Roger Fingas
A new class action lawsuit against Apple claims that the company has been aware of the so-called "touch disease" on 2014 iPhones for some time, and unfairly refused to repair affected devices at no cost.
The suit was filed with the U.S. District Court for Northern California, and accuses Apple of fraud, negligent misrepresentation, breach of implied warranty, unjust enrichment, and breaking the Magnuson-Moss and Song-Beverly Warranty Acts, according to MacRumors. The plaintiffs are listed as Thomas Davidson from Pennsylvania, Todd Cleary from California, and Delaware resident Jun Bai.
"Many other iPhone owners have communicated with Apple's employees and agents to request that Apple remedy and/or address the Touchscreen Defect and/or resultant damage at no expense. Apple has failed and/or refused to do so," part of the complaint reads.
Affected iPhones will develop a flickering gray band near the phone speaker, which can also potentially expand over time and gradually reduce a device's touch sensitivity and response. The problem has been linked to faulty controller chips, and/or their solder joints. The lawsuit specifically supports the idea that the lack of a "metal shield" over the logic board is allowing iPhones to bend too much, damaging components. The iPhone 5s and 5c had such shields in place.
AppleInsider recently estimated that 11 percent of Apple's retail iPhone troubleshooting may now involve the problem, which could potentially make for a costly outcome in the lawsuit if Apple loses or settles out of court.
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28 Comments
Most of these class actions are thrown out. So will this one. My magic eight-ball says so.
A $329 replacement phone in an Otterbox Defender case should last more than 5 months (2 more than the 90 day warranty). Apple is re-selling junk.
The only thing I hope for is that this class action lawsuit forces Apple to address the situation. Great for you if the issue doesn't affect you, but it does affect me, along with a lot of other people. I don't wear skinny jeans. I don't put my phone in my back pocket. I even have a case on my phone....an Apple branded iPhone case too! However, my iPhone 6+ has had this so called touch disease for about 2 months now. Shame on me for not getting Applecare. I trusted Apple a bit too much not to design a phone with an obvious design defect.