which note that technicians may often repair or replace faulty products "regardless of the cause of failure in order to avoid potential conflicts with the customer."

How, exactly, would these new sensors help avoid conflict? People who, now, insist they didn't drop their iPod and it should get fixed will suddenly go "Oh, it says that. You're right. It isn't covered." No, they'll scream just as loud claiming the information is wrong or bogus. The only thing it will help at all is allow the 'genius' to say "Sorry, my hands are tied.", which will only make the customer that much angrier.

This can be seen now with all the complaints over Apple's water sensors, which many people are already complaining are too sensitive or tripping over non-submersion activities (like sitting in the pocket on a humid day).

From all the patents I see coming out of Apple, I'm guess they just patent everything as soon as possible tech comes to light just to get some legal standing if they should ever come to market - otherwise some guy will say he has a patent and then sue Apple in TX.

Don't quote me now.

A drop of bleach on an almost-stripped down Q-tip (inserted into the audio port for a few minutes) would make that dot white forever.

So we should see the hack at the blackhat conference following its release.

all i see is more reasons for competitors to step up and challenge apple's dominance in consumer electronics.

Brilliant. You have my word that I would never try this if I got my iPhone or iPod wet, and my guarantee that I would use it if I needed repair for some reason and found that it was pink without me having gotten it wet.

The water reactant changes color in very humid conditions as well, making them all most useless. My old phone, a razr, has the red dot red, but it has never been close to wet ever. They need better ways to determine if abuse occurred, because even if it does, what if something unrelated breaks? I don't think the device getting wet would cause the screen to crack for instance. They should simply use the accelerometer to record data, and realize electronic devices are imperfect and subject to errors, and instead of blaming the end user who dropped serious money on one of these devices, be a role model in responsibility, maybe even inspiring them to be better themselves, it happens, i've seen it at att stores and other places where electronics are sold.Also, how about pressure sensors under the screen, and what are the battery usage implications of these implementations?- A

The moisture sensor is nothing more than a small piece of litmus paper on a riser below the audio jack contacts. It's not electronic, and it doesn't change color for no reason.

As a former apple employee I saw the activated paper in dead iPods and iPhones all the time. On every occasion when pressed the customer admitted (usually with their head down as if they'd accidentally killed a family pet) that they had done something to cause it. Typically dropping it in the toilet or pool.

That being said, the best way to get what you want in an Apple Store when they refuse to help is to not back down, and get just a little louder than the room. They'll swap it out just to keep the peace. Apple's entire corporate operation is very passive aggressive. You can use that to your advantage as an unhappy consumer. (Don't yell, and don't throw your iPod at the Genius. Seen it. There were handcuffs. It wasn't pretty.)

Work in an air-conditioned office and walk out into 90°/90% R/H environment and do this for 30 days. Bingo, you have a pink dot inside.

I totally agree. Many of these mechanisms are not that reliable; especially the iPhone submersion sensor.

I recently had problems with my iPhone's battery and the Genius dude kept saying that the sensor has gone off because of contact with at least 1 oz. of liquid, which was absolutely false. The phone had never been exposed on any liquid of any sort.

All these automated mechanisms are bogus. Instead of the R&D money for this system, they should just allocate the money to replacements and refurbishing. It's a stupid cause.