Apple Sued Over Broken Watch Screens Which Injured Customers

Apple Watch’s detached or shattered screens are claimed to be “unreasonably dangerous safety hazard” by customers.

By Joe Schneider, Bloomberg | Updated: 10 December 2021 09:45 IST

Apple Sued Over Broken Watch Screens Which Injured Customers

The proposed class-action lawsuit was filed by four Apple Watch customers

Highlights

Apple violated various consumer protection laws
In 2019, Apple announced a programme to replace screens on Series 2
Owners of this year's model are not included

Apple's watch isn't all it's cracked up to be, a group of customers claims in a lawsuit over an alleged defect that it says can cause injuries. The customers say Apple, in its zeal for compactness, failed to provide enough room inside the watch to allow for swelling of the internal battery. As a result the watch screen can detach, crack or shatter, the customers said.

“The detached, shattered, or cracked screens are a material and unreasonably dangerous safety hazard,” the customers said in the complaint, filed Thursday in federal court in Oakland, California.

The proposed class-action lawsuit was filed by four Apple Watch customers. Included in the complaint is a photo of a deep slash on the arm of one of the customers, purportedly caused when her Series 3 Apple Watch screen detached.

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“The screens are made either of Ion-X glass (aluminium models) or sapphire crystal glass (stainless steel and titanium models) and each have a razor-sharp edge on all four sides,” the customers said.

Apple violated various consumer protection laws when it released the product with knowledge of the defect, according to the lawsuit.

The group seeks to represent anyone who bought any model of the Apple Watch starting with the first generation in 2015, and continuing until last year. Owners of this year's model are not included.

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Apple didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

In 2019, the company announced a programme to replace, free of charge, cracked screens on aluminium Series 2 and 3 watches.

“Apple has determined that, under very rare circumstances, a crack may form along the rounded edge of the screen,” the company said on its website.

The case is Smith v. Apple, Inc, 4:21-cv-09527, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California (Oakland).

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Apple Watch Series 3 GPS Smartwatch

KEY SPECS
NEWS

Strap Colour Space Grey

Display Size 42mm

Compatible OS iOS 10 and Above

Strap Material Silicone

Dial Shape Rectangle

Display Type OLED Retina

Ideal For Unisex

More Apple Smartwatches

Apple Watch Series 2 Smartwatch

KEY SPECS
NEWS

Strap Colour Midnight Blue

Display Size 38mm

Compatible OS iOS 10 and Above

Strap Material Stainless Steel

Dial Shape Rectangle

Display Type OLED Retina

Ideal For Unisex

Apple Sued Over Broken Watch Screens Which Injured Customers

More Apple Smartwatches

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