Apple to fast track discount battery packs for slowed, older iPhones

Following the reveal that Apple has been slowing down older iPhones as their batteries aged, Tim Cook's company has now announced that it will be immediately offering discount replacement battery packs for those affected.

Originally, Apple had believed that the discounted batteries would not be available until late January. But as the severity of the situation has risen, Apple appears to have been able to speed up the process.

The batteries would normally cost $79 when not under warranty, but are to be offered for $29 instead. The company has stressed that the replacements may initially be in short supply, however.

Conspiracy theorists

“We expected to need more time to be ready, but we are happy to offer our customers the lower pricing right away,” said Apple spokeswoman Trudy Muller.

It's been a damaging week for Apple in the eyes of its customers. While its reasoning for slowing down older devices (extending their lifespan) may be sound, the delayed lack of transparency around the situation has fuelled existing conspiracy theories that Apple reduces the performance of older devices simply to encourage customers to buy new replacements.

In an effort to address these concerns going forward, Apple will be releasing an iOS update that will let users more easily monitor the health of their device's batteries, and whether or not performance is being affected as a result.