Apple has been at the center of no small amount of controversy lately, thanks to the recent iPhone CPU performance throttling debacle. Though the company has made it clear that their decision to slow down CPU performance was strictly intended to prolong the life of older iPhones and wasn't an attempt to perform "planned obsolescence," many device owners are still understandably outraged by the way Apple has handled the situation.
In a move likely intended to curb some of the negative PR the company has received, Apple recently published a formal apology, claiming the issue has largely been a misunderstanding between the company and its customers. In the same apology, Apple outlined their plans to offer $29 battery replacements to "anyone with an iPhone 6 or later" - a significant price drop from the company's previous $79 fee.
However, this decision doesn't go into effect until late January and other companies are already picking up the slack - specifically, device repair tool seller iFixit.
In a blog post, iFixit claimed Apple's proposed fix is "only temporary," noting that battery prices will simply increase again a year from now, leaving many iPhone owners in the same situation they're in now - not to mention the pickle iPhone owners who still use devices older than the iPhone 6 will find themselves in.
To rectify the situation, iFixit has decided to cut the prices of all of their iPhone battery replacement kits to $29 or less, effective immediately - directly matching or even undercutting Apple's solution. We've reached out to iFixit for comment on whether or not this price cut will be a permanent adjustment.
All of iFixit's iPhone repair kits come with "a custom driver, steel bits, opening tools, ESD-safe tweezers, and a new battery." The cheapest battery replacement kit comes in at $16.99 for the iPhone 4S with the iPhone 6S' kit costing $24.99.
Though iFixit's offer will undoubtedly appeal to many DIY-minded individuals, some iPhone owners may prefer to leave the process of replacing their phone's battery to Apple's trained professionals.