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.
Sen. Josh Hawley’s bill to hold major tech companies responsible for content published on their platforms is finding no love. The legislation, which is aimed to punishing tech companies for their supposed censorship of conservative voices, is being criticized by free speech advocates for potentially increasing censorship and by politicians from both sides of the aisle who view the bill as gross example of government overreach.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Thursday, June 20, 2019.
Slack made its market debut Thursday with shares trading at $38.50, way up from the $26 a piece reference price set by the New York Stock Exchange. The opening price gives the workplace message platform a valuation of over $23 billion.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Wednesday, June 19, 2019.
Facebook announced a new financial system that will be based on a digital token called Libra managed by an independent non-profit consortium, which is currently comprised of companies like Uber, Spotify, Visa, and MasterCard.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Tuesday, June 18, 2019.
Sotheby's, one of the world's oldest auction houses, is being acquired by Patrick Drahi, the founder and controlling shareholder of European telecom giant Altice, in a $3.7 billion deal, the company announced Monday.
From Wall Street to Silicon Valley, these are the top stories that moved markets and had investors, business leaders, and entrepreneurs talking this week on Cheddar.
A Toronto-based investment fund manager called 3iQ is working to overturn the rejection of its proposed Bitcoin Fund by the Ontario Securities Commission, saying that it is withholding opportunities from Canadian investors and holding back advancements in fintech. FredPye, President and CEO of 3iQ joined Cheddar to discuss the battle.
During its Elevate conference this week Uber sought to sell its vision for aerial logistics. Cheddar's Hope King was there.
