Last week it transcended how users had detected that their iPhone 6s were losing performance as time passed. A confirmed indication of the measurements and scores achieved through Geekbench. The problem was associated with the degradation of the battery since, after its replacement, the performance of the smartphone increased. Today, the developer of this well-known performance test offers some interesting data after analyzing the information gathered about Apple smartphones, including the iPhone 7 and its performance.
The battery status of an iPhone has a negative effect not only on the autonomy provided, but also affects performance in the same way. That is the conclusion drawn from the analyzes, measurements, and verifications made by users through Geekbench. While initially it was found that it is a factor that affects the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6s, there are indications to think that the iPhone 7 will also be affected by the passage of time.
The information provided by John Poole
After the uproar caused by the relationship found between the decline in the performance of the iPhone 6s and the degradation of the battery, the founder of Primate Labs, a company behind the well-known performance test Geekbench, wanted to offer a clearer vision – and statistics – of the situation.
For this purpose it has used a mathematical formula – density estimation kernel of the density function unknown probability – and plotting the results by Gaussian curves to determine more accurately relationship between performance iPhones and the state of your battery.
For this purpose, John has used the data recorded by Geekbench after the performance measurements associated with the iPhones. Namely, iOS version and model. In this way, it has been possible to relate the performance with the version of the equipment and, therefore, the average degradation experienced by the battery of each iPhone version. A complex function that can be read in the form of graphs that we analyze.
Performance of iPhones in Geekbench
The graphics offered by John Poole are really revealing. If we stick initially to the case of the iPhone 6s, we appreciate how the peaks of performance are moving away from the curve that represents the average value of performance from the iOS version 10.2.1.
An update that, despite not having been confirmed by Apple, introduced a system that reduced the processor frequency of the iPhone 6s to adapt it to the voltage that was able to supply the battery. Actually, it was the solution to avoid the continuous reboots of the terminal caused by the instability generated by the battery at the hardware level. In this regard, it should be pointed out to understand the previous statement that the degradation of the chemical properties of a battery caused by use – charging cycles – and the passage of time itself result in lower voltage and load capacity.
If you look at the fluctuations of the graph that represents the performance of the iPhone 6s with iOS 11.2, the peaks that show the lowest performance are more pronounced, which also has another clear reading according to the founder of Geekbench. The effect is more pronounced and evidences a greater degradation of the battery, something that supports the fact that the iPhone 6s appear with a more current version of iOS. We must bear in mind that the iPhone 6s was launched in September 2015, more than two years ago.
The iPhone 7 is also affected
Poole himself has wanted to take samples of the iPhone 7 and perform the same measurements and statistics. The result is at least curious since, in a certain way, graphs are reproduced that make presage that the performance of the iPhone 7 also will descend with the passage of time and/or degradation of the battery. However, there is another important conclusion in this regard.
If we analyze the performance graphs of the iPhone 7 through Geekbench in relation to the different versions of installed iOS, we appreciate how from iOS 11.2 the peaks that represent the curves are similar to those of the iPhone 6s with iOS 10.2.1.
The reading seems obvious and is that the iPhone 7 will gradually and gradually reduce the performance of its processor over time.
The “tweak” of Apple, key factor to explain the reduction in performance
The contrast and comparison of the graphs obtained by John Poole’s statistics, together with the evidences and conclusions already handled by many users who have expressed their opinion on Reddit, lead experts in the field to conclude that Apple modifies the performance of its devices as the battery of these is affected by the load cycles and the passage of time. An implementation that was already introduced at the time with an update in the form of iOS 10.2.1 on the iPhone 6s and could have included again on the iPhone 7 in the OTA with iOS 11.2.1.
So, although Apple has not publicly recognized, the company could have standardized an algorithm that is included in all iPhones through updates and that comes into operation when the battery of the same begins to offer an insufficient voltage to guarantee the performance and stability of the hardware.
