Good afternoon. My name is Jacqueline Famulak. I manage legal and government affairs at Apple Canada Inc. I have been employed by Apple Canada for over 30 years.
Apple Canada Inc. is a sales and distribution entity. We also have 29 retail stores across Canada. The design, manufacture, and testing of devices has always been done by Apple's parent company, Apple Inc., which is based in California.
I’m here to help the standing committee understand the facts of Apple’s efforts to make sure that users of Apple devices get all the benefits from the devices they use, and that these benefits last as long as possible, even in a world of rapid innovation.
Apple Inc. has recently answered a series of questions posed by the chairs of the United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation and the United States House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce. Apple’s comprehensive answers to those questions are attached to my written statement. I believe you have received it.
I am here today to answer your questions, but before doing so, I would like to share a few important points at the outset about Apple’s actions regarding iPhone batteries and performance, and what the Canadian consumer may have experienced as a result of those actions.
First, Apple would never intentionally do anything to shorten the life of any Apple product or degrade the user experience in order to drive customer upgrades. Apple’s entire philosophy and ethic is built around the goal of delivering cutting-edge devices that our customers love. Our motivation is always the user.
Second, Apple’s actions related to the performance of iPhones with older batteries were designed specifically to prevent some older models from unexpectedly shutting down under certain circumstances, and we communicated this publicly. Let me explain.
In order for a phone to function properly, the electronics must be able to draw power from the battery instantaneously, but as lithium-ion batteries age, their ability to hold a charge diminishes, and their ability to provide power to the device decreases. Very cold temperatures can also negatively affect a battery’s performance. A battery with a low state of charge may also cause the device to behave differently. These things are characteristics of battery chemistry that are common to all lithium-ion batteries used in all smart phones, not just Apple’s.
If power demands cannot be met, the iPhone is designed to shut down automatically in order to protect the device’s electronics from low voltage. We do not want our customers to experience interruptions in the use of their iPhones, whether that is making an emergency phone call, taking a picture, sharing a post, or watching the end of a movie.
To address the issue of unexpected shutdowns, we developed software that dynamically manages power usage when, and only when, the iPhone is facing the risk of an unexpected shutdown. This power management software helps keep iPhones on when they otherwise might turn off. It does this by balancing the demand for power with the available supply. The sole purpose of the software update in this case was to help customers to continue to use older iPhones with aging batteries without shutdowns, not to drive them to buy newer devices.
Third, Apple regularly provides software updates for iPhones and our other devices. These software updates can include everything from new features and bug fixes to security updates. Whenever we issue a software update, we include a ReadMe note that has a description of the contents of the update for the customer to review prior to the software installation. In the case of iOS 10.2.1, we stated in the ReadMe note “improves power management during peak workloads to avoid unexpected shutdowns on iPhone”.
Those things said, our intention has been to give our customers the best products and the best experiences possible. We take our customer concerns seriously, and we have taken a number of steps to address them.
First, Apple is offering to provide out-of-warranty replacement batteries for $35 instead of the original price of $99 to anyone with an iPhone 6 or later, whether they have experienced any performance issues or not. This offer began on December 28, 2017, and is available through to the end of December 2018, so customers have plenty of time to take advantage of it.
Further, Apple is also providing customers with additional information on its website about iPhone batteries and performance, including tips to maximize battery performance.
In addition, iOS 11.3, which is now in public beta, will add new features to give customers easy access to information about the health of their iPhone's battery. It will be available this spring, and the new software will offer power management that will recommend if a battery needs to be serviced. It will also allow customers to see whether the power management is on, and they can choose to turn it off if they wish.
With that, I am ready to answer your questions.
Thank you.