Apple is giving a $50 credit if you paid for a new iPhone battery in 2017
Back in December Apple announced the iPhone battery replacement program amid the "slow down" controversy. It brought the price for repair down from $79 to $29, but the company didn't provide much help to customers who had already paid for a replacement.
That changes today. Apple is now offering a credit for some replacements made in 2017.
Customers with an iPhone 6 or newer model who paid for an out-of-warranty battery replacement between January 1 through December 28, 2017, can now expect a $50 credit. Apple will be reaching out to eligible customers until July 27, 2018 with instructions how to receive the credit.
An important caveat: In order to receive the credit, you had to have your iPhone repair done by an authorized Apple service location. If you don't hear from Apple by August 1, but believe you're eligible for a credit, you have until December 31, 2018 to contact the company via the support page, though you'll need to provide proof the repair was done by an authorized service location.
The iPhone battery slowdown saga began when GeekBench discovered some older iPhones were running slower than expected. Diving into the numbers, the researchers found evidence the iPhone 6, 6S, and 7 would run at throttled speeds in some conditions. John Poole, the researcher who published the study, explored the origin of the problem on the MashTalk podcast.
In the wake of the controversy, Apple first issued an apology and then revamped its battery replacement program that brought the cost down for users affected by the issue. It also launched a new Battery Health panel in Settings as part of iOS 11.3, which allows customers to see if their battery is affected and control whether or not the phone will slow down in response to it.
Apple appears to be extending their apology now by offering this $50 credit to customers who paid the full $79 for a battery replacement in 2017. However, after December 31, 2018 both battery programs will expire.
