Last week, under public pressure Apple admitted that they intentionally slow down their mobile production. It all started with few independent sources sharing their observations about the continuous reduction of productivity of the phones as they get older. The experiment demonstrated that devices regained initial productivity after a battery replacement. Later it turned out that it was not a defect, but a built-in function that reduced processor’s frequency as a battery wears out. The models affected were iPhone 6 / 6 Plus / 6S / 6S Plus, iPhone SE, and iPhone 7 / 7 Plus. The features that reduced processor’s speed started to include with iOS 10.2.1 and older.

Apple replied that this function was implemented to avoid sudden shutdowns that were frequent in phones with worn out batteries. However, many people refuse to believe in it and blame the company for making their old production slow in order to make people buy new phones. Already, 12 collective lawsuits were filed in USA, Israel, and France. South Korea is getting one ready as well. The one that the company must fear the most is the one in France, as the country punish planned obsolescence and can claim up to 5% of company’s annual sales.

Meanwhile, you can replace a battery if your phone is insufferably slow or simply sell your Apple device and get something more reliable, as Apple claimed that the feature is to be kept in the future phones.