Based on an internal memo seen by MacRumors, it appears that Apple has confirmed that the service inventory of replacement batteries for iPhones are now made available without any delay. In other words, iOS mobile users who are looking to have their device’s battery replaced will no longer have to worry about extending delays in shipping, although it should be mentioned that depending on a specific location, the level of immediate availability of replacements might vary.
It was back in December of last year when the so-called Batterygate first grabbed some headlines. It began when a number of owners of old iPhones had taken to Reddit to complain about their devices exhibiting slower processing speed. It later turned out that Apple had rolled out an iOS software update that deliberately slowed down the performance of earlier iPhone models as a way of preventing random shut downs from happening because of old batteries no longer capable of handling the processing load.
As expected, Apple had taken some flak, not only from its user base, but also from a United States Senator and even from the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC), especially after it was found out that the tech giant had not sufficiently informed iPhone owners of the software update’s effect on processing speed and battery performance.
Apple was compelled to issue an apology, and then in an effort to effect some damage control, the company had promised to replace iPhone batteries for just $29, instead of the regular $79 battery replacement pricing. The phone maker even had even gone as far as replacing batteries for iPhone units that have passed the diagnostic tests. For good measure, Apple had also deployed a new software update that should allow owners of iPhone devices to deactivate the performance slowing functionality themselves.
But fairly recently, it seems that some users are reporting delays in shipping with regards to their battery replacements. One possible reason for the delays is the limited supply of batteries. But based on the leaked internal memo, the delays should now stop.
Meanwhile, Apple has apparently increased its efforts to crack down on iOS mobile apps in the App Store that share users’ location data to third parties without permission. As reported by 9to5mac, the second biggest mobile brand in the world has already pulled out several apps found guilty of this practice.
On top of this, the company has mandated that in order for these apps to be listed again in the App Store, their developers will have to eliminate any code, framework, or software development kit (SDK) that it utilized for harvesting location information and third party sharing.
