They DO tell you. Every upgrade of iOS I've ever seen has the same "This upgrade may make older devices run slower." disclaimer. And it's really NOT rocket surgery; EVERY OS released since the dawn of bits needs newer, more powerful hardware to run on. The difference is Apple took a proactive approach to keep from having another "exploding iPwn battery debacle".
Well, yes, they do make that generic statement. And I expect and understand that if you put more lines of code in the software that it will take more clock cycles, which means more time at a given clock rate to execute. Fine, understandable and perfectly acceptable. I disagree that this is the same as having the software
actually, intentionally slow the phone down because it doesn't like the condition of the battery in the phone
WITH NO NOTICE OR INDICATION THAT THIS IS WHAT IS HAPPENING. Then a year later to reluctantly acknowledge that what some suspected is in fact what's happening, though perhaps not for the exact reason that they were suggesting.
Proactive would be stating "This new IOS update monitors battery health, and
will slow the processor of an old phone if the battery is weak. This is done to ensure that the phone continues to operate properly even with a degraded battery." This would permit the user to make an educated choice if they find that their phone has become mired in molasses after the firmware update. It might be "Hey, this phone is getting old, and the battery is growing tired. I think it's time to get a new phone." It might be "The phone battery is weak, but the phone still suits me - I'm going to put in a new battery." Or, for someone like me, it might be "The phone still suits me, it's running just fine and I'm not going to upgrade the OS."
Smeesh. I sure wouldn't want to be in their shoes... fix a problem or not, everybody is going to be up their butts screaming about imagined evil intent. "Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof." applies here; there's enough horror out there without freaking MAKING IT UP.
Again, if you do this sort of thing (intentionally slowing things down, not having it happen as a simple result of more code taking longer to run) without letting people know what is happening or why, with the predictable result that some may decide that the old phone just won't cut it anymore and they give you $$ to upgrade, I can see bad intent being imagined whether it's there or not. I doubt Apple shed any tears if folks upgraded as a result of the slowdown, and they didn't seem to be particularly forthcoming about what was actually happening.
Here's something you need to understand about LiPo batteries: they are LIVESTOCK, just like bread and vegetables.
From the day they are manufactured, their chemical makeup starts to deteriorate and the IR of the cell begins to increase, even when being used with optimal charging/battery maintenance processes (which Apple has been on the cutting edge of since the first flaming battery debacle) it is pretty much a statistical certainty that the battery in a 2-year-old iPwn is going to be operating at a given percent LESS maximum current draw AND total mAH capacity than a new one, OR WORSE. If a user keeps a phone on a charger or runs it dead and leaves it in a drawer for months, either way that battery will SUFFER even more than one that is used normally.
Yup, I'm familiar with LiPos and their foibles. My iPhone 5S is going on two years old (got it as a refurb replacement when the old one died in early 2016). I've little doubt that its battery has degraded in performance. The thing is that for my purposes, it is still just fine. It needs a charge every few days. I don't watch movies or do extensive web surfing on the phone. In my opinion, it doesn't need a new battery, and I can't recall the last time I downloaded an app for it. Yes, I may be an exception today considering how many wander around with their noses glued to their phones, but I've no desire to download an 'update' that hamstrings my hardware without explanation. Once again - transparency - warn people - if your battery is weak, this upgrade WILL slow your phone down.
Add to that the fact that due to hardware technology and the inexorable march of software development, the real usable life of ANY smartphone is about 2 years; the buttons and ports get worn and full of human "bathtub ring" type muck and pocket crud, and the ever-increasing processor demand of applets running EVERYWHERE on the internet means you need more processor, RAM and storage for a phone to work acceptably.
Really, for a smartphone, a design life of 2 years is pushing it; I just replaced an android phone with quad-core processor and 1.5 GB RAM with another that has a 2x as fast quad-core 64-bit processor and 3GB of RAM. Using it, it feels just like every other phone I've owned when it was new, while my old phone felt slow and cramped even after a complete wipe/reinstall. It was an 11 months old Samsung.
In your case, and likely in many others as well. As I previously stated, I'm currently perfectly happy with what at this point is four year old hardware.
There's a good argument for non-user-replaceable batteries. The battery in my new phone (a semi-permanent bare lipo) is a 4.4V/3.85V Nominal HV cell approx 120% as large as the one in my previous phone, yet has 150% as much capacity. There is a HUGE variation in the quality of LiPo batteries available to the public right now; the cheap batteries on fleaBay are just that: CHEAP BATTERIES. A manufacturer has no QC over those aftermarket batteries, whether they have proper protection or BMS PCBs installed, or even if they are anywhere near advertised dimensions or capacity or even nominal voltage.
Making the battery "non-replaceable" means the manufacturer doesn't have to pay oodles of support agents to listen to every ignorant dumbass whining about poor performance in their year-old phone which was actually caused by the cheap-ass battery they bought off fleaBay that voltage-sags every time the processor hits more than 70% load. And they don't have to worry about arguing with said dumbass and paying to ship the phone back unfixed because of said POS battery.
It's the same argument they have against making their portables so the USB connection supports "Host" mode; as soon as you do that, you have every idiot and his brother whining about poor performance/short battery life from their iPud that is actually caused by the USB back massager and/or coffee-cup-warmer they plug into it every day.
IMO, particularly for a brand selling an "upscale" product experience, these are valid and important arguments.
I'll not dispute the wisdom of the non user replaceable battery used. There are a lot of monumentally stupid people running around, and everything you stated here makes perfect sense.
Merry Christmas!
And a merry Christmas to you and yours, too!
mnem
*Waiting by the chimney with a shotgun across my knees glee*
I hope Santa's wearing his ballistic undies!!
![Laughing :-DD](https://www.eevblog.com/forum/Smileys/default/smiley_laughing.gif)
-Pat