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To be clear, you can replace the battery with whatever battery you want, it will just show a message saying it can't be verified as an Apple battery. The only u

To be clear, you can replace the battery with whatever battery you want, it will just show a message saying it can't be verified as an Apple battery. The only user impact is being unable to see battery health. I don't even think I can see my battery health on my Android so I don't see it as a big deal, but definitely not great if they are hiding this functionality for no reason.

sjwright 7y ago
It won’t be for no reason. If their battery health tightly calibrated to report on Apple’s OEM battery, it could provide misleading information about third-party batteries. My guess is that Apple is bored of dealing with complaints about devices which have been modified by third parties.
- sschueller 7y ago
  Well, if they made the batteries easily replaceable without the device having to go to service they would not have this many issues. Of course their replacement batteries would need to be reasonably priced...
  - addicted 7y ago
    Or available.
  - endorphone 7y ago
    Anecdotes are worthless, but in the past half decade the only people I know who have successfully replaced a smartphone or pad battery have been Apple device owners. Apple has an easy, clear, successful program for replacing batteries, and most find the pricing entirely reasonable. A friend did buy a Nexus 6P battery replacement kit from Amazon, but the process was so byzantine, and no shop was willing to do it, that they just ended up getting a new device. I did like back in the day when I could pop the back off my Samsung Galaxy and replace the battery, but those days are gone and Apple is the only company that has any sort of concerted program to keep their older devices operating.
    - throwaway2048 7y ago
      You realize user replaceable batteries with removable back covers are still a thing right?
      - deleted 7y ago
        [deleted]
      - alkonaut 7y ago
        I don't think that's worth it vs a slightly more rigid and more waterproof phone. Changing the battery is done 0 or 1 times in the lifespan of a phone, so making it a 10 minute affair is hardly too inconvenient.
    - PudgePacket 7y ago
      > but those days are gone Maybe for high end phones. It's still a very common feature on low-mid end phones. My motorola g4 which I got just a couple years ago has it.
    - bscphil 7y ago
      >Anecdotes are worthless, but in the past half decade the only people I know who have successfully replaced a smartphone or pad battery have been Apple device owners. More anecdotes, but it's too bad you don't know me. I've replaced 3 or 4 phone batteries in the last decade. Needless to say, they've all been Android, as I've been able to do them all myself. Most of the batteries have been $30 or so and have given me years more life on my phones than I otherwise would have gotten.
- roboys 7y ago
  My guess is Apple is bored of truly innovating and now has to resort to nickle-diming customers to hit quarterly numbers. Tim Cook put on his "Make Changing Batteries Expensive Again" hat.
  - toasterlovin 7y ago
    FWIW, Apple is making a huge push into services. Services revenue is dependent on a large installed base, rather than quarterly unit sales. This gives them a huge incentive to make sure customers have a great experience for as long as possible after purchase (on top of just wanting to make their customers happy). If they're doing this, there's probably a pretty good reason for it.
    - rebolek 7y ago
      That makes sense. ChBaaS (Changing Battery as a Service) is probably a huge opportunity for them.
  - aejnsn 7y ago
    Don't go buy a BMW anytime soon. Have to recode the battery, and it's been that way for years.
    - metalliqaz 7y ago
      I, for one, hate when my car is in the shop. That's why I haven't been buying BMWs.
    - vesrah 7y ago
      Not sure why you got downvoted, but this is true. When you replace the battery in a new-ish BMW you need to recode/register the battery since BMW changes the way it charges the battery based on age and type.
      - aejnsn 7y ago
        I'm not sure myself. I am attempting to contrast one premium consumer product with another based on expectations. I think iFixIt and others knowingly sensationalize this stuff without looking for parallels elsewhere. In the BMW community, we justify technical reasoning behind the battery coding of our automobiles' features, but apparently phones, with their comparable levels of complexity, are supposed to use AAA batteries because the company that makes replacement parts has a loud voice. Maybe I am mistaken, but this could be considered a double-standard. I am not apologizing for Apple, I have my own frustrations with the company lately, but I strive for consistency when I opine.
- konschubert 7y ago
  In the article, they say that Apples OEM batteries are also affected.
iamnotacrook 7y ago
Canon do the same; third party batteries in some cameras don't even show you remaining charge.
RandomTisk 7y ago
It's a very big deal to me. Apple needs a good smack to their financial jaw. This is ridiculously anti-consumer and it utterly pisses me off.
- SketchySeaBeast 7y ago
  So we going with "lock down the hardware and software" anti-consumer Apple, or "spy on everything" anti-consumer Google?
  - MiroF 7y ago
    Google'a shit is more easily mitigated if you're smart and want an only slightly less great browsing experience
    - SketchySeaBeast 7y ago
      Even with an Android phone?
    - metalliqaz 7y ago
      Google's phones track you in several ways that aren't through a browser. Want to see every place you've ever visited since you got your Android phone? Google has it and you can see it in your dashboard. Google keeps location tracking a secret from you until you view your data, then once you go look at it, they start sending you monthly summaries of your travels. Any don't get me started on the facial recognition in Photos. Take a photo of someone else's kids, and it will show you a helpful popup asking if you want to send the photo to the kid's parent.
      - Semaphor 7y ago
        While it’s certainly not something I’d want my mom to do, for someone technically knowledgeable, these things are not hard to prevent.
      - Spoom 7y ago
        You can turn off Location History (and may other things) here: https://myaccount.google.com/activitycontrols https://myaccount.google.com/activitycontrols It's not a secret and I believe you have to opt in at some point. I believe you can turn off facial recognition in Photos' settings. Disclaimer: I am a Google employee, my opinions are my own.
JustSomeNobody 7y ago
This is acceptable? Honestly, we should stop Apple-ogizing[0]. They are getting very user hostile. They should acknowledge and support end users right to repair. [0] Groan.
19870213 7y ago
It will apparently also say/hide that if you swap two batteries of two identical iPhones that you just bought from the store. Louis Rossman's take on this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlvlgmjMi98 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlvlgmjMi98

sjwright 7y ago

It won’t be for no reason. If their battery health tightly calibrated to report on Apple’s OEM battery, it could provide misleading information about third-party batteries. My guess is that Apple is bored of dealing with complaints about devices which have been modified by third parties.

sschueller 7y ago
Well, if they made the batteries easily replaceable without the device having to go to service they would not have this many issues. Of course their replacement batteries would need to be reasonably priced...
- addicted 7y ago
  Or available.
- endorphone 7y ago
  Anecdotes are worthless, but in the past half decade the only people I know who have successfully replaced a smartphone or pad battery have been Apple device owners. Apple has an easy, clear, successful program for replacing batteries, and most find the pricing entirely reasonable. A friend did buy a Nexus 6P battery replacement kit from Amazon, but the process was so byzantine, and no shop was willing to do it, that they just ended up getting a new device. I did like back in the day when I could pop the back off my Samsung Galaxy and replace the battery, but those days are gone and Apple is the only company that has any sort of concerted program to keep their older devices operating.
  - throwaway2048 7y ago
    You realize user replaceable batteries with removable back covers are still a thing right?
    - deleted 7y ago
      [deleted]
    - alkonaut 7y ago
      I don't think that's worth it vs a slightly more rigid and more waterproof phone. Changing the battery is done 0 or 1 times in the lifespan of a phone, so making it a 10 minute affair is hardly too inconvenient.
  - PudgePacket 7y ago
    > but those days are gone Maybe for high end phones. It's still a very common feature on low-mid end phones. My motorola g4 which I got just a couple years ago has it.
  - bscphil 7y ago
    >Anecdotes are worthless, but in the past half decade the only people I know who have successfully replaced a smartphone or pad battery have been Apple device owners. More anecdotes, but it's too bad you don't know me. I've replaced 3 or 4 phone batteries in the last decade. Needless to say, they've all been Android, as I've been able to do them all myself. Most of the batteries have been $30 or so and have given me years more life on my phones than I otherwise would have gotten.
roboys 7y ago
My guess is Apple is bored of truly innovating and now has to resort to nickle-diming customers to hit quarterly numbers. Tim Cook put on his "Make Changing Batteries Expensive Again" hat.
- toasterlovin 7y ago
  FWIW, Apple is making a huge push into services. Services revenue is dependent on a large installed base, rather than quarterly unit sales. This gives them a huge incentive to make sure customers have a great experience for as long as possible after purchase (on top of just wanting to make their customers happy). If they're doing this, there's probably a pretty good reason for it.
  - rebolek 7y ago
    That makes sense. ChBaaS (Changing Battery as a Service) is probably a huge opportunity for them.
- aejnsn 7y ago
  Don't go buy a BMW anytime soon. Have to recode the battery, and it's been that way for years.
  - metalliqaz 7y ago
    I, for one, hate when my car is in the shop. That's why I haven't been buying BMWs.
  - vesrah 7y ago
    Not sure why you got downvoted, but this is true. When you replace the battery in a new-ish BMW you need to recode/register the battery since BMW changes the way it charges the battery based on age and type.
    - aejnsn 7y ago
      I'm not sure myself. I am attempting to contrast one premium consumer product with another based on expectations. I think iFixIt and others knowingly sensationalize this stuff without looking for parallels elsewhere. In the BMW community, we justify technical reasoning behind the battery coding of our automobiles' features, but apparently phones, with their comparable levels of complexity, are supposed to use AAA batteries because the company that makes replacement parts has a loud voice. Maybe I am mistaken, but this could be considered a double-standard. I am not apologizing for Apple, I have my own frustrations with the company lately, but I strive for consistency when I opine.
konschubert 7y ago
In the article, they say that Apples OEM batteries are also affected.

iamnotacrook 7y ago

Canon do the same; third party batteries in some cameras don't even show you remaining charge.

RandomTisk 7y ago

It's a very big deal to me. Apple needs a good smack to their financial jaw. This is ridiculously anti-consumer and it utterly pisses me off.

SketchySeaBeast 7y ago
So we going with "lock down the hardware and software" anti-consumer Apple, or "spy on everything" anti-consumer Google?
- MiroF 7y ago
  Google'a shit is more easily mitigated if you're smart and want an only slightly less great browsing experience
  - SketchySeaBeast 7y ago
    Even with an Android phone?
  - metalliqaz 7y ago
    Google's phones track you in several ways that aren't through a browser. Want to see every place you've ever visited since you got your Android phone? Google has it and you can see it in your dashboard. Google keeps location tracking a secret from you until you view your data, then once you go look at it, they start sending you monthly summaries of your travels. Any don't get me started on the facial recognition in Photos. Take a photo of someone else's kids, and it will show you a helpful popup asking if you want to send the photo to the kid's parent.
    - Semaphor 7y ago
      While it’s certainly not something I’d want my mom to do, for someone technically knowledgeable, these things are not hard to prevent.
    - Spoom 7y ago
      You can turn off Location History (and may other things) here: https://myaccount.google.com/activitycontrols https://myaccount.google.com/activitycontrols It's not a secret and I believe you have to opt in at some point. I believe you can turn off facial recognition in Photos' settings. Disclaimer: I am a Google employee, my opinions are my own.

JustSomeNobody 7y ago

This is acceptable? Honestly, we should stop Apple-ogizing[0]. They are getting very user hostile. They should acknowledge and support end users right to repair. [0] Groan.

19870213 7y ago

It will apparently also say/hide that if you swap two batteries of two identical iPhones that you just bought from the store. Louis Rossman's take on this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlvlgmjMi98 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlvlgmjMi98