If Apple was hoping that the controversy surrounding their decision to slow down older iPhones with degrading batteries would pass, it hardly seems that way. Just last week a US Senator questioned Apple about their decision, and now more US lawmakers are chiming in with questions of their own.
In a report from Reuters, four US House Republicans wrote to Apple’s CEO Tim Cook, asking him to answer questions about the company’s disclosure of their slowing down of older iPhones. The letter also raised concerns about an iPhone’s battery that overheated and emitted smoke in Zurich, Switzerland, resulting in the store having to be evacuated.
This incident actually happened twice within the span of the week, where the second incident took place in an Apple Store in Spain, resulting in the store having to be evacuated as well as the shop was then aired to allow the smoke to go out. While reports of iPhones with exploding batteries are rare, it has been speculated that the uptick in such reports could be due to the sheer volume of customers who are visiting Apple’s stores to have their batteries replaced.
We’re not sure how Apple plans to ride this controversy out as no doubt it will follow the company for a long time. In the meantime the good news is that it looks like iPad owners are not affected by the slow down, as Apple themselves have confirmed that this issue is isolated to the iPhone.
