Apple has a unique position in the smartphone market, exercising almost complete control over the hardware and software of its devices. For example, while Samsung adapts Google’s Android operating system and obtains components from manufacturers such as Qualcomm, Apple develops most of the iPhone’s hardware and software in-house.
This gives the company exclusive control over its devices. However, a recent statement by the company has raised questions. Apple claims that the iPhone 15’s battery now lasts twice as long as promised, despite the fact that no changes have been made to its hardware or software. Here are the details…
Apple has updated the iPhone 15 battery life information on its support page. The company now claims that the phones will retain up to 80% of their original capacity after 1000 charging cycles, which is double the previous estimate of 500 cycles. Moreover, Apple has not released any hardware or software updates. To reach this conclusion, the company retested the iPhone 15 series and updated the information accordingly.
However, the timing of this change raises questions. While we would like to maintain our “faith in Apple’s integrity,” this change coincides suspiciously with upcoming EU regulations that will assign an energy rating to the battery life of phones. The European Union is introducing new rules that will assign energy efficiency ratings from A to G to smartphones, similar to the system used for refrigerators and washing machines.
These ratings will reflect the battery life of the phone and its overall energy efficiency. Thus, the main goal of Apple is to bring its phones in line with the European Union standards. These changes will have a minimal impact on iPhone users. The expectation of 80% battery capacity after 500 charging cycles still applies to the iPhone 14 series and its predecessors.
