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Apple facing yet another lawsuit, this time over 'misleading' iPhone XS Max marketing material

An example of the offending official iPhone XS Max image in question. (Source: Apple)
An example of the offending official iPhone XS Max image in question. (Source: Apple)
During the launch event for the latest series of iPhones, many tech correspondents remarked on the company's official images which gave the impression that the devices lacked the profound notches that do in fact exist. It appears that this strategy worked too well in the case of one consumer, who is now reportedly suing Apple for misrepresenting the XS Max's appearance.

The Apple iPhone XS and XS Max are famously associated with images of the two models with screens that show curved planet-like objects on a black background. This causes the notch found on these devices to blend into this backdrop, and may give the impression that said 'feature' does not exist. Images along these lines are in fact official Apple marketing material, and are even found on the sale pages of apple.com. The photos have been a source of (occasionally) good-humored jabs at the company for numerous tech correspondents. However, it now appears that the strategy has backfired in an even worse way for the Cupertino giant.

A consumer from North California has filed a lawsuit in this jurisdiction against Apple. This plaintiff claims that the 'planet' image was misleading and gave the false impression that the latest iPhone flagships had full-screen, notchless displays. This, as the party in question alleges, was what induced her to buy her iPhone XS Max. On one hand, the complaint has some basic merit: the image could be said to directly obscure the fact that the notch exists through the use of the black background and the pull of focus towards the 'planet'. On the other, there are no indications that the customer was prevented in any way from simply returning the purchase.

This suit, therefore, is not likely to be Apple's problem for long. However, it is not the first time the company has faced legal action from disgruntled customers. Earlier, it was hit by a potential class-action lawsuit over perceived discrepancies in the build quality of iMacs and MacBooks. To date, there are no indications that this effort has abated yet.

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> Expert Reviews and News on Laptops, Smartphones and Tech Innovations > News > News Archive > Newsarchive 2018 12 > Apple facing yet another lawsuit, this time over 'misleading' iPhone XS Max marketing material
Deirdre O Donnell, 2018-12-15 (Update: 2018-12-17)