Is your iPhone getting slower?

Apple recently confirmed a long-held suspicion that they are slowing down older generations of iPhones in new software updates. Apple claims that the performance of older phones is slowed done in order to increase the longevity of the battery and phone itself. The worry is that older batteries will not be able to handle an increase in processing the power needed for the updates to work and will shut down. Apple's revelation has been met with mountains of backlash from consumers.

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As a result of the backlash, Apple decided to offer reduced price battery replacements for the year of 2018. Battery replacements are now $29 rather than the usual $89. These cheap battery replacements, however, do come with a few caveats. First, you must be eligible to get a replacement. To be eligible for a battery replacement you must have an iPhone 6, 6 Plus, 6s, 6s Plus, or SE. If you are eligible and you think your phone is having some battery issues, you then have to take it to a store and make a genius bar appointment. Apple may not give you a reduced price battery replacement if its test show that the current one is working fine. Even if you are eligible for a battery replacement, you may have to wait a while before you get one. Apple stores are facing delays because of the recent upsurge in battery replacement requests. One thing to note is that a battery replacement will not solve all your phone troubles. Your phone will never be as fast as when you first bought it. New software updates will always slow it down. If you are suffering from battery life problems, it is definitely worth paying for a replacement. However, if your phone is just slow and suffering from performance issues, a battery replacement won't help. Instead, try uninstalling (or downgrading) the latest version of iOS. While you won't be getting all the cool features of the new update, you will see a significant uptake in speed.

Apple is currently working on an iOS update that allows users to check the health of their battery, hoping to roll it out in early 2018. In a press release, Apple stated that it hopes to implement "New features that give users more visibility into the health of their iPhone's battery, so they can see for themselves if its condition is affecting performance." The good thing is that you only have to worry about your phones. Apple states that only the performance of iPhones are affected by new updates, meaning it's safe to update your iPad, Macbook, etc.