Instead they came out with a weasely-worded statement that is designed to give the impression that they only recently starting doing this. But... they don't actually make that claim.
Apple lawyers are very good at what they do. Well played Apple indeed.
>First and foremost, we have never — and would never — do anything to intentionally shorten the life of any Apple product, or degrade the user experience to drive customer upgrades. Our goal has always been to create products that our customers love, and making iPhones last as long as possible is an important part of that.
I see 0 weasel words or dodging here. Give me a break hacker news. Thanks.
This is not a time for vague promises IMHO, it's time for specific and clear statements. Why not just say you don't slow phones full stop?
That isn't never do it. That's never do it for a single specific reason. Why add that clause?
I guarantee no word in that statement is wasted on meaningless fluff.