Apple plans to let users decide for themselves how to manage their iPhone's battery usage. While details are currently thin on the ground, this will be accomplished by an iOS update dropping soon. Apple CEO Tim Cook revealed this in an interview mostly covering Apple's tax affairs.

Apple Gets Caught Slowing Down Old iPhones

In December 2017 it was revealed that Apple has been slowing down old iPhones on purpose. Contrary to popular belief this wasn't designed to force people to upgrade. Instead, Apple was trying to prevent older iPhones from shutting down when their aging batteries start struggling.

The mostly negative reaction to this revelation must have taken Apple by surprise. After all, it hadn't tried to hide the update which introduced this feature. Several angry editorials and numerous threatened lawsuits later, and Apple has decided to give iPhone users a choice.

Tim Cook Promises to Right This Wrong

In an interview with ABC News, Cook said, "When we did put it out, we did say what it was, but I don't think a lot of people were paying attention and maybe we should have been clearer as well. And so we deeply apologize for anybody that thinks we had some other kind of motivation."

Cook then revealed an update was on the way to put the user back in control once more, stating, "We will tell somebody we’re slightly reducing, or we’re reducing your performance by some amount in order to not have an unexpected restart. If you don’t want it? You can turn it off."

Apple Always Thinks It Knows Best

It's clear Apple had its users in mind when it started slowing down old iPhones. However, it messed up by not signposting the change clearly enough, and not letting each individual user decide for themselves. This update should make everything right again. Until next time.

Do you own one of the older iPhones affected by this battery issue? Will you be keeping it turned on to prevent shutdowns? Or will you turn it off and risk the occasional crash? Should Apple have been more transparent about all of this? Please let us know in the comments below!

Image Credit: Karlis Dambrans via Flickr