Apple has come under criticism in recent months for finally admitting that they throttle CPU speeds on iPhones with old batteries. After pressure from media and customers, the company is including a way to disable this throttling in iOS 11.3, which is expected to be available in a few weeks.
What to Expect from the Battery Health Feature
The new feature—called Battery Health—will show you two simple things: the battery’s maximum capacity and the “peak performance capability.” The latter is what you’ll be looking for if you’re concerned about CPU throttling.
To access this new option, launch Settings, then select “Battery”.
Select “Battery Health” for more options.
The first option is Maximum Capacity, it is basically a way of gauging your battery’s health. It lets you know the actual capacity of your battery relative to its brand-new state. While a brand new phone will be 100%, this number will start to drop as the phone ages and the battery wears.
The second option is Peak Performance Capability, it will let you know if your device is affected by the slowdown “feature.” If the battery currently reports that it “supports normal peak performance,” then the device has never experienced an unexpected shutdown then you’re good to go—no throttling for you. Be glad—but there will come a day when you won’t be.
At some point, the battery might be “unable to deliver the necessary peak power.” And when that happens, it will automatically apply Performance Management, which basically means it’ll slow down the phone’s processor to avoid random shutdowns.
When that happens, you’ll have the opportunity to disable the feature. Once your device is affected, there will be an explanation of what’s happening along with a button to disable the feature.
Note: Be aware that you’re opening yourself up to a can of problems with random shutdowns. Without that throttling, your phone may turn off without warning. And if it does, your phone will re-enable the “Performance Management” throttling. (You can’t re-enable it manually; it’ll just re-enable itself every time you experience an unexpected shutdown.)
If you see Battery Health Unknown instead of the above options, then there’s something going on with the battery and you should take your device in to get checked out. If you are still under warranty, then Apple will replace your battery at no cost to you. If your device is out of warranty, Apple will charge a discounted rate until the end of 2018.
Note: CBT is working with the current beta right now, when the update actually rolls out officially, we’ll be sure to test it out again and keep you updated.
