Lawsuit claims Apple deliberately misled customers regarding the notch

[Spotty]

Source: https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-iphone-notch-lawsuit-2018-12?r=US&IR=T (Appears to be original source, but hidden behind Payall)

Source: https://www.businessinsider.com.au/apple-iphone-notch-lawsuit-2018-12?r=US&IR=T (Australian site does not appear to have a paywall)
Source: https://9to5mac.com/2018/12/15/lawsuit-alleges-apples-iphone-xs-marketing-images-deceptively-hide-the-notch/

 

Apple is facing legal actions from customers who are claiming that Apple intentionally misled customers with marketing and advertisement for the new Apple iPhone Xs devices in regards to hiding the notch from product photographs through the use of tricky wallpapers, as well as making false claims as to the true resolution of the phone.

Quote

In a complaint filed Friday in the Northern District of California, Courtney Davis’ lawyers accused Apple of designing its advertising to obscure the notch, leading Davis to believe that the iPhone XS Max she preordered wouldn’t actually come with a notch.

“Images that disguise the missing pixels on the Products’ screens are prominent on Defendant’s website, as well as in the advertisements of retailers who sell the products,” the complaint said. “These images were relied on by Plaintiff DAVIS, who believed that the iPhone XS and XS Max would not have a notch at the top of the phone.”
 

There are other matters cited in the complaint, including a claim Apple shouldn’t count pixels on the corners of the device in its advertising, because they are rounded off.

^{https://www.businessinsider.com.au/apple-iphone-notch-lawsuit-2018-12?r=US&IR=T}

 

Quote

A lawsuit has been filed against Apple this week by a man and women claiming prominent iPhone XS and iPhone XS marketing photos on Apple.com are overly deceptive in hiding the notch. The lawyer for the plaintiffs claims they pre-ordered an iPhone XS Max unaware there would be any “missing pixels,” bezel or notch of any sort.

 

... the plaintiffs take particular issue with how marketing material promotes a “false pixel count” thanks to the notch and rounded corners exclusive to the XS and XS Max. In turn, this cuts out valuable screen real estate.

The lawsuit specifically takes issue with the pixel count and resolution of the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max. An excerpt from the suit can be read below.
 

Quote

Defendant’s website is designed to encourage comparisons between the Products and Defendant’s other phones. These comparisons are misleading because the Products have false screen pixel counts that dramatically overrepresent the number of subpixels in the phones

…

The iPhone X Product is advertised as having 2436×1125 pixels, but in fact does not use true pixels with red, green, and blue subpixels in each pixel. Instead, the Product has only false screen pixels, with just two subpixels per false pixel (2436×1125×2 = 5,481,000 subpixels), and it does not actually have any subpixels at all in the notch at the top of the screen or in the display-area corners. In contrast, the iPhone 8 Plus has a higher quality screen than the Product, with more subpixels than the Product (1920×1080 pixels×3 subpixels per pixel = 6,220,800 subpixels). In contrast to the Product, the iPhone 8 Plus does not have a notch at the top of the screen or rounded corners of the display area.

^{https://9to5mac.com/2018/12/15/lawsuit-alleges-apples-iphone-xs-marketing-images-deceptively-hide-the-notch/}

 

This is an example of the Apple released images of the new iPhone devices used to advertise & market the device. The wallpaper used has an area of solid black colour on the screen surrounding the area of the notch, which essentially removed any visible signs of a notch being present and gave the illusion of a notch-less, full screen bezel-less, front panel phone.

 

In this promotional shot, the notch appears to have been photoshopped out of the image, as it is completely invisible...

 

In shots display on the website, the camera and speaker appears visible, however the cut out area of the notch is still masked by the wallpaper used.

Spoiler

^{Source: https://www.apple.com/au/shop/buy-iphone/iphone-xs}

 

^{Souce: https://www.apple.com/au/iphone-xs/}

 

^{Source: https://www.apple.com/au/iphone/compare/}

 

 

However, it is worth noting that there are images displayed on the Apple website which do clearly show the notches.

Spoiler

^{Source: https://www.apple.com/au/iphone-xs/}

 

 

What's everyone's thoughts on this? Do you believe Apple intentionally tried to hide the notch to mislead customers? If phone manufacturers love the notch so much, why do they try to hide it from customers rather than promote it as a feature? (Because everyone hates the notch)

 

I don't think the "The image didn't show a notch" would hold much water in court. Caveat Emptor (Buyer beware). While most images used in Apple's marketing and prominently featured on the Apple website attempt to conceal the notch, there are some images on the Apple website (if you scroll down further) which do clearly demonstrate the notch.

 

The screen resolution pixel count might have a basis, as it could be considered false advertising if they're claiming it has a full resolution count when it does not due to the notch, however I believe this would not be an issue specific to Apple, as a large number of devices made by other companies also feature a notch and may also have similar incorrect pixel counts/resolutions.
I really don't think this will go very far.

[Ashley MLP Fangirl]

i kind of thought those pictures were misleading as well. this is no surprise to me. 

[Fnige]

And this is why you have white backgrounds guys... Unless you're trying to get sales.

[dgsddfgdfhgs]

this explains that apple doesnt like the notch either, but they are putting a notch on 

[DrMacintosh]

I defended them at first, then I went through the buying process and only found one image that showed the notch (which was under the product showcase page). If you just go right to the buy tab you'll never see the notch. 

 

They have no problem showing the notch on the XR, not sure why marketing decided to try and hide it with that background. 

 

Do I think the lady suing is dumb? Yes

Do I think Apple marketing should show the notch? Also yes, especially since Apple forced devs to embrace the notch in the UI. 

[Cereal5]

Of course they intentionally picked those images to use as backgrounds. I knew exactly why they picked it as soon as I saw the first commercial for the phones. If apple actually made false claims about the resolution of the phone (assuming you mean they included pixel that are "taken up" by the space the notch uses), then this is much more likely to be a solid standing point in the case.

 

Examples of Apple not hiding the notch or curved edges:

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

There are more, but I think this demonstrates that Apple wasn't really hiding anything. People need to chill out. That's the nature of preordering. You don't know what you're getting lmao.

 

Also if the curved edge thing is true, wouldn't that apply to almost every phone manufacturer that's made a phone in the past 2 years?

Like... the screen is still 2436 pixels high and 1125 pixels wide... They might not like it but it is.

[LyondellBasell]

Anyone who buys a $1500 device without taking the time to look at a few highly edited promotional pictures...deserves exactly what they get. Granted, what they get is an amazing phone with stellar software and a fluid UI.

 

Seriously though, the notch wasn't some sort of secret news known only to tech nerds. Snapchat had a million "Notchgate" stories and "exposés" as soon as the first mockup pictures were leaked. The notch was a mainstream fact ages before any preorders were open.

[Spotty]

1 minute ago, DrMacintosh said:

I defended them at first, then I went through the buying process and only found one image that showed the notch (which was under the product showcase page). If you just go right to the buy tab you'll never see the notch. 

This is accurate.

I just went through the process myself when making this thread, and if you google "Apple iPhone", go to the Apple website, click on the iPhone XS or the Buy link, then go through the options for the phone... You only view images of the phone where the notch is hidden. Even when you're selecting the 'finish' of the phone and click the "VIEW FRONT" button, it still displays an image where the notch is concealed on the XS models. I feel like it's a bit misleading to "View Front" and have some aspects of the front design concealed.

 

 

 

There's clearly the speaker and camera lens visible, but the cut out area of the notch itself is hidden.

 

Notably though, images of the cheaper iPhone Xr clearly display the notch on the Apple website, even when directly compared against the XS & XS Max. To me it really looks like they're trying to conceal the presence of the notch on the XS and XS Max, and they don't really care about the XR since it's the cheaper model. May be even deliberately hiding it from the more expensive XS and deliberately showing it on the cheaper XR, as a way to push people who were considering the cheaper XR towards the more expensive XS phones...

Spoiler

 

[PlayStation 2]

See, I understand hammering Apple for the way they did the Xs and Xs Max promotional pictures, they do look like they're trying too hard to hide the notch, but on the other end, did the customers not do their damn research?

Also, what's with the "false pixel count" thing? You can't really harp on Apple too much on that, especially since the OS renders at said resolution. Get on everyone else doing bezel-less phones if that's the case.

[captain_to_fire]

1 hour ago, Spotty said:

What's everyone's thoughts on this? Do you believe Apple intentionally tried to hide the notch to mislead customers

Whoever filed this lawsuit is like everyone else who tries to abuse the legal system and milk money off of companies.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liebeck_v._McDonald's_Restaurants 

https://www.cnet.com/news/woman-breaks-nose-on-apple-store-sues-for-1m/ 

 

[Cereal5]

4 minutes ago, captain_to_fire said:

 

 

His last name is fitting

[Drak3]

1 minute ago, captain_to_fire said:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liebeck_v._McDonald's_Restaurants

You should look into that one more. The actual series of events is quite different than the sensationalist hit piece that we're told. The temperature of the coffee McDonalds sold was also dangerous, caused various injuries due to said temperature, and McDonalds knew of it prior.

 

This one is not a frivolous lawsuit.

[JoostinOnline]

13 minutes ago, captain_to_fire said:

Whoever filed this lawsuit is like everyone else who tries to abuse the legal system and milk money off of companies. 

  

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liebeck_v._McDonald's_Restaurants  

That's not a good example. All the lady wanted was for McDonald's to cover her medical bills after she nearly died. McDonald's (successfully) made the whole thing out to be a cash grab, but they were at fault.

 

 

As for the subject at hand, I don't think that any company should get away with false marketing, but I also don't think anyone bought the phone not knowing it had a notch, or didn't know about the pixel count.

[BananaInSandals]

As much as I hate Apple and their rediculous ads, I really can't defend those complaint out of my conscience... You dropped 1500 USD without doing a single research on a 3rd party review (either a website or a hardcopy magazine)? Any review would have pointed out THERE IS A NOTCH... That's like dropping 100k buying a Tesla and asks staff in a gas station how to refuel the "gas tank" in the Tesla... You don't go sue Tesla for not telling you the car doesn't use gasoline. Same for Apple here. You don't sue Apple because of you negligence or dumbness. 

[Guest]

Apple don't hide this at all, and it's just marketing. Sure they might have hidden it, but seeing as they got heaps of flak for the iPhone X's notch, it makes sense to try and improve their image in this respect when trying to market the Xs. 

 

Seeing as when you go into a store to buy the Phone, there are many people trying it out, its not hidden at all, not much basis for this. If you're spending 1500 USD online on a phone you can try out in a store, then just silly on their part. 

[pas008]

51 minutes ago, Spotty said:

Source: https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-iphone-notch-lawsuit-2018-12?r=US&IR=T (Appears to be original source, but hidden behind Payall)

Source: https://www.businessinsider.com.au/apple-iphone-notch-lawsuit-2018-12?r=US&IR=T (Australian site does not appear to have a paywall)
Source: https://9to5mac.com/2018/12/15/lawsuit-alleges-apples-iphone-xs-marketing-images-deceptively-hide-the-notch/

 

Apple is facing legal actions from customers who are claiming that Apple intentionally misled customers with marketing and advertisement for the new Apple iPhone Xs devices in regards to hiding the notch from product photographs through the use of tricky wallpapers, as well as making false claims as to the true resolution of the phone.

^{https://www.businessinsider.com.au/apple-iphone-notch-lawsuit-2018-12?r=US&IR=T}

 

^{https://9to5mac.com/2018/12/15/lawsuit-alleges-apples-iphone-xs-marketing-images-deceptively-hide-the-notch/}

 

This is an example of the Apple released images of the new iPhone devices used to advertise & market the device. The wallpaper used has an area of solid black colour on the screen surrounding the area of the notch, which essentially removed any visible signs of a notch being present and gave the illusion of a notch-less, full screen bezel-less, front panel phone.

 

In this promotional shot, the notch appears to have been photoshopped out of the image, as it is completely invisible...

 

In shots display on the website, the camera and speaker appears visible, however the cut out area of the notch is still masked by the wallpaper used.

  Hide contents

^{Source: https://www.apple.com/au/shop/buy-iphone/iphone-xs}

 

^{Souce: https://www.apple.com/au/iphone-xs/}

 

^{Source: https://www.apple.com/au/iphone/compare/}

 

 

However, it is worth noting that there are images displayed on the Apple website which do clearly show the notches.

  Reveal hidden contents

^{Source: https://www.apple.com/au/iphone-xs/}

 

 

What's everyone's thoughts on this? Do you believe Apple intentionally tried to hide the notch to mislead customers? If phone manufacturers love the notch so much, why do they try to hide it from customers rather than promote it as a feature? (Because everyone hates the notch)

 

I don't think the "The image didn't show a notch" would hold much water in court. Caveat Emptor (Buyer beware). While most images used in Apple's marketing and prominently featured on the Apple website attempt to conceal the notch, there are some images on the Apple website (if you scroll down further) which do clearly demonstrate the notch.

 

The screen resolution pixel count might have a basis, as it could be considered false advertising if they're claiming it has a full resolution count when it does not due to the notch, however I believe this would not be an issue specific to Apple, as a large number of devices made by other companies also feature a notch and may also have similar incorrect pixel counts/resolutions.
I really don't think this will go very far.

I do think its false advertising somewhat but everything will be rendered at said res but they didnt show it in advertising which can be seen by some as that

but this could be like nvidia 970 case where the performance was actually there but they lacked true tech specs

maybe everyone will get free 50 itunes card out of it lol

[schwellmo92]

The subpixel thing is total bullshit, they’re describing all OLED’s, and where do Apple claim to have 3 sub pixels per pixel? So weird..

 

Also so if you didn’t realise the phone had a notch why not just return it?

[JoostinOnline]

4 minutes ago, schwellmo92 said:

The subpixel thing is total bullshit, they’re describing all OLED’s, and where do Apple claim to have 3 sub pixels per pixel? So weird..

Also, if you know what a subpixel is (or even the advertised pixel count) then you absolutely knew the iPhone had a notch.

 

5 minutes ago, schwellmo92 said:

Also so if you didn’t realise the phone had a notch why not just return it? 

Maybe it took them 31 days to notice it.

[mr moose]

28 minutes ago, Drak3 said:

You should look into that one more. The actual series of events is quite different than the sensationalist hit piece that we're told. The temperature of the coffee McDonalds sold was also dangerous, caused various injuries due to said temperature, and McDonalds knew of it prior.

 

This one is not a frivolous lawsuit.

I have, I think it's stupid, I buy coffee at 88+C all the time.

25 minutes ago, JoostinOnline said:

That's not a good example. All the lady wanted was for McDonald's to cover her medical bills after she nearly died. McDonald's (successfully) made the whole thing out to be a cash grab, but they were at fault.

 

 

As for the subject at hand, I don't think that any company should get away with false marketing, but I also don't think anyone bought the phone not knowing it had a notch, or didn't know about the pixel count.

Nearly died ay? 

 

The coffee was served at 82-88C which is like upper average for coffee in Australia.    Sure it might burn, but I doubt spilling it in your lap will cause you to die.

[JoostinOnline]

22 minutes ago, RorzNZ said:

Apple don't hide this at all, and it's just marketing. Sure they might have hidden it,

This made me chuckle.

[JoostinOnline]

Just now, mr moose said:

Nearly died ay? 

  

The coffee was served at 82-88C which is like upper average for coffee in Australia.    Sure it might burn, but I doubt spilling it in your lap will cause you to die. 

According to the hospital, yes. It was hot enough to burn off her skin in a couple seconds. Third degree burns aren't a joke. She died a few years later, partly because of the permanent damage it did.

[captain_to_fire]

39 minutes ago, Drak3 said:

You should look into that one more. The actual series of events is quite different than the sensationalist hit piece that we're told. The temperature of the coffee McDonalds sold was also dangerous, caused various injuries due to said temperature, and McDonalds knew of it prior.

I’m pretty sure that 180-190’F/82-88’C is quite the typical temperature for a freshly brewed coffee. I’m pretty sure that’s the temperature lattes from Starbucks are served. 

[Drak3]

Just now, captain_to_fire said:

I’m pretty sure that’s the temperature lattes from Starbucks are served. 

They have a wider range.

 

Just now, captain_to_fire said:

I’m pretty sure that 180-190’F/82-88’C is quite the typical temperature for a freshly brewed coffee

Doesn't make it safe or right.

[JoostinOnline]

Just now, captain_to_fire said:

I’m pretty sure that 180-190’F/82-88’C is quite the typical temperature for a freshly brewed coffee.

It's not, and that was some of the evidence that lead to McDonald's losing the case. Also the hundreds of other reported cases of burns.

 

But this thread is getting derailed.

[mr moose]

1 minute ago, JoostinOnline said:

According to the hospital, yes. It was hot enough to burn off her skin in a couple seconds. Third degree burns aren't a joke. She died a few years later, partly because of the permanent damage it did.

I have received 3rd degree burns from boiling oil splashed over my hand and arm, I know what that can be like. but I serious think someone is bending the truth here a bit to suggest 88C coffee in the lap was cause for nearly dying.