Apple Researching Methods to Detect 'Consumer Abuse' in Portable Devices

[paulypants]

This is lame... Now apple's gonna keep a watch on how and where you use your product along with limiting what you can do with it. I'm not too comfortable with this.

Uuhh no? They won't be limiting anyone. Idiots can still treat their products like crap, however if this happens they won't be able to play dumb and pull one over on apple when they've dropped their laptop on the ground or spilled their cafe mocha on it and come in screaming at the genius that their macbook is a pos and it's all apple's fault. Good.

 

[techage14]

Hmmm... since it would be stored digitally.... do you think it may be possible if it could possibly be hacked and the data erased before you ever take it in for service? or would it be more difficult?

 

[billystlyes]

If Microsoft would do this everyone would go crazy, but since it is Apple.. I'm sure nobody will complain

Apple = big brother 2009 style. They are starting to make Microsoft look tame in comparison.

 

[ViViDboarder]

Uuhh no? They won't be limiting anyone. Idiots can still treat their products like crap, however if this happens they won't be able to play dumb and pull one over on apple when they've dropped their laptop on the ground or spilled their cafe mocha on it and come in screaming at the genius that their macbook is a pos and it's all apple's fault. Good.

Playing dumb? You give some of them too much credit. They are "idiots" after all.

 

[ViViDboarder]

Hmmm... since it would be stored digitally.... do you think it may be possible if it could possibly be hacked and the data erased before you ever take it in for service? or would it be more difficult?

Good point. Where there's a will (and money) there's a way.

 

[nagromme]

There are some things that make me VERY angry because I didn't understand the article at all

1. Apple and many others have included water-indicators before.

2. Apple and others have included drop sensors to protect your HD before.

3. The hardware mentioned would disable the device during the risky event, and re-enable it after, to PREVENT damage.

4. But if damage occurs anyway and it's your fault, your warranty truly should not cover it. (Believe me, the cost of your "warranty" repair is passed on to customers.)

5. This is one of a million patents from Apple, most of which go nowhere.

OK, I'll stop panicking now

 

[Consultant]

Well, the sudden motion sensor already "turns off" writing to HD in event of shock. As long as it's used to prolong device life I am all for it.

I blame it on those who obviously damage their product, try to get a free ride, and argues when they can't get a free ride. Keep in mind Apple has patents on many things, and only a small portion of that are used.

Apple = big brother 2009 style. They are starting to make Microsoft look tame in comparison.

Do you know all companies do that? No company covers customer damage.

Repeat after me, Warranty only covers manufacturer defects not user damage.
Apple does this to prevent the low IQ butter finger crowd from wasting people's time.

Your assumption is severely flawed. MS disables your OS permanently if you installed a few components in your own computer. That's no comparison with Apple with MS.

 

[AgingGeek]

4 pm, 22 april.... Charlie Babbit STRUCK Raymond.... severe injury caused...

YEAH

 

[ViViDboarder]

There are some things that make me VERY angry because I didn't understand the article at all

1. Apple and many others have included water-indicators before.

2. Apple and others have included drop sensors to protect your HD before.

3. The hardware mentioned would disable the device during the risky event, and re-enable it after, to PREVENT damage.

4. But if damage occurs anyway and it's your fault, your warranty truly should not cover it. (Believe me, the cost of your "warranty" repair is passed on to customers.)

Well now I'm confused... So who are you "VERY angry" at? The people who are angry with Apple?

Oh also, everyone should keep in mind that they are "Researching Methods." Keyword: Researching.

Could be a while until this even comes out. Also, they may not even use it if they feel it would offer little benefit.

 

[sishaw]

Well, more information is always better. It may help determine why a device is failing or has failed. Actually, such technology could be really good. Especially with the idea of devices being able to detect an "abuse event."Automatically cutting-off electricity if a liquid is detected could save the device from damage. Shorts due to contact with a liquid cause many failures in mobile devices. The possibilities are endless. This is great!

Unfortunately, as with the water detection, I doubt Apple is going to do anything but deny repair under Applecare with this information.

 

[Peace]

My concern is Apple could use this to deny warranty work on anything they wanted and the consumer wouldn't be able to disprove it.

 

[mondp]

enjoy jailbreaking and unlocking while it lasts, folks!

 

[techage14]

Good point. Where there's a will (and money) there's a way.

that's what i figured.

 

[Vercingetorix]

My concern is Apple could use this to deny warranty work on anything they wanted and the consumer wouldn't be able to disprove it.

Absolutely. "We can't cover this problem because the sensor indicates that you dropped the device."

"But that was four months ago! It's been working great since then."

"I'm sorry, but we can't cover this problem because the sensor indicates that you dropped the device."

 

[InTheUnion]

I think people are rejecting this idea because they're wary of how well it'd actually work and it also means they can't do whatever they want and get away with it.

On the other hand, it does show the more ruthless and less friendly side of Apple

 

[nagromme]

Well now I'm confused... So who are you "VERY angry" at? The people who are angry with Apple?

Oh also, everyone should keep in mind that they are "Researching Methods." Keyword: Researching.

Could be a while until this even comes out. Also, they may not even use it if they feel it would offer little benefit.

I should have added smileys to make my parody more clear. Fixed (The hazards of posting while on the phone.)

I think people are rejecting this idea because they're wary of how well it'd actually work and it also means they can't do whatever they want and get away with it.

On the other hand, it does show the more ruthless and less friendly side of Apple

This shows only one side of Apple: the "think of every new thing under the sun, and patent it so some other company can't get to it first just in case we ever want it, which we probably won't anyway" side of Apple. This side can seem silly, but plenty of other companies crank out ideas that never get used too. And some of them DO get used, and then the process gives us cool stuff like multitouch trackpads

 

[zelet]

+1
If you drop your iPhone say, and it causes damage in whatever way, why should Apple pay? They shouldn't, and this is backing it up.

What happens if you drop your phone and trigger the "abuse event" but the phone wasn't damaged. Then it breaks because of something manufacturing related?

If they implement this it's just a money grab. The Apple of today is very different from the Apple of just 5 years ago.

 

[idiosyncratic i]

The damage prevention technology is, of course, very welcome.

The voided warranty detection stuff worries me deeply. If I'm returning a device because its defective (ie, proven to not work the way it's intended), why should I assume warranty detection stuff isn't also defective. What's the guarantee it won't register that I voided my warranty when really I did no such thing.

 

[slinky0390]

This is great!
Now Apple can tell someone wether or not a crack is caused by a drop. Should help some people out.

I was under the impression that cracks were caused by drops, unless you're my friend and claim the "pressure change" in an airplane cabin caused the glass to shatter. he did get a replacement

 

[ViViDboarder]

My concern is Apple could use this to deny warranty work on anything they wanted and the consumer wouldn't be able to disprove it.

I have a suspicion that more people are getting away with things that shouldn't be under warranty than Apple is going to get away with not covering things that should be.

They are pretty good about things because they want to have repeat customers.

My fan had been faulty for a while in my MBPand when I took it in to get repaired my warranty was out for a week. Sucked... The Genious said they'd cover it anyways because it was still a warranted issue but the fact that I didn't know the EXACT day my warranty ran out they'd still cover it. Didn't have to. They could have stuck me with the price. I'm glad they didn't and I'm a happy customer now.

 

[dbwie]

false positives

I would be concerned about the rate of false positives recorded by such a system, in which an abuse event is recorded when none actually occurred.

 

[kas23]

How about developing better technology to withstand these "abuses" instead of spending money on ways to detect them so they can point fingers. Jeez, today is a very bad day for Apple. First the eBook App story, now this. I feel sick.

 

[coolfactor]

This is lame... Now apple's gonna keep a watch on how and where you use your product along with limiting what you can do with it. I'm not too comfortable with this.

Oh, get a grip. This is diagnostic information only accessible by attaching the device directly to a diagnostic-equipped machine during the servicing of your electronic device. There would be no way for Apple or anybody to get that information without having their hands on your device.

From what I've experienced and witnessed, Apple's warranty program has been very accommodating to users, even in situations where the user is at fault. By letting technicians get first-hand evidence of what may have happened to a particular device, they can more quickly and accurately arrive at a fix. I see it as making the repair process more efficient and cost effective.

Clearly, the glass is half empty for you.

 

[ViViDboarder]

What happens if you drop your phone and trigger the "abuse event" but the phone wasn't damaged. Then it breaks because of something manufacturing related?

If they implement this it's just a money grab. The Apple of today is very different from the Apple of just 5 years ago.

What happens if someone drops their phone and breaks it but convinces Apple it was a manufacturing defect?

Someone is out an iPhone either way. I think more people try to beat the system to get a "free phone" than Apple is rejecting people. They wouldn't be so keen on replacing phones as they are now if they were that money grabby.

 

[coolfactor]

How about developing better technology to withstand these "abuses" instead of spending money on ways to detect them so they can point fingers. Jeez, today is a very bad day for Apple. First the eBook App story, now this. I feel sick.

You make it sound like they are not developing better technology to withstand consumer abuse of devices. Take a moment and think about that. I think you will realize that Apple invests heavily into creating cases that are durable and reliable. Just think about their latest achievement... unibody MacBooks.