A new, perhaps unexpected, twist that saw Apple begin to artificially strangle the speed of an older iPhone with poor quality batteries in it has taken place today, with news that the US Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission will investigate whether the company violates the law - invite securities.
Apple revealed information recently that it has issued a software release that slows the older iPhone, which prompted the investigation.
The government apparently requested information from Apple, with Bloomberg citing sources that, understandably, do not want to be named. The same source also reiterated that these were very early days in the investigation and that it was too early to know if there was any action to be taken against Apple. Not surprisingly, neither Apple nor the SEC offered a comment when asked by Bloomberg, although the company's shares were little affected by the news.
This whole situation happened after Apple notified users a few weeks ago that it slows down the older iPhone to keep poor quality batteries last longer. This step is done through software updates that arrive in early 2017, with Apple apologizing for their bad communication over what the software updates do.
Replacing the affected iPhone battery with a new one will fix this problem, with Apple offering a 75% discount on replacement rates by fixing errors. Anyone who wants to get a new battery installed in iPhone 6 or later can do it at a discounted price of $ 29 for the rest of 2018.
Apple has also confirmed that it will offer users control over their iPhone speed as part of the upcoming iOS 11.3 update, although it is not expected to arrive in a few weeks.
