Archive for December, 2017

Apple apologizes for slowing iPhone, drops battery prices

Friday, December 29th, 2017

Apple has apologized to customers for how it rolled out an update that can slow down older iPhones. It is offering cheaper battery replacements to make up for it.

In a lengthy message posted on its site Thursday, the company gave an in-depth explanation for the controversial update. To make amends, Apple will temporarily drop the price of replacement batteries to $29 starting in late January. The price will go back up to the usual $79 in 2019.

Customers are upset with the company over a software update that deliberately slowed down older phones in some situations to extend battery life. Some thought it was a ploy to get people to upgrade to new devices. A number of people have filed lawsuits over the feature and are seeking class action status.

The feature will stay on phones, but Apple says an upcoming iOS update will “?give users more visibility into the health of their iPhone’s battery.” It did not say if it will give them the ability to turn the feature off or on. (more…)

7 Top Science and Tech Stories of 2017

Wednesday, December 27th, 2017

An artist’s illustration depicts Cassini as it begins to burn up in Saturn’s atmosphere.

Keeping up with new developments in science, tech, and innovation during 2017 was a bit like trying to tread water during a tsunami.

From a dramatic solar eclipse and breathtaking advances in gene-editing technology to the detection of ripples in space-time predicted by Einstein more than a century ago, the stories just kept coming. Here’s a recap of seven we deem especially noteworthy.

(more…)