iFixit criticizes Apple's iPhone 6 Plus multi-touch repair program

First reports about problems with the touch screen on iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus models that came out in 2014 and suffered from Bendgate shortly after their launch started to appear last year already. Still it took Apple more than a year to offer an official response and acknowledge the problem, which they now did by starting a worldwide multi-touch repair program for the iPhone 6 Plus. Owners of such a model, who experience symptoms of touch disease like a grey bar at the top of the screen or a malfunctioning touch screen are now eligible for the repair program that will cost $149. If you had your iPhone 6 Plus fixed by an authorized service provider or Apple before, Apple will reimburse the difference in price you paid for the repair and the $149 service fee.

However, iFixit and others are not happy with Apple's response to the problem. In an initial response, iFixit states, that the program only applies for the plus-model, but some regular iPhone 6 models have also been reported to suffer from the problem. iFixit also criticizes the fact, that Apple does not acknowledge the structural faults in the iPhone 6 hardware design. Instead Apple blames customers for having mistreated their phones in the past by saying that "some iPhone 6 Plus devices may exhibit display flickering or Multi-Touch issues after being dropped multiple times on a hard surface and then incurring further stress on the device". 

Some iPhone 6 models were never dropped and were always kept in cases but still suffered from touch disease, iFixit wrote in their statement and also said, that Apple Geniuses confirmed to them, that Apple does not actually repair the phones but merely exchange them. Some exchanged phones start to suffer from the same symptoms after a certain period of time. Instead of charging for the repair, iFixit recommends Apple to offer an extended warranty for both the iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6 Plus and repair the phones for free under that warranty.

Quelle(n)