Sen. John Thune Sent Letter to Apple Over iPhone Slow-Down
Apple has caught the ire of Sen. John Thune (R) who wants to know more about Apple’s throttling of older iPhones. The company admitted last month that it sometimes slowed down older iPhones with aging batteries in order to prevent shutdowns.
Apple insisted the strategy was meant to keep phones up and running, rather than allowing them to crash and reboot from overheated batteries. Others don’t see it that way and the company has been the subject of harsh criticism. A number of lawsuits have been filed against Apple in the U.S. and other regions.
In a letter sent to Apple CEO Tim Cook, Thune said:
“The large volume of consumer criticism leveled against the company in light of its admission suggests that there should have been better transparency.”
Thune serves as the chairman of a U.S. Senate committee overseeing business issues. He believes Apple should have been more upfront with consumers with respect to this business practice.
In response to the issue, Apple dropped the price of replacing iPhone batteries from $79 to $29. Replacing batteries in older iPhones mitigates the need to slow down their performance.
Apple has yet to publicly comment on Thune’s request for more information.
