iPhone fans accuse Apple of ‘crushing battery life’ – but there’s an explanation

IPHONE owners have accused Apple of ‘crushing’ the battery life of devices following a surprise update.

The tech company was previously forced to pay a £21million fine in February 2020 for intentionally slowing down its old iPhones without any warning.

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The latest iOS 16.4.1 (a) update was a Rapid Security Response update, which lets Apple patch up cyber vulnerabilities sooner than it would through conventional software updates. 

They’re designed to fix zero-day flaws – which are vulnerabilities in an operating system that is exploited the same day it is discovered.

This stops hackers from being able to take advantage of a security flaw straight away and could prevent malware from spreading among devices.

iPhone owners flocked to Twitter with complaints the mini update had triggered a battery bug.

One social media user claimed their iPhone battery had plummeted by 22 per cent in just 46 minutes after installing the update, while another said they had lost 30 per cent in half an hour. 

Naturally, onlookers suspected this latest bout of poor battery was a ploy to push customers into buying newer models.

One iPhone owner on Twitter accused the update of being a “battery killer”, saying: “All my devices have had their battery health reduced and these devices are new. Did you guys do you homework prior to releases or we are the scapegoats yet again?”

“@AppleSupport Since the release of iOS 16.0.1 and until the last update ios 16.4.1, there is severe battery drain and device heating, although you know about this matter, but you did not solve this problem,” wrote another iPhone owner.

But there’s actually a simple explanation – and it’s not Apple trying to pull strings.

After any software update, your iPhone or iPad will perform various background tasks for some time – even a few days – which uses more of the battery than the user intended.

With more system activity going on behind the scenes, battery life is drained quicker than usual.

All iPhone owners need to do is be patient and wait a few days for the update to settle in.

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