Our colleagues AppleInsider report that a new class action opens in California against Apple. Two complainants, Joseph Casillas and De'Jhontai Banks, are cited in the documents. In question, a defect of the audio chip of the iPhone 7, causing a series of sound problems and interface on the smartphone. Both complainants were able to use their smartphone normally for more than a year without the problem. Then, an audible distortion of the sound began to appear.
IPhone 7 suffer from a real "disease" of their audio chip
All the features related to audio have been gradually affected, which includes elements of the interface - the audio output selection option, for example, has become "gray" and therefore unusable. The problem went so far as to prevent owners of these iPhone 7s from making a voice call. After contacting Apple after-sales service, Joseph Casillas was told that it was impossible to diagnose the problem.
With an out-of-warranty iPhone, and a service refusing to repair it, he had to turn to a repair by a third center, at his expense. De'Jhontai Banks was also told that he should "pay for this repair". According to the reasons cited by the class action, the problem would be the result of a lack of design of the iPhone 7.
A hardware defect that is not publicly recognized by Apple
The aluminum frame would be composed of a low quality aluminum, which allows it to deform, with a particularly pronounced effect at the location where the chip responsible for audio management. Gradually, this physical constraint causes the breaking of the contacts between the chip and the motherboard, leading to the problems described above.
Apple seems to be playing Dr. Jekyll and Dr. Hyde: on the one hand, the firm does not publicly acknowledge the problem, but still refers to it in internal repair documents. The firm also briefly offered free repairs for gray audio options - but no longer offers the program.
The plaintiffs could ultimately obtain damages, as well as the repair, recall and replacement of the affected iPhone and the extension of the warranties. Case to follow ...
