This week there was a lot of talk about recent updates slowing down older iPhones. Many people have jumped to the conclusion that the reason this happens is that Apple wants you to go out and purchase the latest and greatest phone. While I’m sure that has something to do with it, Apple came out with a statement explaining the cause of the slowdowns on older phones.
Apple’s official statement on the matter is:
Our goal is to deliver the best experience for customers, which includes overall performance and prolonging the life of their devices. Lithium-ion batteries become less capable of supplying peak current demands when in cold conditions, have a low battery charge or as they age over time, which can result in the device unexpectedly shutting down to protect its electronic components.
Last year we released a feature for iPhone 6, iPhone 6s and iPhone SE to smooth out the instantaneous peaks only when needed to prevent the device from unexpectedly shutting down during these conditions. We’ve now extended that feature to iPhone 7 with iOS 11.2, and plan to add support for other products in the future.
So, it appears the company is slowing down the phones because of poor battery performance. As the battery ages, it is not able to handle the requirements of the phone as effectively, so Apple has iOS making adjustments to the performance of the phone to smooth out these issues.
One way to get your older iPhone to perform as it once did, is to replace the battery. Without easy access to the battery, you will have to look online for tutorials or take it to the Apple store for them to replace it. Either way, it is definitely cheaper than purchasing an entirely new phone.