dogloose

December 31 is the last day to get iPhone battery replacements at a discounted price[1] and in Mumbai at least, the rush is real. Gadgets 360 noted a marked increase in consumers trying to get their batteries replaced closer to the deadline. For those who are unaware, Apple admitted to slowing down old iPhones to prevent unexpected shutdowns and to compensate for this, reduced the price of replacing a battery of an iPhone that isn't in warranty from Rs. 6,500 to Rs. 1,995. This scheme is valid for the iPhone SE[2], iPhone 6[3], iPhone 6 Plus[4], iPhone 6s[5], iPhone 6s Plus[6], iPhone 7[7], iPhone 7 Plus[8], iPhone 8[9], iPhone 8 Plus[10], and iPhone X[11].

PSA: Last Chance to Get Your iPhone Battery Replaced By Apple for Cheap[12]

At an Apple authorised service centre in Colaba, Mumbai, we saw long queues of walk-in customers waiting for the mandatory diagnostic checks prior to a battery replacement, with wait times stretching close to an hour. It's something we noticed first hand in an attempt to check if our out-of-warranty iPhone SE was eligible for a battery replacement.

In our time there we noticed at least ten other consumers walk in and take tokens to wait in line to have their iPhones checked, aside from an odd request to have AirPods cleaned and another who showed up to pick up a MacBook Air sent in for repairs.

Clearly, the three counters dedicated to iOS device issues weren't up to the task with lines being longer than they usually are on a Friday afternoon. It was...

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