*Apple openly admits they never even once tested iOS in the real world!*
Verbatim quote: "Apple is basically telling us that it+IBk-s not testing iOS updates appropriately."
*Apple makes its *users* do the testing for them!*
Verbatim quote: "Apple had to wait for user feedback to realize that the iPhone slowdown, which Apple caused, is to blame for the poorer user experience on older iPhone 6 and iPhone 6s devices."
They put in the "wrong batteries" (we can get into the details of the CPU demands and "chemical aging", but suffice to say they didn't test the devices since Apple never tests anything in the real world - so they were surprised by the unexpected slowdowns - which simply means that it was the wrong battery for the given phone).
Many people report the unexpected shutdown issue on iPhone 6S. Apple investigates and finds a "very small number of iPhone 6s devices" get an official recall. In their statement, they're very specific about the root cause: "a battery component that was exposed to controlled ambient air longer than it should have been".
Soon after, Apple says iPhone 6S battery issue turned out to be bigger than first thought and that they "would be releasing a software update next week to garner more information".
Two months later, Apple comes out with a software update with a "fix" that (magically) reduces unexpected shutdowns by 80%. This is a separate issue than the initial assessment of a "battery component that was exposed to controlled ambient air longer than it should have been".
It turns out that in iOS 10.2.1 an Apple genius came up with the bright idea of *secretly*, *permanently*, and *drastically* throttling the CPU speed (in half!) which instantly "reduces the unexpected shutdowns by 80%".
Of course, they could have added a few sentences in Battery (in Settings) explaining that the permanent & drastic throttling was active and how to solve it (changing the battery). Does this mean that some people are going to change the battery when Apple would prefer them to just buy a new iPhone? Absolutely. But this is the kind of thing you would expect a reputable company to do: being transparent and explaining themselves even if that means losing a few phone sales.
Of course, Apple could have disclosed that performance would be drastically affected when they released 10.2.1; but you only expect that type of honesty from a reputable company.
Apple did not disclose the root cause of the "second" issue, despite being incredibly specific about it the first time.
Apple didn't disclose who would get performance reductions as part of their fix; hence it's entirely possible some users were throttled right away (which was a little over a year after the 6S even came out) - which would explain why Apple wouldn't be upfront about what the fix was.
Apple support wasn't informed that replacing batteries would have any impact on performance so they never recommended customers just replace the battery when they complained of the unexpected shutdowns and the subsequent "fix" of permanently throttled CPUs.
Apple desperately tries, as does nospam, to palm this all off as "normal" when it's patently obvious that no other smartphone has "unexpected shutdowns" unless it's from a faulty battery. Apple is duplicitiously trying to portray this as this can happen to any normal functioning device, but it's really done just so they don't have to replace faulty hardware they've sold to the unsuspecting customer.
Apple releases a bullshit explanation which isn't even in the least true because they use clever phrases (like "dynamically managed") that don't imply to the casual reader what everyone who knows about batteries knows - which is that there is no battery fairy that magically "fixes" batteries that are pematurely "chemically aged" already.
To wit: "This power management works by looking at a combination of the device temperature, battery state of charge, and the battery's impedance. Only if these variables require it, iOS will dynamically manage the maximum performance of some system components, such as the CPU and GPU in order to prevent unexpected shutdowns."
iPhones with older batteries may also more aggressively dim their screens, have lower maximum speaker volumes, and even have their camera flashes disabled when the system needs more peak power than the battery can provide. The whole approach actually quite clever, but *secret*,
*permanent*, and *drastic* (throttling to half the original CPU speed) isn't a substitute for the lost speed.
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