iPhone 4 glass spawns class action lawsuit
Apple faces a class action lawsuit from California resident Donald LeBuhn over the glass used in the company's popular iPhone 4 handset. LeBuhn accuses Apple of misleading customers by pointing to Apple's website, which boasts that the glass used on the iPhone 4 is "20 times stiffer and 30 times harder than plastic." LeBuhn disputes this and other claims of durability in his lawsuit, which states:
"Months after selling millions of iPhone 4s, Apple has failed to warn and continues to sell this product with no warning to customers that the glass housing is defective."
LeBuhn asserts the glass does not stand up to normal use and cites his own experiences to back up this claim. On two separate occasions, LeBuhn has dropped his iPhone from similar heights. In the first incident, he dropped an iPhone 3GS, which survived the fall without breaking. In the second case, LeBuhn's daughter dropped an iPhone 4 while texting, and the handset's glass shattered.
LeBuhn has sought class action status on this complaint and is asking Apple to refund the purchase price of the iPhone 4 and reimburse any repair fees for affected customers.
This is not the first time the durability of the glass in the iPhone has been questioned. A report last year from Square Trade suggests the iPhone 4 has a 68% higher reported accident rate and 82% more damaged screens than the iPhone 3GS. That's not to say the iPhone 3G or 3GS wont break. One of our own writers cracked the glass screen on his iPhone 3G and detailed the process of screen replacement and repair.
[Via IntoMobile]
