As we have mentioned in our previous articles, there is a theory that Apple is intentionally slowing down performance on older iPhoneto force users to buy new ones.
Many users expect that as time goes by, their phone's battery may slow down, but their processor will continue to perform just as well. Geekbench founder John Poole decided to run some detailed tests using the iPhone 6s and iPhone 7, running different versions of iOS. What he found is that it's not just the age of the batteries that causes the slowdown, but also a piece of code that exists after iOS 10.2.0.
What happens is that a module of iOS code called powerd (short for power daemon) limits the maximum speed of the CPU and GPU when your battery is low. It also takes into account whether the iPhone is heating up during current use, to prevent a potential explosion.
Powerd first appeared in the iOS 10.2.1 update, where Poole first noticed a noticeable difference in average performance numbers, despite it being just an incremental patch. “First, it seems like the problem is widespread and will only get worse as phones (and their batteries) continue to age,” Poole says. “Because degraded batteries last much less and end up at a lower voltage, Apple’s solution of throttling the CPU doesn’t really solve anything… but it’s better than having your device shut down at 40%!”
Basically, Apple dynamically slows down your phone's processing speed as the battery runs low, to prevent it from completely shutting down. As your iPhone battery ages, it drains faster and this should happen more often. This is why it may seem like Apple is intentionally slowing down your old iPhone, but the reason is different than we thought!
