Rotting Apple

iPhone malfunctions frustrate owners

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photo by Jessica Maldonado

Senior Paola Fantauzzi struggles to turn on her phone after it “died” while it was at 22 percent.

Sophomore Gabriella Perez waited a year to get her first iPhone, but after two years, her excitement was over, and her iPhone was no longer useful for her necessities.

“I saw this coming because I actually had to wait to get my phone until a new model came out because my brother was experiencing trouble with his phone,” Perez said. “His phone started to get very slow and his battery would constantly change.”

As newer models come out, older iPhones tend to have quite a few problems, such as slowdowns, battery malfunctions and frozen screens.

These problems are not just now starting, they have occurred every time a new model comes out. According to Google Trends, Google searches for the term “iPhone slowdown” have peaked once since 2008, when people started to notice the pattern, with each of those peaks occurring right after Apple releases a new iPhone model.

“I’ve thought about upgrading my phone but it is the same process every time,” Perez said. “You buy a newer version because your old one does not seem to work and they begin to raise the prices because they know you need it.”

When it comes to iPhones and teens, money can be a huge part on why they cannot upgrade as often as adults can. Senior Paola Fantauzzi former Samsung owner got her iPhone almost three years ago when she was 15 years old.

“I love the way iPhones look and feel and there is a lot more stuff to do on it than a Samsung,” Fantauzzi said. “[But] it annoys me how Apple is basically forcing you to buy a thousand dollar phone so that you can have a phone that works.”

For other people like sophomore Andrew Leonard, having an unfuctional iPhone is not something to be frustrated about.

“I never had any problems with my iPhones but it is because  once a new model comes out I usually get it right away before my phone starts to mess up,” Leonard said. “However, I do have a couple of friends where their phones are completely unfunctional.”

These problems do not affect every iPhone, but for the most part from iPhone 5s to even iPhones 7 has been experiencing some serious issues.

“I have the iPhone 7 right now, which is a newer model that I literally got two months ago and my phone still freezes and [slows down],” sophomore Emily Baez said.

Due to the complaints of this increasing ever since the iPhone 8 and X came out, Apple apologized for the malfunctions with their phones.

On Dec. 20, Apple admitted that iOS software updates slow down the performance of older iPhones. Apple also apologized for inconveniences and decided to help the situation by lowering the prices from $79 to $29 for a battery replacement.

Even though Apple buyers get annoyed at their phones and the company, Baez, Perez and Fantauzzi agree that in the future, they will continue to buy Apple products.

“Even though I had a Samsung before, I have gotten used to an iPhone and I know it better now and it is so much easier to handle,” Fantauzzi said.

As Apple continues to produce new models, it is expected that older versions will fail, but Apple buyers continue to have faith and buy their products.

“Hopefully someone is able to fix this problem before Apple keeps causing so much unnecessary damage,” Perez said. “I would hate to see Apple go down because despite of all the problems, I still love this company.”

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