Apple In Touch With ‘Government Agencies’ Over iPhone Batterygate

You may have heard about the batterygate controversy by now. Apple acknowledged recently that it slows down old iPhones with chemically degraded batteries to prevent unexpected shutdowns. Given that it didn’t communicate this properly when this functionality was pushed out via an iOS update, many felt that the company was simply slowing down old iPhones because it wants customers to upgrade. It was reported yesterday that the DOJ and SEC are now investigating the matter and Apple has confirmed that it’s responding to some “government agencies.”

Apple has since apologized for batterygate and now offers battery replacements for out of warranty devices for $29 instead of the $79 it used to charge previously. The company has also said that it will allow users to opt out of this functionality with the next iOS update.

The company has now confirmed that government officials have questioned it about the software update that allowed it to slow down old iPhones. “We have received questions from some government agencies and we are responding to them,” Apple spokeswoman Trudy Muller confirmed to The Washington Post.

The statement doesn’t refer to any specific agency but the report yesterday claimed that the Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission are now looking into the matter. They’re apparently trying to ascertain if Apple may have violated securities laws.

“As we told our customers in December, we have never — and would never — do anything to intentionally shorten the life of any Apple product, or degrade the user experience to drive customer upgrades,” Apple reiterated in its statement.

Adnan Farooqui
Categories: Apple, Cellphones
Tags: iPhone