The linked Reddit post was called, provocatively, “I fought Apple and won!”
From the post:
I purchased an iPhone XS in September of last year. The first week of December I accidentally dropped it in my sisters swimming pool at the shallow end – a depth of approximately 1.10m. Immediately, I jumped in an pulled the phone out, switched it off and let it dry for a few hours (as indicated in the steps of what to do when your phone gets wet on the Apple website). A few hours later I turned the phone back on and all was good. Fantastic!
As you might guess, all was not good. Over time, the poster’s phone died a slow death, and they eventually took it into the Apple Store for a look see.
As you also might guess, the Apple Store opened up the phone, and:
Two hours later I come back and they say the Liquid Contact Indicators have been activated, which means there is internal liquid damage and they won’t cover liquid damage under warranty.
And this is where the story gets really interesting. The poster pointed Apple to the original rollout video for the iPhone XS, where Phil Schiller, talking about water protection, says these words:
So if you happen to be hanging by the pool, drop your phone in the water, don’t worry. Let it dry, you’ll be fine.
To see this for yourself, follow this link and jump to about 40:40.
Follow the headline link for all the legal details but, bottom line, the poster did eventually get their phone replaced.
Should the words in a marketing pitch establish repair policy? Interesting.
The FTC would say such a “marketing” claim would indeed be enforcable.
The fact that this person had to jump through so many hoops for such an unambiguous statement and that they say it’s rated for 2 meters for 30 minutes, is pretty egregious.
The question is not “Should the words in a marketing pitch establish repair policy?”. The question is “should companies be held to both the implicit and explicit promises that they make to their customers.” In any reasonable world the answer is yes.
The most depressing thing about it is that Apple has changed from a company that bent over backwards to provide customer service to a company that resembles everyone else, presuming that the customer is not entitled to repairs or service. This, more than anything that happens with China or iPhone upgrade fatigue, is the most worrying thing about Apple’s future. The mentality of saving money on things like warranty repair rather than delighting people with exceptional customer service is just not a good idea for a company that relies on people paying a premium for its products.