Apple replaced 11 million iPhone batteries in 2018, up from 1-2 million replacements in previous years
Within a meeting with employees following Apple’s revision to its guidance for the first fiscal quarter of 2019 primarily due to “fewer iPhone upgrades” than anticipated, Tim Cook is said to have revealed Apple replaced over 11 million iPhone batteries in 2018, up from between 1-2 million replacements in previous years.
The numbers were apparently shared with employees with Cook spoke with staff during an all-hands meeting earlier this month, John Gruber at Daring Fireball shared on Monday. The surge in replacements came after Apple slashed the price of out-of-warranty battery replacements following a backlash in late 2017 from the news that the company deliberately slowed older iPhones with degraded batteries to prevent unexpected shutdowns.
As a result of the news, which many claimed was a uncovered scam on Apple’s part to increase iPhone sales, the company took the price of battery replacements down from $79 to $29, with customers around the world, regardless of the health of their battery, able to book an appointment at an Apple Store for a reduced price replacement until the program ended this month.
As noted by John within the report, Apple replaced as as high as 11 times the number of batteries it usually replaces in a year.
During Apple’s all-hands meeting January 3, Tim Cook said Apple replaced 11 million batteries under the $29 replacement program, and they’d have only anticipated about 1-2 million battery replacements normally.