Cold weather triggers automatic shutdowns, consumers complain
Complaints from Chinese customers have been piling up as they find that their iPhone 6s smartphones automatically shut down even though the battery still has about 10 percent to 30 percent power remaining.
The Global Times talked to about 60 iPhone users across the country on Monday, and about 60 percent said that their iPhones could automatically switch off even if the battery is not totally depleted.
The interviewees said they use the iPhone 6, iPhone 6s or iPhone 6 plus.
"I found that the battery automatically dies on my iPhone 6 plus, starting from the past two weeks. My iPhone is about 17 months old, and it will automatically shut down at 30 percent," Julia Ji, a Beijing resident, told the Global Times on Monday.
Ji said that "the phone can only be turned on after it is recharged" in such cases.
"The battery is good in normal weather and does not show signs of weakening, but my iPhone 6 will die in minutes if it is used outdoors in winter," a 30-something Beijing resident who only gave her surname as He told the Global Times on Monday.
"That happened even more after I upgraded to the new iOS 10," He said, noting that her iPhone 6 is 15 months old.
Nearly 400 iPhone consumers, whose iPhone 6, iPhone 6s or iPhone 6 plus devices automatically switch off, used the social media QQ group to share information on the issue and discuss how to maintain their rights, a netizen named Suqingcipopo said on November 1 on her Weibo account.
The battery problem may be caused by instability in the iOS, an Apple employee based in Beijing, who declined to be identified, told the Global Times on Monday via phone.
"When the temperature is too high or too low, it will cause the shutdown of iPhones, which is normal if it happens only a few times," she said, noting that if this takes place often, it is better to check the condition of the battery.
Liu Dingding, a Beijing-based independent analyst, said that it is hard to tell the exact factors causing the automatic shutdown of the iPhones.
"Any [problems] in the production chain could make it happen, and even the humidity level in the shipping process could lead to the problem," Liu told the Global Times on Monday.
"It is not easy to know whether the problem is caused by hardware or other factors if Apple Inc does not want to offer an explanation," Liu said.
"So far, the automatic shutdowns are still scattered cases. If this situation persists and gets bigger, the company will recall its products from the global markets," Wang Jun, a Beijing-based industry analyst, told the Global Times on Monday.
Some consumers who use domestic smartphones made by companies such as Huawei Technologies Co, Xiaomi Inc and OPPO told the Global Times Monday that they have not encountered such automatic shutdowns.
"My OPPO is still good and I do not find any automatic shutdown in cold weather or in any other situation," a teacher surnamed Guo in Qufu, East China's Shandong Province told the Global Times on Monday.
Experts said these incidents will not have a significant impact on Apple's performance in the coming months because the real competition comes from Apple's rising domestic smartphone rivals, such as Huawei and Xiaomi.
Apple's revenue in the Chinese market dropped 30 percent year-on-year to the equivalent of $8.79 billion in its fiscal 2016 fourth quarter ended September 24, 2016, the company said in October.
Apple ranked fifth place in Chinese smartphone shipments in the third quarter of 2016 with a 6.2 percent share, down from 10.3 percent a year earlier, while Chinese smartphone makers, including Huawei, OPPO, Vivo and Xiaomi, held the top four places, accounting for 52 percent of the total market, according to data released by U.S.-based market consultancy Strategy Analytics in October.
"The functions on domestic smartphones are getting better and better, and their prices are much cheaper than those of iPhones, so Apple's performance in the Chinese market … may possibly continue to dip in the coming months," Liu said.
Even the newly released iPhone 7 won't help Apple to gain much share in the domestic market, Liu said.
