According to Daring Fireball’s John Gruber, a well-known technology blogger, during the length of its battery replacement program, Apple has replaced a total of 11 million iPhone batteries, while the company had expected to replace only about 1 million to 2 million units. In fact, this number was disclosed by Apple CEO Tim Cook at an all-hands meeting, which was initially reported by Bloomberg.
Apple’s battery replacement program began in January last year and continued until December 31 of the same year. According to the plan, owners of the iPhone 6 and newer models could replace their battery for just $29.
The plan was launched after Apple began to reduce the performance of older iPhones, which had problems with battery aging and were easier to shut down without warning. Replacing the battery helped the iPhone operate at peak performance again.
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Apple said that this is one of the reasons why shipments in the fourth and first quarters may be lower than expected.
On January 2, Apple revised its first-quarter revenue forecast. Cook issued a letter to investors saying that international trade tensions and weak economic conditions were the main reason why the iPhone sales were lower than expected and prompted Apple to cut its revenue outlook.
‘In addition, these and other factors resulted in fewer iPhone upgrades than we had anticipated,’ Cook explained.
In the same letter, Cook mentioned the iPhone battery replacement program. He said: ‘some customers [were] taking advantage of significantly reduced pricing for iPhone battery replacements.’ But he did not mention that there were 10 million more iPhone batteries than predicted.
