Apple (AAPL) has decided to pay a total of $53 million to settle a class-action lawsuit over iPhone and iPod Touch warranties, Wired reported late Thursday, citing an unfiled court document.
The settlement, due to be filed in a San Francisco federal court in the coming weeks, will provide cash handouts to hundreds of thousands of iPhone and iPod Touch consumers who found Cupertino unwilling to repair or replace their faulty devices despite still being under Apple’s one and two-year warranties, the report said. It’s worth noting, however, that Apple admits no wrongdoing in the settlement, which is subject to a judge’s approval.
The case revolves around a tape from 3M (MMM) embedded in the iPhone and iPod Touch, which when exposed to water turns from white to pink, indicating moisture. 3M however, claims that humidity, not water contact, could have caused the tape to have pink liquid contact indicators. Affected devices include the original iPhone, iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS, and the first, second and third-gen iPod Touch.
The payouts could amount to $200, but could be less or more depending on the number of claims submitted by individual device owners who were affected, Wired said.
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