The new iPhone 14 smartphones are on display at an Apple Store at The Grove in Los Angeles, Friday, Sept. 16, 2022. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
On March 1, Apple will start charging an extra $20 for battery replacements on out-of-warranty iPhones, according to an update on the AppleCare+ webpage.
The new price will be $99 for the iPhone 14, and while these models are currently under warranty, they won't be after the one-year anniversary of their release in September 2023.
At that point, the higher price point could encourage customers with broken batteries to simply buy a new phone rather than shell out nearly $100 for a replacement part.
Apple has adjusted prices multiple times in recent years, as supply chain issues have raised production costs. Just last month, labor unrest at an iPhone supplier in China led to a production shortfall. The company struggled with similar disruptions throughout the pandemic.
There is also a history of consumers pushing back against Apple's practices around batteries. The company in 2020 was forced to pay $113 million in fines to settle consumer fraud lawsuits around a controversy known as "batterygate," in which iPhone users discovered that Apple installed new software that made devices with older batteries operate slower.
In addition, CEO Tim Cook in 2019 wrote in a letter to investors that "some customers taking advantage of significantly reduced pricing for iPhone battery replacements" was partly behind a lower-than-expected iPhone sales.
Blue Bear Capital, a venture and growth equity firm focusing on AI-powered solutions for the world’s energy, infrastructure, and climate challenges, recently announced it has raised $150 million dollars in new funding. Ernst Sack, Partner at Blue Bear Capital, joins Cheddar Climate the vision his company has when it comes to combating climate change.
Tinder is working to keep users on the platform for longer periods by introducing its own in-app currency. Users can collect coins by staying active on the dating app or purchasing them. The currency can then be used on features like Super Likes or Boosts.
The Drone Racing League kicked off its 2021-2022 world championship season this week. Spanning across 14 different locations over the course of the year, 12 of the world's best drone pilots will be racing against each other to bring home the title. Drone racing has grown in popularity over the past year, with the Drone Racing League seeing an uptick of nearly 200 percent average viewership, 90 percent in virtual drone racing participation and 60 percent fanbase growth over social media. Rachel Jacobson, President of the Drone Racing League, discusses the future of the sport and why she thinks drone racing will soon be on par with traditional sports.
