post, I hope to find the answer to this question:

So Are They Actually Slowing Down Our Phones?

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For the People

In the past few years, we've all kind of come to accept that as newer smartphone models are released, the older models we have are going to become much less efficient. It's rather depressing that we've just grown okay with this, especially considering how important smartphones are to the current day. A near countless amount of sensitive data is contained in our smartphones. We put a lot of trust into these strange little machines, and as the people who pay to not only have them in our lives but keep them in our lives, it's only fair that we receive them at their fullest ability. It's the most basic principle of paying for a product/service: that the product/service is exactly what you paid for. A slowed phone could greatly interfere with the actions of someone day-to-day. It can hinder communicative processes like phone calls or texting. It can stop basic programs from running as they should, creating even more bugs and issues. The many things we use our phones for, like web-surfing and global positioning are going to be so much harder to utilize. So how do these companies just get away with it? Well... the answer is...

They don't.

At least, not anymore.

Back in 2017, after it was found that Apple did slow down older phone models, Samsung and LG, two other big-name smartphone companies, spoke out against these practices and confirmed that they did not partake in similar matters and slow their products down, nor has it been found that they do.

But what about Apple, right? They got caught with their hand stuck in the proverbial cookie jar, reeling back the functionalities of our beloved, retro iPhones to try and bait us into buying their sparkling, new, hi-tech schlock hook-line-and-sinker. Well, they got hit where it hurts. By the one weapon we regular folk have against corporations. The power of...

Litigation!

In between the span of Winter 2017 to Summer 2018, Apple fell victim to 66 class action lawsuits filed by multiple states in the U.S. after it was found that they were adding software that would slow down older iPhones. Of course, Apple originally plead innocence against these claims, but as the lawsuit carried forth, they slowly started pleading guilty.

Investigations had found that Apple had been undeniably supplying iOS updates with software that would slow down the operating processes of older phones. As a result of the lawsuit, Apple wound up not only having to pay 500 million dollars in relief to users of older phones that filed claims, but also paying an additional 113 million dollars towards legal fees in many of the states that filed the first claims and towards funding operations to further consumer protection. Additionally, Apple offered price-reductions for battery-replacement orders for users with older phone models. Ever since, Apple has vehemently denied any sort of similar actions or operations harming the speed of older models. So what do we know now about this issue? Are our iPhones now always safe?

Yeah, a little bit. But also no.

The Aftermath

The issue with technology, especially mobile phones, is that it's always going to run out at some point. This is partially why Apple creates a lot of newer models, aside from technological advancement and sales. But luckily, as we've found out, Apple doesn't slow down older models anymore. So we're in the clear, right? Not exactly. While Apple no longer uses malicious software in new iOS updates to slow down older phones, that's not to say that the process has stopped. Phones are still being slowed down, just not as maliciously. Newer iOS updates are causing older models like the 6 and 6S to slow down to nearly half their original CPU speeds. Not because of harmful software, but because newer models cause newer operating systems to be created that are more in support of the newer models, creating a gap in processing and power that older models cannot fill when they're updated to the newer operating system. This, and the standard issue of battery life are what cause our phones to slow down. But it's not all bad. There's still a few things we can do to keep our older phones alive.

We can't just not update to the new iOS's unfortunately, as keeping your phone on an older version is a huge cybersecurity risk. However, you can do a few things to help your battery stay alive. If you're at home, try to keep your phone charged regularly. Keep it plugged in at all times while you're there if you can. Furthermore, don't use those high-speed chargers made by third-party companies. They don't consider the actual battery's health when charging, only that it's getting a heaping helping of energy at a very fast rate, which is not good for prolonging the life of a battery. Think of it like having too much stress before a midterm. You'll just stress yourself out.

Our phones are an important tool for us. Some would even say it's a part of us. It's good to know that they have the chance to stay with us for as long as they can. Or, at least, until we're forced to buy the iPhone 15.