Is your new iPhone battery replacement as old as the battery you got replaced?
My wife’s iPhone 12 Pro Max has 78% battery health, and I was thinking about getting it serviced with a fresh battery about a month ago. I went to the Apple Store, and one of the Geniuses told me the strangest thing about Apple’s replacement batteries (rough quotes here):
Genius: We can replace your battery, but since Apple made all the batteries for the iPhone 12s when they were first released, it still won’t last as long as a brand new phone’s battery.
Me: OK, so this iPhone was released back in 2020, and you’re telling me that if you do a battery replacement, that new battery will also be from 2020?
Genius: Yes, and it won’t last as long.
In my head I was thinking - umm…what are you talking about? Do you know what you’re even talking about?? Then it all made sense:
Genius: You’re better off trading it in for a newer device.
Aah, the ole upsell tactic. The trade-in offer for the 12 Pro Max was $280, but I declined and held off on the battery replacement since there is another year before the 12 Pro Max goes vintage.
I really hope this person was the only person using this tactic because it’s a lie. I wonder how many other people are told this insanity, that all genuine replacement batteries were already made 5 years ago, and they’re just sitting in a warehouse somewhere, slowly degrading over time. No doubt there are iPhone replacement batteries being stored away, but maybe they’re a few months old? Apple doesn’t like to hoard components, especially for 5 years.
They follow the Just-in-time (JIT) manufacturing method:
Apple uses a just-in-time manufacturing approach, which means that components and finished goods are manufactured and delivered to Apple’s warehouses and retail stores as close to the time of need as possible. This reduces the need for Apple to maintain large inventories.
For the record, here’s what Apple says about their batteries:
iPhone uses built-in, high-quality lithium-ion batteries. They're rigorously designed, tested, and manufactured to meet Apple quality and performance standards. These genuine Apple batteries have also been certified for safety.
The things said at an Apple Store never cease to amaze me. You really do learn something new everyday, at the Genius Bar.