iPhone slowed down as battery degrades - do Android devices do something similar

[#1]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-42438745

Apple has confirmed the suspicions of many iPhone owners by revealing it does deliberately slow down some models of the iPhone as they age.

Many customers have long suspected that Apple slows down older iPhones to encourage people to upgrade.

The company has now said it does slow down some models as they age, but only because the phones' battery performance diminishes over time.

Apple said it wanted to "prolong the life" of customers' devices.

Which leads me the other part of the question in the title - do some android devices do the same

In the case of my Android phone I could just replace the battery but the Android tablet is a totally different kettle of fish

[#2]

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@Oldjim wrote:

but the Android tablet is a totally different kettle of fish

It is possible to replace the battery in some Android devices, provided you have the necessary tools, dexterity, and can source a replacement. I recently managed to do this to two Nook devices, but I'm not wholly convinced the time and effort was worthwhile.

Some versions of Android installed on phones have been customised by the manufacturers to operate in a degree of power saving, which could have a similar effect to the iPhone issue, but I don't believe that there is any incentive for Android developers to 'upgrade' the operating systems in a similar way.

As an aside, the best way to prolong battery life for any mobile devices that use lithium-ion batteries is to avoid charging them beyond 80% of full capacity.

[#3]

Trouble with that @maranello is at 80% I'd want the phone to last the whole day without charge. Otherwise you've got to carry a charger with you and be somewhere where you have AC/USB, etc to use it.

I don't think an iPhone would, not if you used it heavily. I did once and the battery died in the evening.

[#4]

They're now being sued

https://www.neowin.net/news/unsurprisingly-apple-is-being-sued-for-slowing-down-older-iphones

[#5]

Apple must have gone to the same school of customer relations as VW.

Deliberately degrading a customers device for what exactly........................

I don't buy apples reason.

It's either the obvious encouragement to upgrade, a cover up for a poor design with a too small battery, or both.

[#6]

I have noticed my android phone has slowed down since I bought it but it isn't from a major brand that I'd be likely to buy from again (especially as they bundled ebay and others which I can't upgrade).

I just put it down to the sheer number of apps and background processes I have running. Plus the processors are no match for a desktop processor - imo anyway - and so it doesn't really worry me as much.

I don't really think Android device makers could take the same risk as Apple as there is too much competition and I don't think Google would slow devices down to suit them or some new devices out of the box would be randomly hit.

[#7]

My better half's Samsung Note tablet definitely slowed down to the point where it was really noticeable but this may be down to the amount of data from Facebook

So I just replaced it with a cheap Chinese one £85 from Amazon which does everything she wants and is much faster even with the same garbage on it

[#8]

I can't remember who said it to me now, but someone complained and said they suspected after each major iOS release came out (when a new model is released), Apple deliberately made it run slower on old phones to get on your nerves to upgrade.

I laughed it off, but upon reflection it looks like they may have been right. 

[#9]

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@Oldjim wrote:

My better half's Samsung Note tablet definitely slowed down to the point where it was really noticeable but this may be down to the amount of data from Facebook

So I just replaced it with a cheap Chinese one £85 from Amazon which does everything she wants and is much faster even with the same garbage on it

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Admittedly I'd not thought about samsung as they are the main android player.. i suppose its possible the likes of HTC and other big android names might turn to this tactic too however there is fierce competition in the android market so such a tactic would be incredibly risky.

@Alex the theory was raised on the daily mail website a year or two back so it has been a (truthful) conspiracy theory for some time.