Apple Blames iPhone 6s Battery Woes on Excess ‘Ambient Air Exposure’
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Friday morning Apple released an official statement to its Chinese-language-based website, marking an emergence from the shadows for the second time since a recent spat of complaints about iPhone 6s batteries draining quicker than normal began circulating the web like wildfire earlier last month.
The Silicon Valley tech-giant expressed in the statement that the issues are, in fact, due to a since-resolved manufacturing defect resulting in “batteries having been overexposed to controlled ambient air during the manufacturing process,” according to a report published Friday morning via Business Insider.
“We found that a small number of iPhone 6s devices made in September and October 2015 contained a battery component that was exposed to controlled ambient air longer than it should have been before being assembled into battery packs,” Apple’s statement reads, in part. “As a result, these batteries degrade faster than a normal battery and cause unexpected shutdowns to occur.”
Apple was also quick to note, in addition, that the current issues are “not safety related” — a clear attempt at drawing a stark contrast between its own, and some other, more invasive battery-related issues that have made news headlines earlier this year.
The iPhone 6s battery drain/power-down problem first came to light when a myriad of users began lodging similar complaints on Apple’s Support forums earlier last month, most of them alleging that their iPhone 6s batteries were dropping from 30% to 0% within a matter of just seconds.
According to Apple’s statement, however, iPhones are actually designed to shut down automatically under certain, extreme conditions — such as severe cold or heat, for instance — which is meant to protect the device’s internals from weather-related damage.
While it’s obviously unclear if every single user who lodged a complaint was doing so from an icy cold locale, Apple did indicate that it was unable to identify any other factors that could have contributed to the current battery woes. The good news is that, constituent with its recently launched iPhone 6s battery replacement program, those who believe their device might be eligible for a new battery can now find out if that’s the case by visiting this link. And if you do, indeed, end up being eligible for a free battery replacement, then you can head on over to your local Apple Store to have it swapped out.
Are you eligible for a new iPhone 6s battery? Let us know in the comments!
