[iPhone4] "Glassgate"

[Patranus]

If you own an iPhone 4 and the glass casing has broken, you are not alone.
So many people have complained, in fact, that the phenomenon has even earned the nickname, "Glassgate."

Apparently fed up and pissed off, California resident Donald LeBuhn filed a class action lawsuit earlier this week in L.A. County against Apple, claiming the company knows about the design flaw and refuses to warn consumers that "normal" use leads essentially to a broken phone.

According to his lawsuit, first reported by Courthouse News Service, LeBuhn threw down $252 in September for a new iPhone 4, but three weeks later the glass broke when his daughter accidentally dropped it approximately three feet to the ground while sending a text message.

http://blogs.laweekly.com/informer/2011/01/iphone_4_class_action.php

So let me get this straight.
Dropping a phone is new "normal usage"?

Anyways, I think this will get thrown out but if it doesn't all phone manufacturers will take notice.

 

[Anubis]

ive dropped my droid more then once prob closer to 10 times from heights above 3 feet, it hardly shows a scratch

yes the lawsuit is dumb but edge to edge glass is also stupid

 

[MrX8503]

ive dropped my droid more then once prob closer to 10 times from heights above 3 feet, it hardly shows a scratch

yes the lawsuit is dumb but edge to edge glass is also stupid

There's nothing you can really do about an all glass phone when you drop it, its going to break. My sister dropped her iPhone4 with zero protection on concrete and it didn't break, I guess some people get lucky.

Having a glass phone isn't smart for impacts, but it feels 10x more luxurious compared to squeaky creaky plastic.

 

[gsaldivar]

Metal and glass are certainly pretty, but they absorb significantly less impact shock than good old plastic. While this might be common sense to hardware engineers and phone enthusiasts, the general public might not expect their brand new $600 iPhone to be much more fragile than their last phone...

If Apple is going to require its own certified technicians to repair broken screens, without voiding the user's warranty (as they did in this case), than perhaps it's a good idea for them to disclose both the increased risk of drop damage AND the requirement of an Apple-certified repair "up front" so that the consumer might make an informed purchase decision.

 

[airdata]

how about... don't drop your phone. Buy a good case.

*knock on wood* my iphone4 is in great condition and I'm actually using a low quality free case apple gave me which probably wouldn't keep my phone from breaking if I dropped it on a hard surface.

 

[akugami]

There actually is a little bit of plastic padding at the edges of the iPhone 4.

The lawsuit is idiotic. Glass, when dropped, will break. Granted the iPhone 4's design doesn't give much protection to the glass. I keep a case on my iPhone 4 but I did drop it a few times without any protection on it. It didn't break though the plastic padding on the glass showed some dents.

To a degree I can understand why the lawsuit is happening. First, every single tiny perceived flaw is a lawsuit these days. Second, Apple is a victim of its own hype machine. Still an idiotic lawsuit though. Pure money grab plain and simple.

 

[purbeast0]

i left my ipod usb charging cable in cancun last week.

im going to sue apple for not putting an alarm on it that alerted me i was leaving my hotel room with it still left in the room.

 

[lord_emperor]

It is a significant design flaw to make glass "20 times harder and 30 times stiffer than plastic" and run it edge to edge on the device. That is almost guaranteed to make it too brittle to survive drops which should be a design priority in an $800 (unsubsidized) handheld device.

Comparitively, I can buy $2 rectangles of plexiglass from a local glass store and literally bash them with a hammer with all my strength and they do not crack while still having perfectly acceptable resistance to scratching.

If I were to buy a phone, I'd rather it have flexible glass not prone to shattering which I replace when it becomes unacceptably scratched, rather than unscratchable glass that explodes when accidents inevitably happen.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

If you go read about shattered Galaxy S phones or other phones, there are plenty of cases. If someone has data showing the iPhone 4 has a 50x higher shatter rate or something, go ahead.

Ive seen my friend drop his iPhone 4 multiple times. No issues. Heck, his iPhone 4 has less scratches on the screen than my Droid does. And he's gone naked since launch. I've only gone naked on my Droid since November.

 

[gsaldivar]

Regardless of how ridiculous this lawsuit is, the fact is that Apple could have avoided it with a simple warning sticker:

Attention Dumbass Consumer:

Your iPhone 4 is crafted from the highest quality steel and glass. However, it is not indestructible, and is likely to suffer permanent damage if dropped. This risk of damage may be greater than other phones which are often crafted from plastic.

Therefore, Apple strongly recommends the use of a rubber or plastic case to protect your iPhone 4 from accidental damage.

Be aware that any damage to your iPhone resulting from a drop, whether or not protected by a case, will not be covered under your warranty. Additionally, any damages must be repaired by an Apple-certified technician. Unauthorized repairs not performed by Apple will void your warranty.

 

[gsaldivar]

If someone has data showing the iPhone 4 has a 50x higher shatter rate or something, go ahead.

From the OP's link:

* iPhone 4 owners reported 82% more damaged screens in the first 4 months compared to iPhone 3gs owners.
* Overall, the reported accident rate for iPhone 4s was 68% higher than for the iPhone 3gs.
* An estimated 15.5% of iPhone 4 owners will have an accident within a year of buying their phone.

 

[Imp]

In the past two weeks, I've met at least 2 people with broken iPhones. One dropped it, the other stepped on it. I also knew one whom's boyfriend threw it. Damn Apple quality...

 

[Bateluer]

This is a user perception issue.

 

[gsaldivar]

This is a user perception issue.

That's not what the numbers say.

 

[Phokus]

Sounds like a design flaw to me.

 

[Demo24]

My droid has taken a few tumbles, it happens, and it still looks nearly new. Friends has taken several big falls onto concrete and while it's scratched the screen hasn't shattered. Saw a girls IP4 that fell out of the car (only a couple ft) screen shattered to hell. Her new one is now in this massive case. Seems a significant portion of the iphones I see end up with significant screen problems after awhile.

And I dunno about the rest of you, but I hate the idea of cases. I paid 6-800 dollars for this device why in the hell would I want to cover the damn thing up with some shitty case? If you need a bulky case to protect your device from normal abuses then its a poorly designed device. Its kind of funny how the IP4 is touted about being so thin and then people put these cases on it doubling its size, just seems pointless to me. I'd rather dish out an insurance payment than get a case for my phone.

 

[Bateluer]

That's not what the numbers say.

I was being sarcastic.

My Droid has taken a couple falls as well, nothing major, but its come through with only some scratched paint on a corner. No damage or scratches to the screen, and its never been in a case. I'm pretty careful with my gadgets and toys though. Evidently, more than some friends of mine that have to encase any phone they buy into a thick Otter case.

 

[zerocool84]

Another lawsuit from someone to make money. This isn't something that affect basic usability so it's dumb.

 

[gsaldivar]

I was being sarcastic.

My bad

My Droid Incredible has also had several drops and it still looks flawless. I'm using the Seidio 3500mAh upgrade battery with their custom hard case for max battery life.

 

[cheezy321]

Sounds like a design flaw to me.

typical liberal banter. Its never the person who dropped the phones fault, its the company! All companies are sooooo evil!

Seriously, your 'playing the victim' shtick gets old really quick.

 

[theeedude]

Say no to crack.

 

[akugami]

That's not what the numbers say.

Some information missing. What were the sell through numbers for the 3GS in the time periods listed? What were the numbers reporting cracked screens in the time period for the 3GS? Now we need to see similar numbers for the iPhone 4. And we can't just take the numbers from one company selling warranties to get an idea, we need to see the whole picture.

One huge missing number is the huge increase in sales numbers of iPhone 4's vs 3GS's. With a higher number of sales, of course there will be more warranty claims. Simply because there are more out there.

I'm not saying the iPhone 4 isn't having more issues with the screen. In fact, I'd say it's more likely for the iPhone 4 to have broken screens considering how little protection for the glass. Coupled with the higher sales numbers, it's almost a given there will be more broken glass issues from an absolute numbers standpoint.


*EDIT*

Apparently Apple iPhone sales grew 86% year over year for Q4.

 

[gsaldivar]

What were the sell through numbers for the 3GS in the time periods listed? What were the numbers reporting cracked screens in the time period for the 3GS? Now we need to see similar numbers for the iPhone 4. And we can't just take the numbers from one company selling warranties to get an idea, we need to see the whole picture.

It's certainly possible to get a reasonable estimate here without having *all* the numbers available...

The Squaretrade analysis is not sales based, but claims based - drawn from an equal number of 3GS and iPhone4 warranty holders (20,000 from each).

 

[akugami]

It's certainly possible to get a reasonable estimate here without having *all* the numbers available...

The Squaretrade analysis is not sales based, but claims based - drawn from an equal number of 3GS and iPhone4 warranty holders (20,000 from each).

You can estimate but it won't work in this case. This is not really a true random sampling after all.

Let's assume for a moment that the number holds true for all iPhone 4's. The sensationalist and misleading number is the 82% higher broken screen rate. This is the number used when you're trying to prove how crappy the iPhone 4 is. In absolute numbers it's a 2.8% vs a 4.7% or about an extra 2% more out of all iPhones are reporting broken glass. And that's not even taking into account the fact that the iPhone 4 has two huge glass sides vs the 3GS's front glass. Something common sense would tell us makes the chance of broken glass twice as likely.

The Squaretrade numbers are unfortunately not scientifically gathered numbers. If you want proof of that just look at the bottom of this page for the disclaimer.

Not to mention the line graph you listed is misleading.

This is the actual graph of what has happened. The one you listed shows an estimated number past the 4th month. The projected numbers may prove true but it's just as likely to be totally off base.

 

[gsaldivar]

the line graph you listed is misleading

It's not misleading, it says PROJECTED right at the top in bold text.

Immediately below that is the color key indicating where actual data stops and the analysts' projection begins.