Is your older-model iPhone getting slower and slower as time goes on? Is the battery getting worse? That is because Apple has been reducing your phone’s battery power since the day you bought it.

Apple has finally been exposed and the multi-billion dollar company is now engaged in multiple lawsuits for admittedly reducing the battery power of older-model iPhones. More than 30 lawsuits pertaining to this deliberate battery slowing have been filed all over the world. The lawsuits contend Apple harmed users’ phones and were not transparent about it. The lawsuits also allege consumer protection violations.

Apple confirmed that it slowed down the iPhone 6, 6 Plus, 6S, 6S Plus, and SE through a software update. Apple said the update was supposed to “smooth out the instantaneous peaks only when needed to prevent the device from unexpectedly shutting down.”

Apple is not hiding away from these allegations. The California-based tech giant sent out an address to their customers about the concerns; the company also made a deal to compensate costumers for their battery malfunctions.

These iPhone owners claim that they all upgraded their devices to newer models once their phones slowed down after updating to new versions of iOS, Apple’s mobile operating system. The lawsuit’s main argument is that if they had known their batteries were to blame for the slowdown, they would have replaced the battery instead of buying a new phone.

Oliver Lawrence ’18, an iPhone 5 owner, has noticed his phone getting slower. He has seen his phone struggle to open apps and connect to the internet as fast as it once did.

Lithium-ion batteries, which are used in iPhones, “become less capable of supplying peak current demands when in cold conditions, have a low battery charge, or as they age over time, which can result in the device unexpectedly shutting down to protect its electronic components,” Apple said in a press release. Because of this software update, phones were unable to perform at full capacity.

Apple sent out an address to their customers about the concerns. The compromises the company is making include reducing the price of an out-of-warranty iPhone battery replacement by $50 – from $79 to $29 – for anyone with an iPhone 6 or later whose battery needs to be replaced.

Also, in 2018, Apple said it “will issue an iOS software update with 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.”

“As always, our team is working on ways to make the user experience even better, including improving how we manage performance and avoid unexpected shutdowns as batteries age.”

Apple’s full explanation can be read here: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208387