this post was submitted on 06 Jun 2024
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[–] balder1991@lemmy.world 5 points 3 months ago (2 children)

This myth keeps propagating online and it seems people never try to even Google what the issue was.

[–] helpImTrappedOnline@lemmy.world 0 points 3 months ago (3 children)

I think the main issue (amongst the tech community) was that they did this with out making it known to users (patch notes don't count - especially with autoupdates, who reads them?) the device just started getting slower.

If there was an option that was presented to users once the device got below 80% battery health to slow down the system to make daily batter life longer, then that would be an actually welcome feature. The problem was Apple just went a did it, and to a normal non-technical user, that means their phone is dying and they need to upgrade.

[–] tyler@programming.dev 12 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Why in the world do patch notes “not count”? The whole point of those is to communicate changes to the users.

[–] helpImTrappedOnline@lemmy.world 3 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Because in the world of auto updates, patch notes aren't presented to users, and the average user isn't seeking them out to read them. They essentially just wake up to a new OS.

A what's new pop up or something would be more effective.

[–] tyler@programming.dev 1 points 3 months ago (1 children)

A what’s new pop-up that would immediately be closed by 99.99% of users because the patch notes literally take twenty minutes to read (I read them all). It’s not useful to waste time adding a dialog that the vast vast majority of users aren’t going to use and that users that want to see it can literally just click the update notes in the settings dialog.

[–] helpImTrappedOnline@lemmy.world 1 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (1 children)

Pop up

"Hi, you're battery is getting old. Would you like to enable a mode that slows down your phone to preserve battery life, Yes or No."

[–] tyler@programming.dev 1 points 3 months ago

That’s not a single pop up though. Go look at patch notes for any iOS release. There will be upwards of a hundred items. You want a pop up for each and every one of those? And then that has to get programmed for, bug tested, and that’s just going to increase costs. Or people could just read the release notes and none of that has to happen.

[–] QuaternionsRock@lemmy.world 4 points 3 months ago

If there was an option that was presented to users once the device got below 80% battery health to slow down the system to make daily batter life longer

This isn’t why they did it. Degraded Li-ion batteries cannot sustain their rated voltage at high currents due to increased internal resistance. Sufficiently undervolted CPUs/memory cells produce errors (specifically bit flips), which can rather quickly lead to memory corruption and a crash.

Reducing the CPU frequency (thereby reducing the peak current draw) is practically necessary in the face of a degraded battery. Various laptops were infamous for not doing this, because it resulted in a ~20-30 minute battery life, as the voltage drop became too great once the battery charge drops below 80-90%. Within the context of a smartphone, neglecting to use the remaining 80-90% would make it basically useless.

What Apple (and the rest of the smartphone industry, at this point) really needs to do is make their batteries replaceable.

[–] AA5B@lemmy.world 1 points 3 months ago

I suppose it may be the Mandela effect, but I thought they did announce it, just not everyone read it.

Just like the idiots at work who ignored a newsletter, two email blasts and announcement on a support text that there would be an upgrade. Then marched blindly ahead for the three week transition, ignored the support threads about upgrading, and it was suddenly our fault when the old systems “disappeared without warning”

[–] helenslunch@feddit.nl -3 points 3 months ago (1 children)

We know what Apple claims the issue was. You can't blame someone who doesn't believe Apple when they give them explanations of why their old devices suck when Apple goes to such great lengths to ensure planned obsolescence.

[–] TheRealKuni@lemmy.world 3 points 3 months ago (1 children)

when Apple goes to such great lengths to ensure planned obsolescence.

My brother in J-Town, they release full OS updates for five year old phones, and security updates for eight year old phones.

There are LOTS of reasons to hate Apple. Support for older devices isn’t one of them.

[–] helenslunch@feddit.nl 0 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Which is completely meaningless when you can't repair the hardware 🤦 It's okay, you don't have to defend the corporations to make yourself feel better about your poor purchase decisions...

[–] TheRealKuni@lemmy.world 1 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Which is completely meaningless when you can't repair the hardware 🤦

Well sure, their anti-right-to-repair shit has been very frustrating. Certainly something worth hating them for. But you can repair those devices if you get a certified shop to do it. Or if you don’t mind not having biometric sensors or NFC. It isn’t an example of planned obsolescence, just an example of poorly communicating and handling potential security concerns. You’ll note that Apple isn’t alone in this (not that this excuses the behavior).

It's okay, you don't have to defend the corporations to make yourself feel better about your poor purchase decisions...

I’m not defending anyone. Hate on whomever you want, just hate them for accurate reasons. I was a proud OnePlus user when the Apple battery throttling went down, but I bothered to educate myself on the subject. It was poorly handled, but it wasn’t planned obsolescence.

They want to support their old devices for the same reason they don’t want to support Android with iMessage: they want parents to give their children their old Apple devices so the whole family gets locked into their ecosystem. That’s shitty. That’s worth hating them for.

[–] helenslunch@feddit.nl -1 points 3 months ago

But you can repair those devices if you get a certified shop to do it.

No you can't. Apple has contracts with component manufacturers barring them from selling board level components to anyone. You can only buy complete assemblies which usually end up costing close to the price of an entire new device.

They also put a 500% premium on storage upgrades. And if you buy an identical device and drop it in, it will not function at all.

Or if you don’t mind not having biometric sensors or NFC

I dunno how you can just drop this and pretend like it's not fucking appalling and intentionally malicious.

It isn’t an example of planned obsolescence, just an example of poorly communicating and handling potential security concerns.

That is some made-up bullshit if I've ever heard it.

The evidence against Apple and planned obsolescence is astounding and undeniable.