iPhone slowdown: Tim Cook clarifies device issues

Apple CEO Tim Cook on Friday said that Apple Inc did not have any ulterior motive iPhones with older batteries, claiming that all batteries age over time.

"About a year ago, we released some code that essentially what it does is, all batteries age over time, and they become unhealthy at a point in time. And an unhealthy battery has a probability that it will create an unexpected restart. When we did put it out, we did say what it was, but I don't think a lot of people were paying attention, maybe we should have been clearer as well," Tim Cook told ABC News in an exclusive interview.

"And so, we deeply apologize for anybody that thinks we had some other kind of motivation," he added.

Earlier in December 2017, soon after news of Apple having slowed down older versions of their flagship device, the iPhone, broke the internet and social media forums, the company had offered USD 29 worth battery replacements for a year.

The Silicon Valley giant in a letter, stated that the replacement offer is being done in a bid to compensate for the degrading quality of batteries.

The company, however, had clarified that it is not slowing down older iPhones, instead is urging people to upgrade to newer models.

It also admitted to addressing an issue with devices containing older lithium-ion batteries that result in unexpected shutdowns.

Apple had also promised to introduce additional features to its software and iOS to provide more information about the battery health in early 2018, so that users are well informed when their batteries are no longer capable of supporting maximum phone performance.