author: Bart Swiatek
iPhone Not So Waterproof After All? $12M Fine for Apple in Italy
The Italian consumer protection authority, AGCM, found that Apple was misleading customers about the waterproofness of its smartphones and imposed a fine of $12 million on the company.
IN A NUTSHELL:
- The Italian consumer protection authority has fined Apple $12 million;
- The company was said to mislead customers about the water resistance of iPhones and refuse to provide warranty repairs for liquid damage.
The Italian competition authority AGCM imposed a fine of $12 million (via Newsweek) on Apple. The officials found that the company was misleading customers who purchased iPhone smartphones (8-11 series) by falsifying data on the water resistance of the devices.
According to the specs stated in the advertising materials, iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, iPhone XR, iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max can be submerged to a depth of 1-4 meters and left in the water for up to 30 minutes, without fear of negative consequences for the device. However, this only applies to tests under controlled conditions in clean and static water. In normal circumstances, phones fares much worse, which the company has not announced.
At the same time, the same autorithy noted that, despite the water resistance of the smartphones, so much advertised by Apple, the warranty on these devices is voided in the event of liquid damage. Customers were therefore forced to pay for such repairs out of their own pocket, if the company managed to repair the device at all (damage of this type is often very problematic).
It is worth noting that this is not the first time that Apple has been punished by AGCM - in 2018 the company received a 12 million dollar fine for intentionally slowing down old smartphones.