While the iPhone 14 hardware lineup costs largely the same as the previous generation, the cost of battery replacement has risen significantly, exceeding the prices Apple charged prior to its 2016/2017 “Batterygate”calculation.
Typically, Apple only replaces the battery through AppleCare+ if the device’s battery level is 80 percent or lower. Apple says its batteries are rated for 500 cycles before reaching 80 percent, although factors such as temperature, low battery levels, and others can quickly reduce battery life.
While the 43 percent increase in the cost of replacing a battery very similar to the one inside the iPhone 13 is remarkable, Apple’s newest battery prices are a correction of sorts from the previous, well-publicized variance.
Battery replacements on the iPhone 6 and later cost $79 until late 2017, when Apple’s quiet, undocumented habit of slowing down older phones morphed from crowdsourced test theory to Apple’s apology and, inevitably, the “Batterygate”moniker.
In addition to a rare admission of error, Apple has temporarily reduced the price of a non-warranty/AppleCare battery replacement to $29. This continued until 2018, but Apple still reduced the price of the new battery by $10 from pre-Gate levels in 2019, charging $69. This price was maintained until the iPhone 14.
The company has also been slowly adding battery health information to iOS, giving owners a chance to take a look at their maximum capacity and indicate if their system can be slowed down to deal with weaker battery voltages – at least if you installed a genuine Apple battery.