It does sound like a lawsuit waiting to happen. In the keynote saying you'll be fine if you happen to get pushed into a pool and they won't cover that. Seems like a pretty big thing to say and not cover such things happening. They should of just stuck to rainproof till they get a higher rating like the new watches.
Everything is a "lawsuit waiting to happen." Anyone can sue, not all will succeed.
It's interesting to see the speculation and assumptions about what Apple will or won't do. Sure, go ahead, get righteously indignant about what you
THINK Apple will do. If you like to get indignant, any excuse will do.
Apple isn't building its devices to IPV67 so that its Geniuses and managers can argue with customers over warranty terms. They're not advertising IPV67 to encourage people to take undue risks or behave carelessly. They're doing it to assure the vast majority of average consumers, who takes a reasonable level of care when using their expensive electronics, that they will be less likely to have an unfortunate accident.
That may mean fewer accidental damage claims under AppleCare+. That may mean fewer "make the customer happy" replacements. Fewer people visiting the Genius Bar or phoning AppleCare. In other words, IPV67 may reduce Apple's costs, and improve customer satisfaction. For every unhappy swimming pool incident there are likely to be many more examples of, "OMG, I dropped it in the sink and it still works!"
So, say there's a class action lawsuit. Let's say Apple walks into court with statistics that show that the number of consumers with accidental water damage was reduced by IPV67, maybe even substantially. "Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, where was the harm? Even allowing for the people who intentionally took risks with their iPhones and those who were less careful than they might otherwise have been, the number of water-damaged iPhones dropped substantially. As a whole, the class of iPhone 7 users was not harmed by this feature, it benefited from this feature." Will the judge and jury be sympathetic to a "class" composed of careless people?
Similarly, suits over false or misleading advertising tend to focus on what assumptions and actions a "reasonable person" might make after seeing the ads. "Everyone knows" that cell phones and water don't mix. Would a "reasonable person" ignore decades of experience and knowledge and start treating a smartphone like Jacques Cousteau's underwater gear?
"Water resistant" may be a relatively new concept when it comes to smartphones, but if they're told, "Your wristwatch is water resistant to a depth of 1 meter," very few would risk wearing them into a pool.
Even if a percentage of Apple's customer's do behave less carefully than they had previously, even if a percentage take risks they would not have previously taken... those percentages are likely to be small when compared to the overall population of iPhone 7 owners. The majority of the population won't risk the possibility that their phone will stop working and will need replacement. They don't want to risk the possibility of a dispute with Apple staff. They'll keep buying Otter Boxes, they'll keep treating their expensive stuff with care.