Apple sued over iPhone 6 "Touch Disease" hardware problems

[midian182]

Last week, it was reported that a growing number of iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus users were finding their smartphones had fallen victim to the so-called “Touch Disease.” Apple still hasn’t officially acknowledged the hardware issue, leading to some owners filing a proposed class action lawsuit against the company.

The problem is a result of the phones’ bendability, which causes the touch controller chip’s soldering to crack eventually and start to lose contact with the board; a problem that's made worse through dropping and rough handling. As this happens, a flickering gray bar appears at the top of the iPhone and the screen starts becoming unresponsive, up to the point where it no longer registers touch.

This same flexibility brought about the “bendgate” phenomenon. The issues led to Apple stiffening the next generation iPhone 6s and 6s Plus.

Three plaintiffs filed a lawsuit against Apple over the weekend, alleging that the company knows about the design flaw but refuses to acknowledge or repair it, thereby violating several California consumer protection laws.

All three plaintiffs purchased iPhones that eventually showed signs of Touch Disease. Apple refused to repair the devices; instead, it offered to replace them at a cost of more than $300.

"Apple has long been aware of the defective iPhones," the complaint says. "Yet, notwithstanding its longstanding knowledge of this design defect, Apple routinely has refused to repair the iPhones without charge when the defect manifests.”

The plaintiffs hope to elevate the case to “nationwide class” status to include anyone who bought an iPhone that suffered from Touch Disease.

Todd Cleary of California, Jun Bai of Delaware and Thomas Davidson of Pennsylvania have also accused Apple of fraud, negligent misrepresentation, unjust enrichment and breach of implied warranty. The plaintiffs are seeking unspecified damages.

Permalink to story.

https://www.techspot.com/news/66144-apple-sued-over-iphone-6-touch-disease-hardware.html

 

[Kibaruk]

There are no news like Apple bashing news, don't know why I get satisfaction on these...

 

[stewi0001]

There are no news like Apple bashing news, don't know why I get satisfaction on these...

I find it extra satisfying after watching that video on the previous article about the touch-disease and how she tried to warn and inform users on the Apples Forums and they would delete what she said and ban her.

Karma is a B****

 

[Adhmuz]

And yet another reason to not buy Apple products, as if I didn't have enough of those already. This really shouldn't be called a disease though, more like a designed obsolescence to force people to upgrade their phones, just the problem arose well before Apple would have liked it to of. Seriously, they needed a way to get their iSheep to want (or need) to upgrade to the next generation device, the actual improvements are becoming less and less viable for people to upgrade.

 

[MilwaukeeMike]

And yet another reason to not buy Apple products, as if I didn't have enough of those already. This really shouldn't be called a disease though, more like a designed obsolescence to force people to upgrade their phones, just the problem arose well before Apple would have liked it to of. Seriously, they needed a way to get their iSheep to want (or need) to upgrade to the next generation device, the actual improvements are becoming less and less viable for people to upgrade.

Yes, that and a problem that occurs over time wont' show up in the product reviews on day 1.

As fun as Apple bashing is - there's this line...
'a problem that's made worse through dropping and rough handling' So... dropping and rough handling caused an issue with your phone? And that's Apple's fault?
I'd like some more info before I jump in and say the phone is completely at fault here.

And maybe today just isnt' the right day to bash Apple - The EU just decided that Apple should pay more tax, so they sent them a $14 billion bill. Yay govt!

 

[bexwhitt]

And yet another reason to not buy Apple products, as if I didn't have enough of those already. This really shouldn't be called a disease though, more like a designed obsolescence to force people to upgrade their phones, just the problem arose well before Apple would have liked it to of. Seriously, they needed a way to get their iSheep to want (or need) to upgrade to the next generation device, the actual improvements are becoming less and less viable for people to upgrade.

Yes, that and a problem that occurs over time wont' show up in the product reviews on day 1.

As fun as Apple bashing is - there's this line...
'a problem that's made worse through dropping and rough handling' So... dropping and rough handling caused an issue with your phone? And that's Apple's fault?
I'd like some more info before I jump in and say the phone is completely at fault here.

And maybe today just isnt' the right day to bash Apple - The EU just decided that Apple should pay more tax, so they sent them a $14 billion bill. Yay govt!

There is clearly a design flaw with the 6 and 6 plus, the touch chip on the iphone 5 had gunk injected under the chip that stopped the solder balls coming detached . They have done away with that on the 6, that and the touch chips on the 5 have a metal can over them which makes it more rigid that's now a sticky pad on the 6.
If apple can't build a thin phone without compromising longevity they deserve to be sued.

 

[Adhmuz]

Yes, that and a problem that occurs over time wont' show up in the product reviews on day 1.

As fun as Apple bashing is - there's this line...
'a problem that's made worse through dropping and rough handling' So... dropping and rough handling caused an issue with your phone? And that's Apple's fault?
I'd like some more info before I jump in and say the phone is completely at fault here.

And maybe today just isnt' the right day to bash Apple - The EU just decided that Apple should pay more tax, so they sent them a $14 billion bill. Yay govt!

Had Apple done any testing of their own device before shipping, ie subjecting it to drops, flex and the usual abuse any and all phones go through they would have discovered their own flaw. Now can I say they had or had not done so, no but to some degree you'd expect a company of their size to at least do some form of testing to ensure the phone will last at least a year or more in the hands of the average consumer.

Think about it, Apple phones are not subjected to more or less abuse than any other phone out there, be it Samsung or HTC, all phones are dropped and or handled roughly and at the end of the day still work. The sheer number of iPhone 6s showing premature failure to me points to a design flaw not caused by the everyday user, the phone is expected to withstand a certain level of abuse.

Really, just because Apple is getting a $14 billion bill doesn't excuse them from scrutiny... If anything it should raise more eyebrows, why does Apple need to pay more tax? Why had they not been paying that tax to begin with? This has nothing to do with the simple fact their iPhone 6 line has some serious flaws inherit in the design.

 

[Evernessince]

Yes, that and a problem that occurs over time wont' show up in the product reviews on day 1.

As fun as Apple bashing is - there's this line...
'a problem that's made worse through dropping and rough handling' So... dropping and rough handling caused an issue with your phone? And that's Apple's fault?
I'd like some more info before I jump in and say the phone is completely at fault here.

And maybe today just isnt' the right day to bash Apple - The EU just decided that Apple should pay more tax, so they sent them a $14 billion bill. Yay govt!

Had Apple done any testing of their own device before shipping, ie subjecting it to drops, flex and the usual abuse any and all phones go through they would have discovered their own flaw. Now can I say they had or had not done so, no but to some degree you'd expect a company of their size to at least do some form of testing to ensure the phone will last at least a year or more in the hands of the average consumer.

Think about it, Apple phones are not subjected to more or less abuse than any other phone out there, be it Samsung or HTC, all phones are dropped and or handled roughly and at the end of the day still work. The sheer number of iPhone 6s showing premature failure to me points to a design flaw not caused by the everyday user, the phone is expected to withstand a certain level of abuse.

Really, just because Apple is getting a $14 billion bill doesn't excuse them from scrutiny... If anything it should raise more eyebrows, why does Apple need to pay more tax? Why had they not been paying that tax to begin with? This has nothing to do with the simple fact their iPhone 6 line has some serious flaws inherit in the design.

Lol, I thought you had to hold Apple phones a certain way. I guess everyone is just holding them wrong again.