Apple’s iPhone 6S has worn the brunt of complaints about the device shutting down even though up to 30 per cent of its battery charge is left.
It has attracted the attention of the powerful China Consumers Association, a Chinese government watchdog group who has sent two notices to Apple demanding answers about the issue.
Apple posted an update on its website two weeks ago addressing the problem stating, in part, that it was a “very small number of iPhone 6S devices” that were the issue. They were produced between September and October in 2015.
They then posted another update on Friday December 2 explaining that they think it an issue with the manufacturing process.
“We found that a small number of iPhone 6S’s…contained a battery component that was exposed to controlled ambient air longer than it should have been before being assembled into battery packs. As a result, these batteries degrade faster than a normal battery and cause unexpected shutdowns to occur. It’s important to note, this is not a safety issue.”
Although not a safety issue, it is somewhat perplexing that such a minor process in the production schedule could cause the battery to degrade so quickly. Apple has said that its devices have been designed to shut down under certain conditions – such as under extreme temperatures – but so far none of the complaints have mentioned this being a cause for the handset to turn itself off.
Like Samsung’s issue with it Galaxy S7, Apple is trying to put the issue to bed before too much negative publicity. Its offering refunds to consumers who previously paid to have their device’s battery replaced but are still not happy with the handset
Apple recommends customers experiencing iPhone 6s battery issues visit an Apple Store or an Apple Authorized Service Provider