I remember trying an iPhone 12 in 2020 and feeling it was so fast that no phone task would ever be able to use all that power. Definitely not my current experience on my now old iPhone 12. A lot of it can be attributed to ever increasing ram usage by web pages, but that doesn’t seem to be all.
If true, this could be verified by keeping a set of phones on older software and comparing that control group against a set of phones that received the update.
That said, I'm totally unconvinced by this video. There's zero details of how Apple allegedly slows down old phones. Lowered clock rate? Artificially increased system call times? Nothing actually explained in the video.
I don’t want to believe it but wouldn’t surprise me. I pick up my old iPhone 7 and it feels so slick and fast, it 13 mini on iOS 26 is fast in some places but infuriatingly laggy in others. Battery health 90%.
What frustrates me is that the CPUs are so powerful but somehow 5 years down the line are slow in basic UI navigation.
This has been obvious from the start. There is virtually no change in the phone’s core function but the performance degrades everywhere. I wonder if it is to promote new phones or to avoid warranty claims on existing ones.
Apple claims this is to "keep things stable when the battery ages" and there are tons of suckers out there that belive it. But somehow, it always happens as a new iPhone is being introduced.
Meh - doubt it. I'm using an iPhone 14, it feels like it works basically the same as it did when I got it. In general slow downs are apps doing and not caring to per tune because the baseline perf expectation of app developers increases to the point where those things don't matter. Use the default apps and you're pretty much ok.
I remember trying an iPhone 12 in 2020 and feeling it was so fast that no phone task would ever be able to use all that power. Definitely not my current experience on my now old iPhone 12. A lot of it can be attributed to ever increasing ram usage by web pages, but that doesn’t seem to be all.
If true, this could be verified by keeping a set of phones on older software and comparing that control group against a set of phones that received the update.
That said, I'm totally unconvinced by this video. There's zero details of how Apple allegedly slows down old phones. Lowered clock rate? Artificially increased system call times? Nothing actually explained in the video.
or just bloat. make no attempt that your newer versions are as optimized because newer hardware covers your inflation.
Isn’t their explicit claim that they’re doing this to extend battery life? I thought this was already litigated?
Of course they could give the user options but then they could also let the user swap batteries. Those are just not things Apple does.
There is a toggle in Settings -> Battery -> Power Mode called 'Adaptive Power' which does exactly this. It's out in the open and has been for a while.
Using an iPhone SE (2016) daily I have a hard time believing this info
aren’t they stuck on an older version of ios with just security patches? but i sort of agree as my kids would have older versions which are all right
Doesn't match my personal experience over a handful of iPhone generations. I know, anecdotal only, but still.
Plot twist: Apple PR team created this video to make claims that they slow older devices seem less credible.
I don’t want to believe it but wouldn’t surprise me. I pick up my old iPhone 7 and it feels so slick and fast, it 13 mini on iOS 26 is fast in some places but infuriatingly laggy in others. Battery health 90%.
What frustrates me is that the CPUs are so powerful but somehow 5 years down the line are slow in basic UI navigation.
"pill-shaped cutout ... could disappear entirely."
Does that mean "the notch" goes away, too?
This has been obvious from the start. There is virtually no change in the phone’s core function but the performance degrades everywhere. I wonder if it is to promote new phones or to avoid warranty claims on existing ones.
It became blatantly obvious when Apple redid their entire design system to use expensive GPU accelerated 3D glass.
Any one surprised by this? This was very apparent around the iPhone 4 / 5 era. And the last ones hit were the 11 and 12 series.
iPhone SE is zippy as new. Maybe your gadget got cyberworms.
I mean, this is common knowledge:
https://theweek.com/59708/does-apple-slow-old-iphones-when-a...
Apple claims this is to "keep things stable when the battery ages" and there are tons of suckers out there that belive it. But somehow, it always happens as a new iPhone is being introduced.
https://www.independent.co.uk/tech/iphone-slow-do-apple-s-sm...
(I except this comment to be flagged or downvoted heavily)
D U H
Meh - doubt it. I'm using an iPhone 14, it feels like it works basically the same as it did when I got it. In general slow downs are apps doing and not caring to per tune because the baseline perf expectation of app developers increases to the point where those things don't matter. Use the default apps and you're pretty much ok.
Isn't this the same old myth that we heard about a few years ago, regarding the battery decay and throttling to keep the phone alive?
I'd rather the phone be a bit slower than having the phone cut out on me.
There's a simple fix to this, and that's just to have a healthy battery in your phone. No need to buy a new phone.
>There's a simple fix to this, and that's just to have a healthy battery in your phone.
How great that I can replace my old battery!
Just look at your battery health. If it's bad, have it replaced. Thousands of people do that.