"Have you ever noticed that phone companies typically release several phones throughout the year? Growing up, I've never understood the reason why this was the case. Releasing multiple phones with incremental improvements as opposed to fewer phones with monumental improvements would serve the best interests of consumers. Right? And why is it that phone contracts were 2 years in length? And how come phone companies don't sell parts for you to repair them anymore? These questions bothered me for years, even after working in phone sales for 4+ years. The answers seemed obvious: better products, better customer service, better business."
"But I think there's more to it. In December 2017, A Reddit user noticed something strange. Their iPhone 6 had been getting slower for months. Apps took longer to open. The keyboard lagged. Then they replaced the battery, and suddenly the phone ran like new again. Within days, developers at Geekbench confirmed that Apple had been secretly throttling processor speeds on older iPhones..."
Phone manufacturers frequently release multiple models each year and often provide few repair parts while offering long contracts. These practices raise questions about incentives behind incremental upgrades, contract lengths, and restricted repairability. A December 2017 incident revealed that an iPhone 6 experiencing slowdowns returned to full speed after a battery replacement. Independent tests from Geekbench confirmed that Apple had reduced processor speeds on older iPhones, linking reduced performance to aging batteries and software intervention. Such examples illustrate how device performance, battery health, and manufacturer policies interact with consumer upgrade decisions.
Read at Medium
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