Cook tells employees Apple saw unexpectedly high batter replacements in 2018


While addressing employees, Apple CEO Tim Cook explained a higher than expected request for iPhone battery service. The surge in demand was due to the battery replacement program for specific iPhone models.

9 to 5 Mac:

During the all-hands meeting, Tim Cook reportedly stated that Apple replaced 11 million batteries over the duration of the $29 replacement program. During a normal year, Apple plans to replace around between 1 and 2 million batteries, Cook said during the meeting.

The $29 replacement initiative was active for almost exactly a year. This means in 2018, Apple replaced as high as 11 times the number of batteries it usually replaces in a year.

My parents have an iPhone 6. My mom's phone went nuts with a bad battery. My dad's was fine. I actually replaced the battery myself on my mom's phone days before Apple announced the discounted program. I got my dad's replaced last month during the holidays. My dad's was fine, but I wanted to get him a new battery regardless.

I wonder if consumers are getting used to the fact that smartphone batteries are a consumable component. If you want to keep your phone for a few years, or are extreme users, you should expect to replace your battery. Knowing this, people may be more interested in battery service rather than upgrading.