iPhone 11 Series Has a New Hardware, Software Management System to Reduce Performance Impacts as Battery Ages: Apple

In 2017, Apple was embroiled in an iPhone slowdown saga, wherein the company admitted to slowing down old iPhone models to prevent unexpected shutdowns. The feature was meant to keep the smartphones running longer, and Apple's failure in bringing more clarity to the matter led it to initiate a battery replacement programme throughout 2018, apart from rolling out battery health information and performance throttling options in iOS. Now, Apple has released a new support document that claims that the new iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, and iPhone 11 Pro Max phones include a dynamic power management system that uses hardware and software to reduce performance impacts as their batteries chemically age. The company also has confirmed that the iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR will get a performance management feature with iOS 13.1 update next week, but did not clarify if it would be identical to the one seen on the iPhone 11 series.

Apple says that the new built-in performance management software and hardware system integrated in the new iPhone 11 series is automatic, always-on, and works to provide the best possible performance as battery ageing occurs over time. It also says that it is more advanced than the previous battery and power management methods, but battery ageing will over the course of time lead to longer app launch times, lower frame rates, reduced wireless-data throughput, backlight dimming, or lower speaker volume.

The company advises in its support document that users to check their battery health regularly by going to Settings > Battery > Battery Health, and getting a replacement if the health gets really poor.

In a separate support document, Apple confirms that the iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR are all going to get a performance management feature with the iOS 13.1 update scheduled for September 24. The company details that the feature will only work if the iPhone really requires it, and the feature is similar to the one iOS 12.1 brought to the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and iPhone X. It adds, "The effects of performance management on these newer models may be less noticeable due to their more advanced hardware and software design."

“It works by looking at a combination of the device temperature, battery state of charge, and battery impedance. Only if these variables require it, iOS will dynamically manage the maximum performance of some system components, such as the CPU and GPU, in order to prevent unexpected shutdowns. As a result, the device workloads will self-balance, allowing a smoother distribution of system tasks, rather than larger, quick spikes of performance all at once. In some cases, a user may not notice any differences in daily device performance. The level of perceived change depends on how much performance management is required for a particular device,” the support page explains.

iPhone 11 or iPhone XR: Which is the best iPhone for India? We discussed this on Orbital, our weekly technology podcast, which you can subscribe to via Apple Podcasts or RSS, download the episode, or just hit the play button below.​