The European Union is working on legislation that would require smartphone design to have easily replaceable batteries, but we doubt Apple would agree willingly.
To be fair, accidental damage is never covered under “warranty” (or any other extended service guarantee “warranty equivalents”) from any manufacturer. Given these black rectangles go everywhere with us, it’s still very good to have a device that won’t absolutely crap itself as soon as it gets dropped in water.
I say this as someone who often sees customers bring in water damaged devices, wanting their data off of it.
Frankly though, I wish the term used was “water resistance” and not “waterproof”. That semantic annoys me.
You should read AppleCare+ ToS before you make that claim. They will absolutely let you file a claim for accident damage (it is spelled out in the ToS).
AppleCare is not warranty (but is an equivalent), while AppleCare+ is the equivalent of insurance. I’ve edited my post to clarify this a little better.
I wish the term used was “water resistance” and not “waterproof”. That semantic annoys me.
In my experience they are waterproof. I have AppleCare+ so if my phone were to suffer water damage it’d be relatively cheap to get it fixed, and I fairly frequently expose my phones to water. I’ve never lost one to water damage so far.
My understanding is the water proof glue can in theory be damaged if it’s exposed to extreme temperatures and the like - that’s why Apple doesn’t cover water damage for free. But I’ve done that too (I’ve had my phone shut down with a temperature error a few times - usually when it’s on my motorbike in the full sun for an extended period of time with a map open… it’s fine while riding with the windchill but if you park the bike or get stuck in traffic, then it can overheat). Mine still hasn’t died int he rain including 60mph driving rain (on the motorbike…) which it’s supposedly not designed to handle. Every time that’s happened I haven’t really had a choice. I’d rather get where I’m going than stand in the rain parked on the side of the road waiting how long, five minutes? three hours? for the rain to stop.
The one time I have lost a phone to the water damage it wasn’t water it was extreme humidity. So I suspect putting the phone in a backpack, and then riding a motorbike in the rain, will actually increase the risk. Proper water has surface tension that stops it entering microscopic gaps. Humidity doesn’t do that. And the inside of a backpack is never dry on a motorbike in the rain.
Since Apple make no distinction between “malicious damage” and “accidental damage”, then everything is called accidental. However, there are times where accidental damage is covered under warranty (or rather, a “service program”) when there’s an issue that’s widespread enough that is attributed to a manufacture or design defect – the warping of the plastic on the bottom of the Late 2009 Macbook comes to mind.
Frankly though, I wish the term used was “water resistance” and not “waterproof”. That semantic annoys me.
Better is to use an ingress protection code, which provides standardized ratings for exactly how dust and water resistant a device is. Apple does use IP codes and rates the latest iPhones as IP68: dust-tight, submersible at a depth and duration specified by the manufacturer. Apple specifies “maximum depth of 6 meters up to 30 minutes”.
To be fair, accidental damage is never covered under “warranty” (or any other extended service guarantee “warranty equivalents”) from any manufacturer. Given these black rectangles go everywhere with us, it’s still very good to have a device that won’t absolutely crap itself as soon as it gets dropped in water.
I say this as someone who often sees customers bring in water damaged devices, wanting their data off of it.
Frankly though, I wish the term used was “water resistance” and not “waterproof”. That semantic annoys me.
You should read AppleCare+ ToS before you make that claim. They will absolutely let you file a claim for accident damage (it is spelled out in the ToS).
AppleCare is not warranty (but is an equivalent), while AppleCare+ is the equivalent of insurance. I’ve edited my post to clarify this a little better.
In my experience they are waterproof. I have AppleCare+ so if my phone were to suffer water damage it’d be relatively cheap to get it fixed, and I fairly frequently expose my phones to water. I’ve never lost one to water damage so far.
My understanding is the water proof glue can in theory be damaged if it’s exposed to extreme temperatures and the like - that’s why Apple doesn’t cover water damage for free. But I’ve done that too (I’ve had my phone shut down with a temperature error a few times - usually when it’s on my motorbike in the full sun for an extended period of time with a map open… it’s fine while riding with the windchill but if you park the bike or get stuck in traffic, then it can overheat). Mine still hasn’t died int he rain including 60mph driving rain (on the motorbike…) which it’s supposedly not designed to handle. Every time that’s happened I haven’t really had a choice. I’d rather get where I’m going than stand in the rain parked on the side of the road waiting how long, five minutes? three hours? for the rain to stop.
The one time I have lost a phone to the water damage it wasn’t water it was extreme humidity. So I suspect putting the phone in a backpack, and then riding a motorbike in the rain, will actually increase the risk. Proper water has surface tension that stops it entering microscopic gaps. Humidity doesn’t do that. And the inside of a backpack is never dry on a motorbike in the rain.
Isn’t all damage accidental?
Since Apple make no distinction between “malicious damage” and “accidental damage”, then everything is called accidental. However, there are times where accidental damage is covered under warranty (or rather, a “service program”) when there’s an issue that’s widespread enough that is attributed to a manufacture or design defect – the warping of the plastic on the bottom of the Late 2009 Macbook comes to mind.
Nah, an overbearing parent smashing a phone to “teach them a lesson” isn’t an “accident”
Better is to use an ingress protection code, which provides standardized ratings for exactly how dust and water resistant a device is. Apple does use IP codes and rates the latest iPhones as IP68: dust-tight, submersible at a depth and duration specified by the manufacturer. Apple specifies “maximum depth of 6 meters up to 30 minutes”.