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Apple Launches 'Touch Disease' Repair Program For iPhone 6 Plus (macrumors.com)
Apple has ignored one of the biggest problems plaguing iPhone 6 Plus devices -- until now. The company today launched a new "Touch Disease" repair program for the iPhone 6 Plus, finally addressing complaints about a hardware defect that causes the display of the devices to become unresponsive to touch, or less responsive overall. If you have an iPhone 6 Plus that is affected by this defect, you will be able to have your device fixed for a service price of $149. You will be reimbursed by Apple if you paid more than $149 to have your device fixed before the repair program was implemented. MacRumors provides some extra details: Complaints about the iPhone 6 Plus touchscreen issue started in August, after iFixit published a video highlighting the bug and dubbed it "Touch Disease." Touch Disease presents as a gray flickering bar at the top of the screen and a display that becomes unresponsive or less responsive to touch. The problem is believed to be caused by the touchscreen controller chips soldered to the logic board of the phone, making repairs difficult. Third-party repair outlets speculated that the issue could be linked to the same structural design flaw that caused the major "Bendgate" controversy, and Apple's suggestion that it is caused by repeated physical damage seems to confirm that. Customers who have an iPhone 6 Plus with Multi-Touch issues can visit an Apple Authorized Service Provider or an Apple retail store to see if they qualify for the $149 repair fee.
They dont backfill the BGA chip so it freaking cracks solder balls. They should fix the phones for free.
Mine started having it, so I did the online trick of a reverse bend and then took it to the apple store for a trade in. got full value because it was perfect looking and functioned perfectly at that moment.
Now I dont put my 7plus in a pocket at all. a holster or in a jacket inside pocket. no pants pockets ever
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
First, starting to be sick about these always ending by 9 numbers? 99.99, 149... Come on Apple, you're expensive enough no to have to be cheap and use that cheap marketing strategy ; do a straight 150 or a 145. Then, reading the summary quickly, I was really expecting the prior-normal cost to be $149, and due to complaints, the repair cost would be either free or way cheaper than that! $149 for a design flaw? Sounds like a (bad) joke.
Slashdot, fix the reply notifications... You won't get away with it...
Lawyer here.
The warranty does not apply indefinitely off the bat. The company has to extend the warranty to cover the specific defect (see the airbag recalls by all major manufacturers as an example). They usually do this because a threat of lawsuit is going to cost more than to repair the defects (if X + Y > Z then we settle). Right now the threat is not large, especially with the iphone 7 out. A lot of people just decided to upgrade. However as waspleg noted, there are lawyers who are salivating at the mouth. This is obviously a design flaw that was mentioned within the first year of the iphone 6 release. If they can get enough people to show they had issues in the first 2 years this can easily become a lawsuit.
However, if it reaches class action status, anyone who pays the $149 will ultimately get $20 back for being part of the class, the rest of iphone 6 owners will likely get back $5-$10 in the end. Apple will still need to shell out all of the money they should have paid in the beginning to fix the issue, so while it's lose-lose for Apple and the Consumer, it's still a net positive because Apple will be motivated to not do play these shenanigans in the future because not only does it hurt their wallet, it hurts their brand.
This sounds like a pretty good situation, except, the merchant/manufacturer will probably build the cost of legal challenges into the price of refrigerators purchased by the next group of buyers.
That's not how pricing works. Fat margin companies (and Apple is one) always go for the highest possible price point past the profit line. They don't itemize reasons to add a dollar here or there, it's all based on market research, price sensitivity of their core market, and so forth. For instance Apple will never pass down a discount to their customers if they get a better deal on batteries or screens.
At the other end of the spectrum there's Walmart, where the price of products is expected to go down year after year. They also will not take into account issues such as the cost of litigation, they will go for the rock bottom price.
lucm, indeed.
fuck apple!
they design it with flaws and then, after a long time denying it, decide to CHARGE you to fix THEIR error.
apple - go fuck yourself. this is the kind of thing that stops me from ever considering apple junk.
they used to be a good company. past tense.
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