A couple of years ago, a strange ‘life hack‘ went viral. People were changing their iPhone location to France after hearing it would help to speed up the phone. Today there is no up-to-date information regarding whether or not that’s still an option. However, it was a hotly debated topic at the time. Moreover, much like everything, there is some conflicting information as to whether or not it actually worked that way, including information published by Apple.
Many people have noticed a shift in the last few years. Products, goods, and services are becomingly more expensive yet seemingly lower quality. As a result, the general public often speculates about which companies are deviously looking for ways to cut costs while simultaneously increasing profits. One such rumor regarding older iPhones was that Apple was intentionally slowing down older models of the iPhone. Allegedly, resulting in higher profits as customers were essentially forced to buy new phones sooner. As a result, people believed that changing the iPhone location to France would help make it run more quickly and smoothly.
- Tap on your name and enter your password (or place your thumb on the reader)
- Tap Media & Purchases
- Tap View Account
- Tap Country/Region
- Select France
Origins of iPhone Location Rumor
The alleged “life hack” was reported by a source from China following up on several lawsuits filed against Apple Inc. by several states, as well as France and China. France-based Apple competitor, Watchdog, launched an investigation after a “frequency reduction incident” in which they were ordered to pay a substantial fine. Therefore, users believed that by changing the iPhone location to France they would be able to “disable the slowdown”.
As for China, Apple Inc. was ordered to add a policy reducing the cost of replacement batteries. Additionally, they added a feature giving customers full transparency and options in maintaining battery health.
Apple Faces Repercussions
Changing the iPhone location may or may not make a difference to how well the phone runs. However, there were plenty of other hints that may have led to the conclusion that changing an iPhone location would help it run better—in addition to the numerous lawsuits Apple faced the company had previously revealed a “feature” that raised a few eyebrows. “Electronic components require a minimum voltage to properly operate,” the company disclosed. “When the operations can no longer be supported with the full capabilities of the power management system, the system will perform a shutdown to preserve these electronic components. While this shutdown is intentional from the device perspective, it may be unexpected by the user.”
Saving Face
Basically, the company explained that it slows down old iPhones to preserve battery life. Thus, leading critics to argue, “planned obsolescence“. A method of “limiting the usefulness of a product” in order to ensure customers purchase more products sooner.
Older phones weren’t made for the same software as newer phones. As a result, older models would struggle to run efficiently after updating their phones. The company has since explained the last generation of phone to encounter these problems was iPhone 7 and that every model after has been made to run more smoothly.
In contrast, Apple released an article in 2021, explaining what may actually work in regard to the “life hack” of changing the iPhone location. The paper dives into a deep explanation of why it’s bad to change the iPhone location because it impacts things like your phone’s time zone or account information and subscriptions. Further sharing the steps to manually help increase battery life, without having to change the iPhone location. As well as some warnings about what might happen if users decide to tamper with the phone’s original designed settings.
Creating Features Like Changing iPhone Location
Apple Inc. has a fairly well-known story amongst the public. Once, a story of humble beginnings has seemingly turned into an issue of excessive greed. Long before featuring abilities like changing an iPhone’s location, Apple originated in Steve Jobs’ family’s basement. Just 21 at the time, he and former high school classmate 26-year-old Stephen Wozniak ran with Wozniak’s idea to develop a “microcomputer”. Wozniak was an engineering intern at Hewlett-Packard and shared his design but got no interest. Thus, Stephen and Steve set off on a grand endeavor, creating what is now an international company with a notable name and logo.
Recent Controversy
As wonderful or and humble as Apple Inc. may have been at its start, the company has become a massive corporation with nearly infinite resources. As such, a desire for larger profit margins seemingly lays the foundation for today’s business model. In fact, in 2022, the Senate passed the Open Apps Market Act that essentially limits profits earned by large conglomerates like Apple or Google. Moreover, allowing app developers to connect directly with their customers and freeing up their rights across multiple platforms.
Apple has come a long way, creating innovative advancements smart phones and iPads, likely going well beyond anything Jobs or Wozniak ever imagined.