Rotten Apples — Planned Obsolescence by the Bushel

Apple is the richest company on the planet, valued at more than $800 billion, according to a recent Bloomberg report. This is almost entirely due to the iPhone and the vast pool of loyal customers it’s built over the past ten years.

Every year, Apple has a new treat for those reliable consumers: a new iPhone with the latest tech. Every year, Apple fans and new smartphone users alike cough up hundreds of dollars (or even more than a thousand) for that new iPhone. What about those savvy iPhone users who like to get the most life out of their device, still using older models? Apple has a different gift for them: planned obsolescence.

Reports emerged this week that Apple purposely slows down older iPhones, supposedly in order to prevent abrupt shutdowns as batteries degrade over time. This may be true, but there are other options to mitigate deteriorating batteries, and Apple never said anything about it until a developer at Geekbench investigated and released his findings.

So why would Apple do this? Surely, a company so large and innovative could find other ways to solve this problem. Isn’t providing a good long-term user experience a high priority?

Alas, this is a classic case of planned obsolescence; Apple has intentionally designed software updates to reduce performance in older iPhones to spur users to buy a newer model. This must be incredibly frustrating for loyal users who still enjoy their iPhone 5S, or iPhone 6, or iPhone 6S. Especially considering that the iPhone 6S is only two years old — the typical length of a phone contract.

Unfortunately, this places users on the horns of a confounding and costly dilemma — either suffer along with reduced performance; decline software updates, depriving oneself of potential new features and bug fixes; or buy a new phone.

Limp along or spend more money.

There’s another option, though; with a little bit of time and effort, you can replace the battery (and I can help you get started). Replacing an iPhone battery is one of the simplest repairs, and there’s a wealth of resources out there, the best of which is iFixIt. Even if you don’t claim to be handy or tech-savvy, this repair is totally doable.

Then, perhaps it’s time to reconsider your relationship with Apple. Have they broken your trust? Does your rotten Apple leave a bad taste in your mouth? Next time you’re shopping for a phone, this is something to keep in mind.

Perhaps we should demand more from our technology companies. Instead of killing off the older models, build them to last and support them for longer. Design for easier repairs. Their profit margin surely won’t suffer for it, and they may, in fact, earn more loyal customers.

Thanks for reading! My name is Ross, and I’m a fan of smartphones of all types, but especially used ones. Check out Smartphone Swap to read more content like this and learn how to sell your old phone yourself.