In a letter sent by Apple to Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune (R-SD) on Tuesday, it said there is "strong demand" for replacement batteries for iPhone 6s and later, which Apple discounted after admitting to slowing down older iPhones to preserve battery life.
Even better news? Apple is "investigating" issuing discounts for customers who already purchased replacement batteries at full price.
Apple sent the letter in response to a question sent by Thune in January.
In the letter obtained by The Verge, Thune specifically asks: “Whether consumers who paid full price, without the discount, for a replacement battery, in an attempt to restore performance, should be allowed to request a discount.”.
Apple admitted to slowing down iPhones in December 2017. The software was released to boost performance on phones with older batteries. But when consumers discovered this, they weren't too happy. So Apple later issued an apology and dropped the price of a replacement battery from $79 to $29. That discount would have given already unhappy Apple customers $50.
The letter also provides more details about the #batterygate timeline. Apple began investigating issues with how reduced battery life was causing unexpected shutdowns in the fall of 2016. It then released a software update in February 2017 to address the unexpected shutdown issue by reducing power consumption (slowdown).
While Apple claims that the update was intended to improve the user experience and not entice customers to buy new products, it did apologize and offer a discounted replacement battery in late 2017. According to Reuters, Apple is still being investigated for this issue in several countries around the world and by the US Department of Justice and Securities and Exchange Commission for violating securities laws.
So get those batteries while they're still hot.
