iPhone owners keep facing iOS battery issues, but Apple insists the problem is limited and the iPhone is actually design to shut down in some cases.
Users have been complaining about a frustrating iOS battery bug that causes iPhones to randomly shut down when reaching the 30 percent battery mark. The battery indicator instantly jumps back to 30 percent as soon as the iPhone is plugged in, going from zero to 30 in seconds.
Apple, for its part, said that only a small number of iPhone 6s units manufactured between September and October 2015 are affected by this issue. The company launched an iPhone 6s battery replacement program a couple of weeks ago to address the issue, claiming that it's not an iOS battery bug but a battery defect.
Apple also launched a new tool on Dec. 1, allowing users to check whether their iPhone 6s is eligible for a free battery replacement.
Frustrated users and consumer protection groups in China, however, feel that Apple is not doing enough to address this issue. Following increased criticism, Apple has now issued a new statement (translated) on its Chinese website, offering more details about the battery issues.
No New Factors Identified
Despite a growing number of user reports claiming otherwise, Apple still insists that the issue is limited only to a small number of iPhone 6s units. The company claims to have conducted thorough investigations into the matter but has found no new factors that could be responsible for the sudden iPhone shutdowns.
No iOS Battery Bug, iPhones Are Designed To Shut Down
Apple further claims that the random iPhone shutdowns are not caused by a bug, but are due to an intentional feature. According to the company, an iPhone is purposely designed to automatically shut down under certain conditions, such as extremely cold temperatures. Apple notes that such shutdowns may appear sudden and unexpected to some users, but they're designed to protect the iPhone's electronics from potential damage due to low voltage.
At the same time, Apple still insists that the issue is related to hardware only and has nothing to do with the iOS 10 battery bug that iPhone users have been complaining about.
On the other hand, Apple offered a solution for the hardware issue presuming that only some iPhone 6s units are affected, but Tech Times readers point out that other iPhone models face the same issues as well. The battery drain seems to affect the iPhone 6, 5s, 5c, 5 and more.
In this case, the iPhone 6s battery replacement program will fix the issue only for a fraction of iPhone users struggling with this battery drain. Other iPhone users experiencing random shutdowns are still out of luck.