iPhone 6/6+ users: do you know what "Touch Disease" is? Apple does ... but won't discuss it.
The iPhone 6's so-called ‘touch disease‘ is a well-known issue within Apple — the company simply doesn't want to discuss it. That's according to Apple store employees, who claim that they've been informed by both their own supervisors and the company’s internal repair tracking system to be aware of the problem, which can affect both the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, but is much more common on the latter.
The new report comes courtesy of Motherboard, which helped break the initial story. The problem is related to the iPhone 6’s flexibility and a decision Apple made to remove the underfill from between the touch ICs, which control the touchscreen’s function, and the grid of solder joints that connect these chips to their motherboard. Typically underfill is used to strengthen the connection between the chips and the board, and to ensure that the solder won’t crack. Combine a more flexible device with the lack of underfill, and you’ve got a recipe for disaster. The iPhone 6s and 6s Plus are not currently believed to suffer from this problem.
According to the Apple employees, Apple's backend system is now designed to immediately lock out repair options for the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, and to inform customers that their only way forward is to pay a $329 replacement fee if the customer is out of warranty. At first, early phones with a problem allowed for a display replacement under warranty, but this is no longer the case. Apple no longer even allows for a screen replacement in the company’s internal system, suggesting the company knows the problem is in the logic board.
Apple’s official response? Nothing at all. The company has refused to acknowledge or even confirm the issue, despite the fact that unofficial research indicates this is a problem that affects a high percentage of iPhone 6 Plus devices. The standard iPhone 6 is much less likely to have a problem, but it’s not issue-free. And there have been reports of devices failing that have been kept in a hard case for their entire operating lives. At least one of the employees Motherboard spoke to informed them they were quitting the company partly because they were tired of telling iPhone 6 Plus owners they had to pay out $329 for a replacement.
FULL STORY: http://www.extremetech.com/electronics/236341-apple-is-aware-of-iphone-6-touch-disease-but-refuses-to-discuss-it
I have a 6 Plus that put me through quite an ordeal of bat-shit crazy behavior recently (see my other OP in this group). I can't be sure if it's the result of "Touch Disease" or related in some way. Luckily I'm coming out of contract soon, so even though I really, really, really love my current 6 Plus, I can rationalize upgrading to the new iPhone 7 -- exactly what Apple is hoping I do.
