September 2017. Millions of iPhone 6 users wake up to a routine software update notification. They tap Install. By that afternoon, their phones feel sluggish. Apps stall. The keyboard lags. Most of them assume it is just their aging hardware finally giving out.
It was not.
Apple had quietly introduced battery throttling in iOS 10.2.1, slowing processor speeds to prevent unexpected shutdowns on older batteries. The feature itself had a legitimate engineering rationale. The secrecy did not. Apple disclosed nothing. No notification. No toggle. No choice. And that decision eventually cost them a $113 million multistate settlement in 2020.
That moment is exactly why the FTC’s new ruling on forced obsolescence features matters so much, and why you should understand it before your next update prompt arrives.
The Real Story Behind the Headlines
Here is the plain version of what the FTC has now formalized: manufacturers can no longer quietly implement features that degrade device performance without disclosing them to users. The ruling targets what regulators are calling “forced obsolescence mechanisms,” which covers software-based throttling, artificial battery limitations, and update behaviors that reduce performance on older hardware without transparent disclosure.
Think of it this way. You buy a car. Two years later, the manufacturer remotely adjusts your engine to run at 60% capacity, claims it is for your safety, and tells you nothing. You would call that fraud. The FTC has now decided that doing the same thing to your phone deserves the same scrutiny.
The ruling draws directly from Section 5 of the FTC Act, which prohibits unfair or deceptive acts in commerce. Regulators cited a pattern of behavior across multiple device categories, including smartphones, tablets, and smart home devices, where performance limitations were embedded in software updates without meaningful consumer disclosure.
Three Specific Manufacturer Behaviors Now Under the Microscope
The FTC ruling names three categories of conduct that manufacturers must now disclose or eliminate:
Performance throttling tied to battery age. If an update slows your processor to compensate for a degraded battery, you must be told that is happening before you install the update. Not buried in release notes. Not in a support document you have to search for. Upfront and readable.
This one is going to sting for Apple specifically, given that they spent years arguing throttling was a feature, not a secret tax on staying on older hardware.
Artificial compatibility cutoffs. When a manufacturer stops issuing security updates for a device that is technically capable of running them, that decision must be disclosed along with the reasoning. Vague “end of support” language does not meet the new standard.
Translation: “This device is no longer supported” is no longer a complete answer. Manufacturers now have to explain why, which is a sentence they have never had to write before.
Update-triggered storage or memory limitations. Some updates consume storage or increase background memory usage in ways that make older devices functionally slower, even without explicit throttling. These behaviors now require disclosure too.
Honestly, this is the one most people have never even thought about, and it may be the category with the most widespread impact across budget Android devices.
What This Means For You
Here is what this actually means for you. The ruling does not give you a refund. It does not reverse updates already installed. What it does is shift the information balance in your direction, and that shift is more significant than it sounds.
When did you last actually read an update description before tapping install? And did you know that, until this ruling, manufacturers had no obligation to tell you if that update would slow your device down?
The practical effect is this: going forward, update notes on throttling-related changes must be written in plain language and made available before you accept the installation. If you receive a major OS update on a device older than two years and the performance changes are not disclosed, that is now real grounds for a complaint with the FTC, not just a Reddit post.
According to a 2023 iFixit survey, 64% of smartphone users said they had never checked their battery health settings, and the majority did not know throttling could be occurring on their device without any notification. That number is about to become a recruiting poster for the FTC’s enforcement team.
Did You Know: Battery health on iOS is found at Settings > Battery > Battery Health and Charging. On Android, the path varies by manufacturer, but Samsung users can access it through Settings > Battery and Device Care > Battery. If your battery health is below 80%, throttling may already be active on your device.
Warning: If your device slowed after a recent update and you received no disclosure about performance changes, you now have real ammunition to push back. Document the update version, the date you installed it, and any noticeable changes in speed or battery behavior. That record is evidence if you choose to file a complaint.
Pro Tip: Before accepting any major OS update on a device older than two years, search the update version number plus the word “throttling” or “performance” on Reddit. Users report real-world slowdowns within 48 hours of release. That five-minute search could save you from a decision you cannot undo.
The Honest Pros and Cons
What this ruling gets right:
- Disclosure requirements are enforceable under existing FTC authority, which means they do not require new legislation to have teeth
- Consumers now have a named federal mechanism for filing complaints about undisclosed throttling, with a paper trail that did not previously exist
- The ruling creates pressure on manufacturers to actually engineer better battery management rather than quietly papering over the problem with software limits
What this ruling does not fix:
- It does not require manufacturers to extend software support timelines, so a device can still be “end of lifed” on the manufacturer’s schedule
- Enforcement is complaint-driven, meaning the FTC responds to reported violations rather than actively auditing every update release
- Does this mean your next phone will last forever? No. The ruling addresses disclosure and manipulation, not the underlying economics of hardware cycles
Your Next 3 Steps
Step 1: Check your current device for throttling right now.
On iPhone: Go to Settings > Battery > Battery Health and Charging. If your Maximum Capacity reads below 80%, your device may already be in a performance-managed state. Apple will indicate this under “Peak Performance Capability” on the same screen.
On Android (Samsung): Go to Settings > Battery and Device Care > Battery. Look for any performance mode settings that you did not manually enable. On Pixel devices, check Settings > Battery > Battery Saver and review any adaptive settings that may have been switched on by a recent update.
Step 2: Screenshot your next update notes before installing.
The next time an update notification appears on your phone, tap the version number or “Learn More” before hitting Install. Screenshot the full release notes. Save them to a dedicated folder in your photos or email them to yourself with the date in the subject line. A 2022 report from the Electronic Frontier Foundation found that manufacturer update disclosures are frequently edited or removed from support pages after rollout, so your screenshot may be the only record that exists.
If your device slows noticeably within two weeks of that update and the release notes contained no mention of performance or battery changes, you have documented evidence of a potential FTC violation.
Step 3: File a complaint at reportfraud.ftc.gov if disclosure is missing.
Go to reportfraud.ftc.gov. Select “Something Else” under complaint category, then describe the update, the date installed, the device model, and the specific performance changes you observed. Attach your screenshot of the original release notes. The FTC does not guarantee individual remedies, but complaint volume directly shapes enforcement priority. The Apple throttling investigation was accelerated by consumer complaints before the settlement. Your filing is not a formality. It is data the FTC actually uses.
The manufacturers have had decades to get away with this quietly. The quiet part is over.
