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Apple Is Locking iPhone Batteries to Discourage Repair

posted by janrinok on Thursday August 08 2019, @12:35PM   Printer-friendly
from the can't-stand-competition dept.

An Anonymous Coward writes:

https://www.ifixit.com/News/apple-is-locking-batteries-to-iphones-now

By activating a dormant software lock on their newest iPhones, Apple is effectively announcing a drastic new policy: only Apple batteries can go in iPhones, and only they can install them.

If you replace the battery in the newest iPhones, a message indicating you need to service your battery appears in Settings > Battery, next to Battery Health. The "Service" message is normally an indication that the battery is degraded and needs to be replaced. The message still shows up when you put in a brand new battery, however. Here's the bigger problem: our lab tests confirmed that even when you swap in a genuine Apple battery, the phone will still display the "Service" message.

It's not a bug; it's a feature Apple wants. Unless an Apple Genius or an Apple Authorized Service Provider authenticates a battery to the phone, that phone will never show its battery health and always report a vague, ominous problem.

Original Submission

 
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  • (Score: 5, Insightful) by VLM on Thursday August 08 2019, @01:13PM (8 children)

    by VLM (445) on Thursday August 08 2019, @01:13PM (#877431)

    If you replace the battery in the newest iPhones, a message indicating you need to service your battery appears

    There was a typo in the original article, not ops fault, anyway its supposed to read

    If APPL stock price is too low, a message indicating you need to service your battery appears

    This is pretty stupid to participate in if you're not already locked into the evil empire's silo. Like asking your barber how often you should get a haircut, what do you expect them to say? Of course the icon/message won't be honest.

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  • (Score: 2) by RS3 on Thursday August 08 2019, @02:01PM (7 children)

    by RS3 (6367) on Thursday August 08 2019, @02:01PM (#877459)

    We need an "insightfully funny" mod.

    So you're saying APPL have an incentive to lie to their customers? But but, their trademark is an apple, the symbol of wholesomeness and goodness and keeping the doctor away.

    • (Score: 3, Touché) by nitehawk214 on Thursday August 08 2019, @02:04PM (3 children)

      by nitehawk214 (1304) on Thursday August 08 2019, @02:04PM (#877462)

      Or the symbol of a malevolent god that lies to its creations.

      Tho, why is the forbidden fruit always depicted as an apple, at least in the West? I don't recall it saying either way in the book.

      --
      "Don't you ever miss the days when you used to be nostalgic?" -Loiosh

      • (Score: 3, Interesting) by hendrikboom on Thursday August 08 2019, @10:12PM (2 children)

        by hendrikboom (1125) on Thursday August 08 2019, @10:12PM (#877646) Homepage Journal

        Tho, why is the forbidden fruit always depicted as an apple, at least in the West? I don't recall it saying either way in the book.

        Some investigators suggest it was more likely a pomegranate, based on the part of the world the legend started from. Or in French, a "grenade".

        • (Score: 2) by RS3 on Friday August 09 2019, @02:23AM (1 child)

          by RS3 (6367) on Friday August 09 2019, @02:23AM (#877729)

          Perhaps a Durian?

          • (Score: 2, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 09 2019, @09:00AM

            by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 09 2019, @09:00AM (#877820)

            They said FRUIT not WEAPON

    • (Score: 2) by fido_dogstoyevsky on Thursday August 08 2019, @10:53PM (1 child)

      by fido_dogstoyevsky (131) <axehandleNO@SPAMgmail.com> on Thursday August 08 2019, @10:53PM (#877662)

      ...But but, their [crapple] trademark is an apple, the symbol of wholesomeness and goodness and keeping the doctor away.

      I always expect to see a worm poking its head out of the bitten off area.

      Also reminds me of a quote from The Doctor: "You know what they say, an apple a day... uhh... never mind."

      --
      It's NOT a conspiracy... it's a plot.

      • (Score: 2) by RS3 on Friday August 09 2019, @02:53AM

        by RS3 (6367) on Friday August 09 2019, @02:53AM (#877742)

        What's worse than finding a worm in your apple? . . . . . Finding half a worm in your apple.

    • (Score: 2) by FatPhil on Friday August 09 2019, @06:28AM

      by FatPhil (863) <{pc-soylent} {at} {asdf.fi}> on Friday August 09 2019, @06:28AM (#877791) Homepage
      A fruit so bitter and poisonous that whoever took the first bite didn't take a second bite.
      --
      Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves