Roger Fingas
An additional three lawfirms are now participating in a class action suit first launched in August, which accused Apple of failing to acknowledge or do free repairs for a so-called "touch disease" affecting some owners of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus.
The case has also picked up several new plaintiffs in the process, laywer Richard McCune told Motherboard. Almost 10,000 people have contacted his firm — McCuneWright — looking to participate in the suit, which is being handled through the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
The scope of the action could expand even further, since in a separate but related lawsuit in Utah, Apple filed for not just "an extension of time to respond to the Complaint," but a merger with the California case.
People affected by the "touch disease" have found their iPhones developing flickering gray bands and/or a gradual reduction in touch sensitivity. This could be linked to a lack of structural reinforcement, allowing touch controller chips to come loose from the logic board even under normal bending. One of the key improvements of the iPhone 6s was the use of 7000-series aluminum, drastically reducing the phone's tendency to bend.
A number of current and former Genius technicians informed Motherboard that Apple is aware of the problem and even using an official retail protocol, despite the fact that it's forcing customers to pay for new or refurbished iPhones. The refurbished phones can potentially suffer the exact same problems as replaced ones.
AppleInsider Staff
Malcolm Owen
Oliver Haslam
Andrew O'Hara
Wesley Hilliard
William Gallagher
Christine McKee
37 Comments
Interesting how quickly this alleged flaw has been publicly diagnosed and presented as fact by people and companies who have no direct knowledge of how any of it works or happens. It’s all theories. It’s sort of like the lawsuits alleging talcum powder causes ovarian cancer. Juries are finding for the plaintiffs even though there is no scientific evidence that it does.
How many law firms filing suit against Samsung for injuries/damage done by Galaxy phones and their refusal to acknowledge it?
If the phone is under warranty, Apple fixes it, right? I understand it sucks if your expensive phone stops working but they don't need to be engineered to last forever and Apple certainly doesn't promise that it will. They promise it will work for 1 year. You can get them to extend that promise by buying AppleCare. Even if it is a design flaw, WTH?
It isn't just about the phone when a person gets the phone replaced and then the replacement also exhibits the same problem. Sorry but you need to buy lottery tickets or something because you've got a way with making unlikely things happen. I know a lot of people with iPhone 6 and 6s series phones and I've never seen this issue. I've replaced plenty of cracked screens so it's not like they treat with the most care or never have issues. This is BS.