Apple started seeding its latest iOS 11.3 beta 2, which includes the promised battery health features and the option to disable performance throttling.
For those unfamiliar with the whole debacle, Apple recently stirred a firestorm of criticism after admitting that it deliberately slowed down the performance of older iPhones to protect the handsets' aging batteries.
Apple iOS 11.3 Battery Health Features
After great backlash, Apple apologized for not being forward about this from the start and offered free battery replacements for select iPhone models. At the same time, the company also promised to add new features for battery health in iOS 11.3, along with a toggle that would allow users to enable or disable performance slowdowns.
Apple is now making good on its promise and the latest iOS 11.3 beta 2 now brings new battery health features and enables users to turn off power management on older iPhones.
iOS 11.3 Performance Management And Battery Health
The new battery health feature in iOS 11.3 gives users more detailed information about the state of their iPhone's battery, and whether it has a negative impact on performance.
If an older iPhone with an aged battery results in a performance slowdown, the new battery health section will inform users about it, and let them resume normal performance if they so prefer.
Upon installing iOS 11.3 for the first time, any previously enabled performance management features will be automatically disabled. This means that grabbing the latest beta will automatically turn off performance management.
Unexpected iPhone Shutdowns
If the device has a degraded battery and performance management is disabled, however, it might experience random shutdowns. If this occurs, the operating system will automatically enable performance management.
It's worth pointing out, however, that throttling will only occur when the battery is seriously damaged and can't deliver sufficient power to sustain processor surges. If it does kick in, users have the option of turning it off, at their own risk.
The new battery health features are available in iOS 11.3, for the iPhone 6 and later. Users can access these features in Settings > Battery > Battery Health (Beta).
How To Disable iOS Performance Management
When performance management is automatically disabled after a sudden shutdown, users will see a message explaining the situation, along with a small "Disable" option. Tapping "Disable" will allow users to turn off performance management, which will, in turn, stop any throttling that may be going on.
On the other hand, disabling performance management again leaves the device vulnerable to unexpected shutdowns, and each time it shuts down randomly over battery issues, performance management will kick in again.
"iOS 11.3 improves this performance management feature by periodically assessing the level of performance management necessary to avoid unexpected shutdowns," Apple explains. "If the battery health is able to support the observed peak power requirements, the amount of performance management will be lowered. If an unexpected shutdown occurs again, then performance management will increase. This assessment is ongoing, allowing more adaptive performance management."
The only way to avoid performance management from automatically kicking in each time the device shuts down is to replace the device's degraded battery with a new one. Replacing the battery will restore the iPhone to its former glory, eliminating performance issues. For assistance with the battery replacements, users should contact Apple Support.
