Apple Meets Plaintiffs’ Bar Over Faulty iPhone Touchscreens

Apple Lawsuit iPhone Touchscreens

Owners of iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus mobile devices are taking Apple to court for an alleged design defect that has caused their phones to become unresponsive and unusable.

Reuters reported on Monday (Aug. 29) that Apple is aware of the issues described in the nationwide class-action lawsuit. According to the plaintiffs, the defect typically begins when a flickering gray bar appears on the touchscreen of the devices.

“The iPhones are not fit for the purpose of use as smartphones because of the touchscreen defect,” the complaint stated.

The lawsuit states that Apple has refused to fix the issue, which the plaintiffs said is linked to the company’s decision to not protect relevant parts with a metal “shield” or “underfill.”

With lawsuits being thrown at the company, it may not be surprising that a recent survey showed lackluster feelings from consumers when it comes to Apple’s upcoming iPhone 7 release.

Quartz surveyed 525 U.S. iPhone owners and found that only about 10 percent would be “extremely likely or very likely” to upgrade their phones this year; that’s a marked shift from the usual 25 percent of iPhone owners surveyed who typically respond that they are looking forward to or are interested in the upgraded phone.

Apple reported its first-ever drop in iPhone sales for the first quarter of 2016, and most industry experts expect sales to dip even further in the second quarter of the year.

Rumors are flying that this year’s new iPhone will just be a slight tweak to the iPhone 6/6S model, while next year’s will be the big upgrade that really gets consumers excited.