Apple 'abuse' detectors

A recently disclosed patent application could aid Apple in excluding more warranty claims. Titled Consumer Abuse Detection System and Method, the filing suggests a scheme by which technicians could detect damage caused in warranty-breaking incidents. While iPhones, iPods and MacBook Pros already have liquid sensors -- which change color after submersion -- a proposed system could record shocks, dramatic temperature changes or even tampering, the latter through the use of a "continuity" sensor.

Incidents would be saved in memory somewhere in a device, and later accessed via a special diagnostic tool. As a result, vendors and Apple itself could more readily deny repairs or replacements. The financial motive is made explicit in patent documents, 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." Apple's filing goes on to observe that this can be "costly to the vendor and/or manufacturer of the product."

A more customer-friendly implementation of the technology could be used to forestall damage. If certain conditions were met a device could be set to turn off automatically, at least reducing problems caused by electricity. Some parts protected could include screens, processors and internal or external memory.

by MacNN Staff