Apple Admits Defect with Some iPhone 5s Batteries

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iPhone 5S users experiencing shortened battery life should be hearing from Apple.

(Image credit: iFixit)

If you bought an iPhone 5S and are confused as to why the battery life is disappointing, then the latest word from Apple might interest you. The company has confirmed that a limited number of iPhone 5S models shipped with a manufacturing issue that resulted in shortened battery life.

"We recently discovered a manufacturing issue affecting a very limited number of iPhone 5S devices that could cause the battery to take longer to charge or result in reduced battery life," Teresa Brewer, an Apple spokeswoman, told the New York Times in a statement. "We are reaching out to customers with affected phones and will provide them with a replacement phone."

The iPhone 5S was announced last month at an Apple event in San Francisco and the updated iPhone is supposed to have better battery life than the last generation of iPhone. Apple didn't go into detail regarding the manufacturing issue, nor did it specify how many customers were affected by the problem.

Apple's iPhone 5S has a 1560 mAh battery, while the iPhone 5 has a 1440 mAh battery. The iPhone 5S also packs Apple's new 64-bit A7 SoC with M7 co-processor, an updated camera, Touch ID fingerprint authorization, 1 GB of DDR3 RAM, up to 64 GB of storage, WiFi 802.11 a/b/n, Bluetooth 4.0, and LTE.

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Jane McEntegart
17 Comments Comment from the forums
  • nebun
    what does this have to do with battery life???

    "Apple's iPhone 5S has a 1560 mAh battery, while the iPhone 5 has a 1440 mAh battery. The iPhone 5S also packs Apple's new 64-bit A7 SoC with M7 co-processor, an updated camera, Touch ID fingerprint authorization, 1 GB of DDR3 RAM, up to 64 GB of storage, WiFi 802.11 a/b/n, Bluetooth 4.0, and LTE."
    Reply
  • fat_panda
    The title should be "Battery Life" not "Batteries"
    Reply
  • cmi86
    It's just fun watching the media turn on apple as they crumble back down to the ground. A nice turn of pace from the "apple can do no wrong" standpoint of past years.
    Reply
  • lp231
    Wait Apple actually admits they're product has a defect?!
    Normally they would say it's not a defect, but a new feature.
    Reply
  • craciunator
    I thought it said "Apple admits defeat with iphone 5s" and i got super excited and rushed to read Apple admitting defeat and just a defect, which might as well be admitting defeat.
    Reply
  • danwat1234
    So I wonder if it's power consumption, like portions of the computer not sleeping as much as it shou, processes taking unnecessary computing power, or if it's a physical problem with the battery chemistry?
    Reply
  • tecej2518
    Just wondering but if the problem is with the battery why is apple replacing the entire phone
    Reply
  • tecej2518
    Just wondering but if the problem is with the battery why is apple replacing the entire phone
    Reply
  • actsai
    Those specs do have some bearings, @nebun, higher specs requiring more electricity to support them, especially so with nicer screens, and 1560 mAH is toward the lower end of what Androids pack, so the battery performance is already piss-poor to start with.

    And @tecej iProducts have batteries internal like Palm's not Android phones where it is interchangeable like Windows Mobile <6. So under warranty it is faster to replace, not providing service credits and end up having to go without phones for a day.
    Reply
  • halcyon
    I haven't noticed anything wrong with my unit's battery life...yet anyways.
    Reply