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Do iPhones slow down when a new version is available? How to avoid planned obsolescence



You can check your device's storage in Settings > General > [Device] Storage. For best performance, try to maintain at least 1GB of free space. If your available storage is consistently less than 1GB, your device might slow down as iOS or iPadOS repeatedly makes room for more content.




Do iPhones slow down when a new version is available



A customer compares her iPhone 6 (left) with an iPhone 7 at an Apple Store in Chicago. On Wednesday, more than 30 states announced a settlement with Apple over the company's past practice of slowing down a phone's battery. Kiichiro Sato/AP hide caption


Apple on Wednesday agreed to pay $113 million to settle consumer fraud lawsuits brought by more than 30 states over allegations that it secretly slowed down old iPhones, a controversy that became known as "batterygate."


Apple first denied that it purposely slowed down iPhone batteries, then said it did so to preserve battery life amid widespread reports of iPhones unexpectedly turning off. The company maintained that it wasn't necessary for iPhone users to replace their sluggish phones, but state attorneys general led by Arizona found people saw no other choice.


In March, Apple agreed to pay up to $500 million to settle claims of intentionally slowing down older phones. That settlement called for Apple to pay consumers at least $25 per iPhone, though some consumers who had already spent hundreds on new devices saw the payments as too little, too late.


Apps can slow down your iPhone in two different ways. Firstly, if you're running low on storage, that can slow down your phone. Secondly, rarely used apps running in the background can gum up your phone as well.


For instance, Safari maintains a cache of recently visited web pages as well as cookies, login information, and other data. These help you have a smooth web browsing experience. But when the cache gets too big, it can slow down your phone.


Malware can slow down your iPhone if infected because it will hog system resources. Signs that your phone is infected by malware include a fast-draining battery, overheating, unexplained apps, and a spike in data consumption.


In 2017, Apple admitted to slowing down older phones and paid for doing so in a series of lawsuits and settlements. While people claimed it was a scam to force customers to upgrade, Apple had its reasons.


The answer for Android is a little murkier with so many manufacturers, but the consensus seems to be no. Around the time that Apple admitted that it was slowing down iPhones, some of the biggest names in Android devices chimed in with their responses.


Some conspire that Apple intentionally slows down older iPhone performance with every new iPhone release, a tactic known as "planned obsolescence," in order to encourage iPhone owners with older devices to upgrade to a new device. However, there is no data or proof that acknowledges that Apple is engaging in any planned obsolescence.


Instead, an older iPhone's performance is more likely impacted by new versions of iOS and the ensuing app updates, which are usually released in conjunction with a new iPhone. New versions of iOS, as well as apps designed to support the iOS update, often contain features that are designed to work fluidly with the hardware inside new iPhone models. With this in mind, it's understandable why older iPhones can slow down when new iPhones roll out. New versions of iOS and apps that roll out after a newer iPhone's release may simply not be optimized to work as well on processors inside older iPhone models.


Futuremark also suggests that the perception that your older iPhone is slowing down is compacted by a "psychological effect," where "knowing that there is a new and improved model available" makes your older iPhone seem inferior.


In the meantime, if your slow device is getting you down, the best option is to resist the urge to upgrade. You might get prompts directing you to install the latest OS version (and the frequency of these will depend on the company) but you can ignore them.


Hence owners of older iPhone handsets have a real quandary when it comes to the question of whether to update to the new iPhone operating system. Not only is there a question of whether iOS 15 could slow down their iPhone, the few new features that are actually available for them may not be worth the risk.


Amazing but true: the graphics performance deteriorated somewhat for all three iPhones. There is an outlier in the measurements on the iPhone 11 Pro (in GFX Bench Metal), but even with the measured start times of Marvel Future Revolution the newer device was a bit slower when running iOS 15.


Does your iPhone get slow suddenly when you are using an app that requires a network connection? If so, a poor network connection, either Wi-Fi or cellular data, is probably the reason why your iPhone is slow. In such a case, reconnect to the network or use another network that is available to try again.


You may have such an experience while using a computer: If you are running many programs on your computer, you will find your computer responds slowly. That's the same when it comes to using an iPhone. Too many apps running at the same time will run out of your iPhone memory and result in a lagging device.


Both high and low temperatures will slow down an iPhone/iPad. Thus, if your iPhone is under a condition that makes it become hot or cool, try to get it back to a normal temperature. Afterward, you will find your iPhone doesn't lag anymore.


Did you turn on the Low Power Mode recently? To extend your iPhone battery life, the Low Power Mode will disable some features and slow down some tasks on your device. When your iPhone runs slow, it's necessary for you to check whether you have enabled this mode. If you have, disable the feature to speed up your iPhone: Go to "Settings" > "Battery" and turn the Low Power Mode off.


Many early adopters find that they experience bugs and other issues when they first download the latest software update. And Apple will often roll out subsequent updates that include fixes to the bugs in the previous software upgrade.


Given that Apple is built on top of these kinds of perceptions, why would it deliberately slow down phones to push sales? Yes, Apple has maintained that it was really just an effort to extend battery life. Had that been true (hint: it never was), Apple would have announced it when they began.


Did Apple learn a lesson? Probably, but it was the wrong lesson. Years after the incident, Apple was forced to pay a trivial amount (well, trivial for Apple). It wasn't forced to, for example, refund the purchase price of every iPhone it sold because of the slowdown in addition to fines and penalties.


A long-circulating piece of technology lore surrounding the release of new iPhone models holds that Apple unleashes furtive iOS updates in order to dramatically slow down existing iPhone models just before the release of newer models in a case of "planned obsolescence" intended to increase sales of the latest iPhones. An example of the rumor was illustrated in an episode of the Netflix series The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt:


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.


A year ago, some iPhone users reported sudden phone shut-downs, even though they had a significant charge remaining. Apple quietly released an update that slows down the phone when it is putting too much demand on the battery, preventing these sudden shut downs.


It could have disclosed exactly what it was doing when the first update happened last year. Going forward, it could add an option to turn the throttling setting on or off, in part to help people identify other possible causes of a slow down. And it could make changing batteries easier.


If your phone is older than the iPhone 6, it's likely regular wear, tear and maxed out storage are behind it slowing down. If you have an iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus or iPhone X and it feels unusually sluggish, it may warrant a visit to the Apple Store.


As we conclude in part 1, if your iPhone gets slow after updating from iOS 13 to iOS 15/16, especially when you are using certain apps, please update the apps to have a try. The newly released versions of apps are better designed for the new iOS, they are generally of smaller size as well.


If you see that your iPhone has begun to slow down, do not worry. You can use one or several of the tips above to speed up your iPhone. In some cases, however, there can be more complex issues that may need to be resolved by Apple. Remember that you can always ask for help from the Apple Support Team or at the nearest Apple Store. We also invite you to visit our blog in case you want to find more useful posts about iOS.


It was claimed by Apple Inc. that after iOS 16/15, the device performance will improve by 30%. Instead the iPhone and iPadOS 15 slow down the device abruptly. The new iOS promised that the app download will be 50% smaller, app updates will be 60% smaller, and the app launch speed will be double up. But the new updates came as big disappointment for the users.


It is more like a trick that may or may not work if the iPhone is slow after the iOS 13 update. If the location services are enabled even when the settings are not needed, then it will consume the battery and your device will appear slow. To disable the feature, follow the steps:


Interestingly, Apple says that it has attributed feedback about iPhone slowness to the process of updating to a new operating system and some bugs that were evidently present in iOS 11 that caused slowdowns.


About a year ago in iOS 10.2.1, we delivered a software update that improves power management during peak workloads to avoid unexpected shutdowns on iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, and iPhone SE. With the update, iOS dynamically manages the maximum performance of some system components when needed to prevent a shutdown. While these changes may go unnoticed, in some cases users may experience longer launch times for apps and other reductions in performance. 2ff7e9595c


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