The controversy over Apple slowing down older iPhones in response to battery degradation doesn’t seem to be dying down.
Apple is facing a series of lawsuits over the issue, and it’s reported today that the equivalent of the FCC in Samsung’s home market of South Korea is now seeking an explanation from the iPhone maker …
The Korea Herald reports the response of the Korea Communications Commission.
The paper notes that an ‘explanation’ is the most the KCC can demand, as it has no jurisdiction over multinational companies based outside of Korea.
“We are hoping to get some answers on whether Apple intentionally restricted the performance of old iPhones and tried to hide this from customers,” said the Korea Communications Commission.
Apple has already explained that it takes the action to prevent random shutdowns that can otherwise be caused by iPhones trying to draw more peak power than is available from ageing lithium-ion batteries. Many have, however, criticized the company for taking the action without informing customers.
In our own poll, views were split, but the greatest number of you felt that Apple should have been upfront about what it was doing.
It’s not unusual for South Korean authorities to launch investigations into Apple. The country’s Fair Trade Commission has this year investigated Apple for alleged unfair contracts with carriers – including a raid on the company’s offices just ahead of the iPhone X launch.
