Apple develops sensor-laden glass to monitor, analyze device treatment
It could soon be more difficult to fool Genius Bar employees into servicing an iPhone or iPad under warranty after it has been carelessly dropped by the user, even without physical damage, as Apple has won a patent for embedding sensors into devices' cover glass to record strain on the part from twists and drops.
The patent, simply entitled "Embedded Data Acquisition," describes a method in which a number of sensors could be embedded directly into the glass to detect and record forces that act upon the glass. This is preferable to the current method of attaching external sensors to the glass, Apple argues, because those sensors tend to become detached when the glass impacts a hard surface.
Apple primarily imagines using this new instrumentation for manufacturing and product development purposes, gathering more detailed data from drop and impact tests. Information from embedded piezoelectric sensors would be recorded to a device's internal memory and made accessible for engineers to more fully understand the stresses that lead glass to crack.
Aside from designing more resilient glass, Apple does discuss a secondary use for this data: determining how devices brought in for service have been treated by their owners.
Apple has developed a method of embedding a grid of piezoelectric sensors into a device's cover glass.
"(The data) may be used to evaluate a user's treatment of the device," the patent reads. "In particular, if a damaged device is brought in for service, the data from the sensor may be read and evaluated to see what caused the damage. Furthermore, the data may indicate a history (or no history) of rough treatment of the device."
Apple would then use that data, presumably in conjunction with other criteria, in determining whether it should service that device under warranty.
Dhaval Shah, Stephen B. Lynch, and Andrzej Baranski are credited with the invention of Apple's U.S. Patent No. 8,939,037.
The patent, simply entitled "Embedded Data Acquisition," describes a method in which a number of sensors could be embedded directly into the glass to detect and record forces that act upon the glass. This is preferable to the current method of attaching external sensors to the glass, Apple argues, because those sensors tend to become detached when the glass impacts a hard surface.
Apple primarily imagines using this new instrumentation for manufacturing and product development purposes, gathering more detailed data from drop and impact tests. Information from embedded piezoelectric sensors would be recorded to a device's internal memory and made accessible for engineers to more fully understand the stresses that lead glass to crack.
Aside from designing more resilient glass, Apple does discuss a secondary use for this data: determining how devices brought in for service have been treated by their owners.
Apple has developed a method of embedding a grid of piezoelectric sensors into a device's cover glass.
"(The data) may be used to evaluate a user's treatment of the device," the patent reads. "In particular, if a damaged device is brought in for service, the data from the sensor may be read and evaluated to see what caused the damage. Furthermore, the data may indicate a history (or no history) of rough treatment of the device."
Apple would then use that data, presumably in conjunction with other criteria, in determining whether it should service that device under warranty.
Dhaval Shah, Stephen B. Lynch, and Andrzej Baranski are credited with the invention of Apple's U.S. Patent No. 8,939,037.
Comments
Dropping it in a lake/ocean may be frowned upon.
I had to return my ipad because the volume down button was stuck... and i did get the feeling they DID NOT trust me!... How can someone make the volume down button get stuck!?.
I got the same air pad model, so much for getting the newest model replacing the old (it was a 128Gb cell iPad Air)...
This is a good idea.
It will provide useful anonymous usage data for engineering analysis, which would be unavailable by any other means.
For its secondary use in helping to determine warranty coverage eligibility, the system could determine more objectively whether the abuse was accidental or chronic.
I think Apple tries to be flexible in this and balances the value of good customer relations with "evidence." Case in point: I dropped my iPhone 6+ accidentally on asphalt, which put a crack in the lower right corner of the front glass. At the genius bar, they apparently recognized the lack of severity of the damage and replaced the glass for free, and didn't charge the normal "deductible." I thought that was quite decent of them.
What do you mean by "nothing else"? Unless you walk into the store and beat it with a hammer right in front of them they'll replace a broken iDevice under AC+.
But with apple care+, drops and liquids are covered... Nothing else, unless it is a freak accident, and can prove it as such.
Dropping it in a lake/ocean may be frowned upon.
I had to return my ipad because the volume down button was stuck... and i did get the feeling they DID NOT trust me!... How can someone make the volume down button get stuck!?.
I got the same air pad model, so much for getting the newest model replacing the old (it was a 128Gb cell iPad Air)...
They'd only give you the newer model if they didn't have the old one. Since the Air is still being produced, and it wasn't that long ago the 128GB models were discontinued, they still have stock.
That is what i figured, after reading the fine print on the applecare+...
I think Apple tries to be flexible in this and balances the value of good customer relations with "evidence." Case in point: I dropped my iPhone 6+ accidentally on asphalt, which put a crack in the lower right corner of the front glass. At the genius bar, they apparently recognized the lack of severity of the damage and replaced the glass for free, and didn't charge the normal "deductible." I thought that was quite decent of them.
Wish I had been so lucky. My iPhone 6+ fell out of my pants pocket once, and only fell 6-10" onto a concrete step I was sitting on. It bounced like a plate meaning it hit all 4 corners and put small cracks in 3 and a small "dent" in the glass in the fourth. All on that one drop. I was not asking them to replace it, but to allow me to buy AC+ and just note the pre-existing damage as not being covered (as the cracks don't impact the use of the phone as they are only in the very corners) but they said I had to pay for a glass replacement before they could do that. (I am not faulting them per se but it would have been nice to be able to at least get the AC+ for real future issues since the problem with the glass cracking is directly related to the curved glass design making the glass impact the concrete directly).
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Wish I had been so lucky. My iPhone 6+ fell out of my pants pocket once, and only fell 6-10" onto a concrete step I was sitting on. It bounced like a plate meaning it hit all 4 corners and put small cracks in 3 and a small "dent" in the glass in the fourth. All on that one drop. I was not asking them to replace it, but to allow me to buy AC+ and just note the pre-existing damage as not being covered (as the cracks don't impact the use of the phone as they are only in the very corners) but they said I had to pay for a glass replacement before they could do that. (I am not faulting them per se but it would have been nice to be able to at least get the AC+ for real future issues since the problem with the glass cracking is directly related to the curved glass design making the glass impact the concrete directly).
I guess the device needs to be in perfect condition as a 'starting point'. Generally speaking I have never come across a company that has as generous after sales customer service as Apple. I have brought back many things of the years and almost without fail I walk out totally impressed. I've had to pay a couple of times but there have been other times when I should have had to pay but haven't been charged.
I guess the device needs to be in perfect condition as a 'starting point'. Generally speaking I have never come across a company that has as generous after sales customer service as Apple. I have brought back many things of the years and almost without fail I walk out totally impressed. I've had to pay a couple of times but there have been other times when I should have had to pay but haven't been charged.
Yes, I agree. Apple replaced my $6k+ Mac Pro that was 6-8 months old (in mid 2008) with a new one (and next gen since the models had been updated a month after I got my original one) when a memory riser card failed and they could not get a new one in through their parts channels after 2 weeks. The piece was available from 3rd parties for $70-$80 IIRC but Apple did not have them in their parts channel so replaced the whole machine. The replacement was the same number of CPU cores and ghz but in all other respects was a big upgrade, and is still in use today as the upgraded machine was the first to support 64bit kernels so is still very viable. Also have had a few iPhones replaced generously. No complaints. I was just lamenting that I did not catch a break with the IP6+ and I can't really complain about it since they were following their procedures and were correct.
This would be problematic to implement. Having data on falls or impacts isn't enough to prove correlation.
That's what happened to a friend of mine. He got a spec bump on his MacBook Pro because of a cosmetic defect on the one he bought, because they didn't have his exact SKU in stock.
Generally speaking I have never come across a company that has as generous after sales customer service as Apple. I have brought back many things of the years and almost without fail I walk out totally impressed. I've had to pay a couple of times but there have been other times when I should have had to pay but haven't been charged.
I stumbled on an interesting feature of their service policies just yesterday... I occasionally move my Mac Mini, and as this is becoming more frequent, I thought it might be nice to have a second power cord, one for each location (to avoid crawling around, and less wear-and-tear on the original cord).
So I called ahead for a Genius appointment, and telegraphed in advance what I wanted. I was told that, no, I could NOT buy an additional power cord, because their parts inventory is exclusively for replacement/repair purposes... in other words, I would have to bring in and surrender a "broken" cord, in order to be able to purchase a new one.
Fortunately, Apple uses an industry standard power cord, so I was able to procure one at a third-party electronic wholesaler across town. (I wasn't willing to wait for one to be shipped to me, nor can they be ordered through the online Apple Store.)
Still, this strikes me as weird. I can go to any car dealership and purchase any part I please, for example...
More draining of the battery?
Ha ha! I'd love to see someone try that, just for laughs.
If you'd had a smaller iPhone like the 5s, it probably wouldn't have dropped out of your pocket.
Ah well; live and learn.
They won't cover it. I asked. Intentional and malicious damage by the owner for the purpose of getting it replaced isn't covered, but that can only be determined if the act was done in person. You do that in an Apple Store they should turn you away. However, without having first gotten any info about you, you can simply take it in when there are different employees… so give it a shot.
If you'd had a smaller iPhone like the 5s, it probably wouldn't have dropped out of your pocket.
Ah well; live and learn.
No, it still would have fallen out of the pocket. The pants I was wearing would have had any phone fall out of its pocket in the circumstances that existed.