Apple finally issues an apology after its iPhone battery fiasco

Following huge waves of criticism and several lawsuits slamming Apple for purposely slowing down older iPhones to balance power consumption from aged batteries, the tech giant has now issued an apology and has reduced the cost of an out-of-warranty battery replacement from $79 to $29.

In a message posted to its website, Apple acknowledges that it miscommunicated what was happening with its power management features that were included in software updates since at least a year ago. Apple has been blamed for not being more transparent about the sneaky maneuver.

If not for recent benchmarking discoveries, it's possible that Apple might never have revealed the performance throttling.

From the company's apology:

We’ve been hearing feedback from our customers about the way we handle performance for iPhones with older batteries and how we have communicated that process. We know that some of you feel Apple has let you down. We apologize. There’s been a lot of misunderstanding about this issue, so we would like to clarify and let you know about some changes we’re making.

Apple reiterated that its intentions were never to slow down iPhones and deceive customers into thinking their devices were no longer in usable condition, thus effectively pushing them into buying a new iPhone.

"Our goal has always been to create products that our customers love, and making iPhones last as long as possible is an important part of that," the company said in a statement.

In the apology, Apple also breaks down how iPhone batteries age over time. The company has also created a support page with more detailed information on how to preserve the health of lithium-ion batteries and how iOS updates are balancing the iPhone's performance to preserve random shutdowns.

The company outlined two new initiatives it's rolling out to regain customer trust:

Apple is reducing the price of an out-of-warranty iPhone battery replacement by $50 — from $79 to $29 — for anyone with an iPhone 6 or later whose battery needs to be replaced, starting in late January and available worldwide through December 2018. Details will be provided soon on apple.com.

Early in 2018, we will issue an iOS software update with new features that give users more visibility into the health of their iPhone’s battery, so they can see for themselves if its condition is affecting performance.

It's been a tough last few months for Apple. iOS 11 introduced myriad bugs that required multiple subsequent patches, HomePod missed its launch this year, and then it had to deal with public outcry on battery and performance throttling.

Apple's public apology is a good start and the reduction in price for a battery replacement should please many disappointed customers.