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Apple Still Mum Over iPhone 6 Touch Disease And Exploding Units

By Jovi Figueroa
Published on: 06:09 PST, Oct 9, 2016

With the iPhone 7 already on the market, is Apple’s decision to keep silent over iPhone 6 units experiencing touch disease and units exploding and catching fire their way to push patrons to upgrade?

It’s been a while since the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus have been introduced to the market, but thousands, maybe even millions, of people all over the world are still very much attached to their iPhone 6 units. However, it’s also been an outstanding issue that while a number still keep their iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus units, a significant fraction of this number is plagued by what many would call the iPhone 6 “touch disease.”

We previously reported in September that thousands of iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 users are experiencing this touch disease. The iPhone 6 touch disease pertains to when the user observes reduced responsiveness or the complete malfunction of the iPhone 6’s touchscreen, more often coupled with a series of gray bars on top of the screen.

The iPhone 6 touch disease has been so widespread that a class action lawsuit has been filed against Apple.

The iPhone 6 touch disease lawsuit has gained more momentum as three law firms join the outstanding class action lawsuit against Apple. Vice has been following the iPhone 6 touch disease for sometime now and a recent report confirms that several plaintiffs and three separate law firms have been added to the legal battle. In fact, Vice notes that Richard McCune, an attorney at the California-based McCuneWright law firm who is representing plaintiffs in the California suit, revealed that nearly 10,000 people have contacted his firm, asking to specifically join the iPhone 6 touch disease lawsuit.

“Each of the firms (who had their own clients) brings strength to the case, including Stephen Larson of Larson O’Brien, who is a former Federal Judge. With these firms working with us, we believe it gives us the best chance of obtaining a positive result in the case for the owners of the phones.”

It’s also alarming that already five current and former Apple Geniuses have confirmed to Vice staff writer Jason Koebler that Apple is well aware of the iPhone 6 touch disease problem, but will not tell customers about it.

Vice is only one among a handful of media organizations who have reached out to Apple for a comment regarding the iPhone 6 touch disease issue but has failed to receive any semblance of an answer. The only answer we ever got from Apple was a September 20th filing in the Utah case which requests for an extension of time to respond to the Complaint. 9to5Mac reported that Apple lawyers wrote the following in the filing.

“Given the similarity between the [Utah] and [California] actions, it would unnecessarily tax judicial resources if these actions were to proceed in separate class action lawsuits—especially where the [Utah] and [California] Plaintiffs purport to represent the same putative class of all consumers who purchased an iPhone 6 or 6 Plus.”

Why should Apple push consumers to pay $329 to replace their touch disease-ridden iPhone 6 Plus with a refurbished model that will only experience the same problem in a matter of weeks? With the refusal to comment, Apple is only proving that this is all a money-making scheme and they do not, in any way, care about customer service nor quality.

In addition to the touch disease cases, two cases of iPhone 6 units catching on fire have been reported this week alone. The first incident, 6ABC reported, was an iPhone 6 Plus which suddenly caught on fire while snugly resting on a student’s pocket. Darin Hlavaty, a student at Rowan College at Burlington County, shared.

“I felt this crazy, hot burning in my leg. Right as class was starting, my phone started smoking in my pocket. It was a fire. It was super hot so I flinched, grabbed it, threw it on the ground. Had to kick it because it was on fire.”

Another incident came via ABC30, which reports another iPhone 6 Plus exploding and then bursting into flames on her dresser, damaging two Apple watch stands and a pair of glasses.

Will Apple ever face these issues plaguing the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus units or will they keep ignoring the pleas of the owners and wait until all of these get buried under another iPhone that they will release?

[Featured Image by Robert Herhold/iStock]

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