Apple cuts cost of iPhone battery replacement

Apple has cut the cost of replacing the battery of an iPhone after admitting it slows the performance of some models due to ageing batteries. Customers with an iPhone 6 or higher can replace the battery for USD 29, down from the normal price of USD 79. 

The offer will be available from late January through December 2018, worldwide. In addition, Apple will issue an iOS software update in early 2018 with new features that give users more visibility into the health of their iPhone’s battery, so they can see if its condition is affecting performance.

Current iPhones may see their performance slow if the rechargeable battery is nearing the end of its life. This was implemented as an iOS update a year ago to help prevent unexpected shutdowns of the phone during peak workloads. This affects the models iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus and iPhone SE, and more recently from iOS 11.2, the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus.

Apple said it received feedback from concerned customers about the way it handles performance for iPhones with older batteries and how it failed to flag the changes in the iOS updates. "We know that some of you feel Apple has let you down. We apologize," the company said in a statement. Apple added that it has "never — and would never — do anything to intentionally shorten the life of any Apple product, or degrade the user experience to drive customer upgrades".