Apple may face class action lawsuit over cracked screens in M1 MacBooks.

[Arya Desai]

Summary

Recently, there have been many reports of screens on the M1 MacBook Pro cracking without any warning. Many users have reported opening their laptops and finding alarge crack on their screen. In most cases they have had to go Apple to get it fixed and had to pay $600. The issue was first reported by 9to5Mac a few months ago and reports from users have been popping up wherein their screens crack "spontaneously." Apple is yet to comment on this and it is not yet known what the cause is and how many devices it affects. Law firm Migiliaccio and Rathod LLP is investigating for "potential legal claims."The law firm is known for taking up large class action lawsuits and notable prosecuted Bethesda back in 2018 after the release of Fallout 76 wherein Bethesda refused to give refunds after releasing a glitchy game.

 

Edit: Apple responded to the claims saying its because of the tight tolerances between the display and top case is very tight, certain accessories like camera covers and keyboard covers cause the screens to crack. Source : https://www.forbes.com/sites/ewanspence/2021/09/09/apple-macbook-pro-macbook-air-screen-display-crack-design/?sh=cc7a2ee1ac2e

Here's a photo from 9to5Mac:

Quote

 "Migliaccio & Rathod LLP is currently investigating Apple over widespread reports that the retina display in their recent line of M1 MacBook laptops is vulnerable to screen cracks during normal usage," a statement by the law firm reads. "Many users allege that they have opened their devices from the closed position without applying any undue pressure, only to find dramatic cracks in the retina display, often accompanied by black bars running across the screen. Others report that the crack followed a simple adjustment of the screen’s viewing angle."

 

 

My thoughts

I own an M1 MacBook Pro and I was worried when I first heard this news but I haven't had any problems yet and neither have people I know who own M1 MacBooks. Class action lawsuits are often a great way to make a ton of money for law firms and so they are rather enthusiastic in their search for plaintiffs, more often than not plaintiffs are left with loose change compared to what the lawyers get in the settlement (Source:I recently watched Better Call Saul). But since this is Apple we're talking about, it is highly unlikely this will go to court since their legal team already has their hands full and most likely we will see something similar to the AirPods Pro Service Program wherein the qualifying units will have their screens replaced for free or for a minimal cost, or in the worst case scenario, Apple will just slide this under the rug and not provide any compensation. The upcoming launch of teh new MacBooks will serve well to love focus away from M1 MacBooks and will serve as further incentive to buy the M2/1X MacBooks over the M1 even if the price is higher.

 

Sources

https://www.tomshardware.com/amp/news/apple-m1-macbook-cracked-screen-law-firm

 

Edited September 10, 2021 by Arya Desai

[hishnash]

Given the industrial design is no different from the intel 13" 2 port line that has bene shipping for a long time and we have not seen massive reports of this I expect most of these cases are from users using webcam overs.  

Some of the images i have seen claiming to be an M1 MBP with a cracked screen online were clearly 15" or 16" MBP so not even M1 devices, if you use a webcam cover on a MBP (regardless of the CPU) you will crack the glass within a few months of useage. Possibly with the pandemic there are more people working from home with these devices (provided by work) and they are therefore not fond of the webcam looking out into their room all day thus they are using webcam covers more. 

[BlueChinchillaEatingDorito]

Is there a similar pattern with how the cracks in the screen form? Simply saying the screen cracked when the lid was closed doesn't really tell much. I can't even find a photo of one of these affected units. 

[Forbidden Wafer]

Borked batteries, GPUs, CPUs, CD drive, keyboard, bored display, borked touch bar, T2, crappy screws breaking off for no good reason, short display flex cable, no proper cooling, heatsink not even touching the CPU, etc. It's incredible how people still buy Mac's after such a terrible track record.

[RejZoR]

10 minutes ago, Forbidden Wafer said:

Borked batteries, GPUs, CPUs, CD drive, keyboard, bored display, borked touch bar, T2, crappy screws breaking off for no good reason, short display flex cable, no proper cooling, heatsink not even touching the CPU, etc. It's incredible how people still buy Mac's after such a terrible track record.

You don't want to know how many HP's, Dell's, ACER's, ASUS's, Lenovos etc fail one way or another in massive quantities and no one gives a shit. But when it's Apple, it's plastered all over the internet 100 times over. From far dumber things and reasons. I had Lenovo whose display started dying while it was in service for another thing. It was just blinking and creating flashing lines.

[Blademaster91]

4 hours ago, RejZoR said:

You don't want to know how many HP's, Dell's, ACER's, ASUS's, Lenovos etc fail one way or another in massive quantities and no one gives a shit. But when it's Apple, it's plastered all over the internet 100 times over. From far dumber things and reasons. I had Lenovo whose display started dying while it was in service for another thing. It was just blinking and creating flashing lines.

Those companies aren't getting news headlines because they aren't charging the consumer $600 for a replacement screen. Also with Lenovo you can get replacement parts from them, or at least can replace the screen yourself.

[mr moose]

24 minutes ago, Blademaster91 said:

Those companies aren't getting news headlines because they aren't charging the consumer $600 for a replacement screen. Also with Lenovo you can get replacement parts from them, or at least can replace the screen yourself.

I had issues with a $500 acer, they fixed it free and paid for the shipping.   I had issues with an ipad, they told me to buy a new one.  No fucking brainer why apple gets so much heat when these things happen.  The king of after sales service have clearly been employing used car salesmen since steve jobs died.

[Forbidden Wafer]

6 hours ago, RejZoR said:

You don't want to know how many HP's, Dell's, ACER's, ASUS's, Lenovos etc fail one way or another in massive quantities and no one gives a shit. 

I've seen defects. Had problems with a fan one of mine Samsung's and one of the Dell"s. Fans got replaced for free because they were from bad batches. Both after the warranty expired. Problem solved.

 

The other ones never had a problem. My Acer is absolutely flawless. I had problems with my RTX 2070, Zotac was completely useless and spent almost a year to refund and only after I sued them. Still fixed the issue, while Apple refuses to fix their stuff and changes absurd fees for that.

[RejZoR]

1 hour ago, Blademaster91 said:

Those companies aren't getting news headlines because they aren't charging the consumer $600 for a replacement screen. Also with Lenovo you can get replacement parts from them, or at least can replace the screen yourself.

How many of those companies use screens as good as Apple? I very much doubt high end laptop with really high end display is going to cost you just 300€ for a display replacement. Especially when I know HP X360 cost a relative around 400€ for display replacement. And it wasn't some top of the line Spectre model for 3000€.

[Lightwreather]

13 hours ago, Arya Desai said:

Summary

Recently, there have been many reports of screens on the M1 MacBook Pro cracking without any warning. Many users have reported opening their laptops and finding alarge crack on their screen. In most cases they have had to go Apple to get it fixed and had to pay $600. The issue was first reported by 9to5Mac a few months ago and reports from users have been popping up wherein their screens crack "spontaneously." Apple is yet to comment on this and it is not yet known what the cause is and how many devices it affects. Law firm Migiliaccio and Rathod LLP is investigating for "potential legal claims."The law firm is known for taking up large class action lawsuits and notable prosecuted Bethesda back in 2018 after the release of Fallout 76 wherein Bethesda refused to give refunds after releasing a glitchy game.

 

 

My thoughts

I own an M1 MacBook Pro and I was worried when I first heard this news but I haven't had any problems yet and neither have people I know who own M1 MacBooks. Class action lawsuits are often a great way to make a ton of money for law firms and so they are rather enthusiastic in their search for plaintiffs, more often than not plaintiffs are left with loose change compared to what the lawyers get in the settlement (Source:I recently watched Better Call Saul). But since this is Apple we're talking about, it is highly unlikely this will go to court since their legal team already has their hands full and most likely we will see something similar to the AirPods Pro Service Program wherein the qualifying units will have their screens replaced for free or for a minimal cost, or in the worst case scenario, Apple will just slide this under the rug and not provide any compensation. The upcoming launch of teh new MacBooks will serve well to love focus away from M1 MacBooks and will serve as further incentive to buy the M2/1X MacBooks over the M1 even if the price is higher.

 

Sources

https://www.tomshardware.com/amp/news/apple-m1-macbook-cracked-screen-law-firm

 

Apple sorta respponded to it iirc, it was because these people used accessories that went somewhere between the keyboard and screen causing a small pressure spot and thus cracking it

source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/ewanspence/2021/09/09/apple-macbook-pro-macbook-air-screen-display-crack-design/

[CTR640]

People buy Apple products and they gets broken because Apple's mistakes and yet those people will still pay for Apple's mistakes.

Why do these people still keeps buying their products?!

[RejZoR]

31 minutes ago, CTR640 said:

People buy Apple products and they gets broken because Apple's mistakes and yet those people will still pay for Apple's mistakes.

Why do these people still keeps buying their products?!

Why do people still buy Samsung phones even though they were exploding? Why people kept buying Sony phones even though their screens kept cracking out of the blue? Why people keep buying hundreds of things that broke at some point? I have iPhone XR that's working fine after 3 years. Nothing cracked or broken. I also have Apple Watch 5 that's 2 years old now. Nothing cracked or broken. I also have AirPods 2 about 2 years old, nothing broken either. I also had Xiaomi Mi5 in the past that literally snapped in half when bent in tests. It's now in use by a relative and it's still not broken in half and it's well over 5 years old now. A lot of these "my device just died by itself" is often done by user error and they don't even know it. Or don't want to admit it. If these M1 screen deaths "en mass" are actually caused by things being put between keyboard and display as someone suggested above, that's not exactly Apple's fault. But we'll see what they find out what really caused this. This is frankly the first time I even hear about this.

[Arya Desai]

16 hours ago, BlueChinchillaEatingDorito said:

Is there a similar pattern with how the cracks in the screen form? Simply saying the screen cracked when the lid was closed doesn't really tell much. I can't even find a photo of one of these affected units. 

https://9to5mac.com/2021/07/30/m1-macbook-screen-cracks/

 

here's an image too 

[williamcll]

8 hours ago, CTR640 said:

People buy Apple products and they gets broken because Apple's mistakes and yet those people will still pay for Apple's mistakes.

Why do these people still keeps buying their products?!

They don't know how to use windows or linux.

[hishnash]

5 hours ago, Arya Desai said:

https://9to5mac.com/2021/07/30/m1-macbook-screen-cracks/

 

here's an image too 

It clear from this photo that the user had a webcam shield. if you use such a device on a MBP your screen will crack sooner rather than later. Every single webcam shield out there will crack your MBP screen at some point. 

The LED on the MBP next to the camera is hard wired to the power for the camera so if it is on the LED is on there is no way (without a physical attack) to make it so the webcam turns on without the led. 

If you are still worried about it being turned on then put a sticker over it but do not use one of these removable protectors they will crack your screen on any laptop that has a single front cover glass. 

[DrMacintosh]

I'm pretty sure the screen assembly is no different than the 2020 13" Intel MacBook Pros. Either way, glass does not "spontaneously crack." Glass fails for a reason, either it was twisted or it was pierced. 

 

What is a main cause of display shatters for MacBooks? (Keep in mind the gap between the display and the keyboard deck is about a mm) Debris and webcam covers. Apple explicitly states not to use webcam covers or keyboard covers for your Mac....it's also best practice to make sure that when you close your display that there isn't a small rock that you're about to slam your display on.

 

You could argue that small hard debris getting on the keyboard deck being enough to induce a shatter is bad design. There is definitely an argument to be made there...but I don't thing "glass can be broken" is a valid lawsuit. 

 

To me, it seems like a bunch of people have broken their displays by not listening to Apple and putting webcam covers and keyboard covers on their laptops and are now trying to blame Apple for user error. 

 

You are literally "holding" it wrong  

[DrMacintosh]

21 hours ago, Forbidden Wafer said:

Borked batteries, GPUs, CPUs, CD drive, keyboard, bored display, borked touch bar, T2, crappy screws breaking off for no good reason, short display flex cable, no proper cooling, heatsink not even touching the CPU, etc. It's incredible how people still buy Mac's after such a terrible track record.

As if no other manufacturer hasn't had just as many issues of similar scale. The difference is there are only a few MacBook models and they cost $999+. When a $600 HP special craps out after 2 years it doesn't make news headlines because they expect those devices to be shit. 

 

At least Apple does extended warranty programs that fix issues that people are having. 

[Forbidden Wafer]

36 minutes ago, DrMacintosh said:

As if no other manufacturer hasn't had just as many issues of similar scale. 

 

At least Apple does extended warranty programs that fix issues that people are having. 

The keyboard refusing to work due to dust? Short display cable? Screen cracking because tolerances are ridiculously slim? CD drives dying randomly? Heatsink not touching the CPU nor receiving fresh air from the fan? Crappy screw breaking of when tightened normally? I've never seen these kinds of issues in way cheaper stuff.

Batteries inflating/exploding is a problem of the battery type, so Apple gets a pass on that.
Cooling has been a problem with all 14nm+++++++++++++++++++++++ equiped laptops, as far as I've seen, so it is forgivable. But their nonsensical fan curves are a joke.

Even though Apple does eventually fix their stuff, they push it as far as they can and refuse to admit. They even censor their stupid community forums so that people can't share their issues, get together and sue them.

BTW, they replaced my 1st gen iPod nano that could explode due to a defective battery... 5 years after I bought it... Still miss the clickwheel. They replaced it with the 6th gen trash that looks like a watch and has no tactile feedback.

[BlueChinchillaEatingDorito]

22 hours ago, Forbidden Wafer said:

Borked batteries, GPUs, CPUs, CD drive, keyboard, bored display, borked touch bar, T2, crappy screws breaking off for no good reason, short display flex cable, no proper cooling, heatsink not even touching the CPU, etc. It's incredible how people still buy Mac's after such a terrible track record.

Let me tell you about the number of bulging batteries our fleet of EliteBooks at my workplace have. I'm pretty good friends with our local HP techs, keeping them employed. 

 

1 hour ago, hishnash said:

It clear from this photo that the user had a webcam shield. if you use such a device on a MBP your screen will crack sooner rather than later. Every single webcam shield out there will crack your MBP screen at some point. 

The LED on the MBP next to the camera is hard wired to the power for the camera so if it is on the LED is on there is no way (without a physical attack) to make it so the webcam turns on without the led. 

If you are still worried about it being turned on then put a sticker over it but do not use one of these removable protectors they will crack your screen on any laptop that has a single front cover glass. 

I guess it's a good thing Lenovo, HP, and others have started to include built in privacy covers for their webcams at least on their professional line of laptops. Hopefully that becomes the standard across the entire range. Though... I can't image Apple doing that for aesthetic reasons.

[hishnash]

6 minutes ago, BlueChinchillaEatingDorito said:

Hopefully that becomes the standard across the entire range. Though... I can't image Apple doing that for aesthetic reasons.

Apple has a solution for this, the small LED that is next to the camera is hard wired to light up if the camera has power, and the systems microphones are physically disconnected when you close the lid as well. 

[BlueChinchillaEatingDorito]

13 hours ago, hishnash said:

Apple has a solution for this, the small LED that is next to the camera is hard wired to light up if the camera has power, and the systems microphones are physically disconnected when you close the lid as well. 

I don't see that as a complete solution. By the time the LED is on, it's already too late. I guess you can make the argument the LED will alarm you if you weren't the one commanding the camera to turn on. But having both the (properly wired) LED and a physical shutter would be ideal in my opinion. So you'll be alerted when someone or something rogue accesses the camera and the threat in question doesn't get to see anything when they gain access. 

[RejZoR]

Now that photo of the damage emerged, I can clearly say this was point pressure damage (I've seen tons of those on TV LCD panels where people mishandled them). Something was in between screen and base. Either that or there was pressure already present at camera point. Which is unlikely imo, otherwise all of them were cracking.

[hishnash]

2 hours ago, RejZoR said:

Now that photo of the damage emerged, I can clearly say this was point pressure damage (I've seen tons of those on TV LCD panels where people mishandled them). Something was in between screen and base. Either that or there was pressure already present at camera point. Which is unlikely imo, otherwise all of them were cracking.

yer this is a pattern i have seen before (sadly) on devices were users have been stupid enough to use a webcam cover. 

[Blademaster91]

14 hours ago, Arya Desai said:

https://9to5mac.com/2021/07/30/m1-macbook-screen-cracks/

 

here's an image too 

It looks like a thumb print from opening the laptop, you open it from the center of the screen area, and that could eventually cause a stress crack in the glass.

Either way apple won't admit it if its a hardware flaw, they'll just say its an issue that affects "some" users and offer a cheaper rate for repair instead of a free replacement.

8 hours ago, Forbidden Wafer said:

The keyboard refusing to work due to dust? Short display cable? Screen cracking because tolerances are ridiculously slim? CD drives dying randomly? Heatsink not touching the CPU nor receiving fresh air from the fan? Crappy screw breaking of when tightened normally? I've never seen these kinds of issues in way cheaper stuff.

Batteries inflating/exploding is a problem of the battery type, so Apple gets a pass on that.
Cooling has been a problem with all 14nm+++++++++++++++++++++++ equiped laptops, as far as I've seen, so it is forgivable. But their nonsensical fan curves are a joke.

Even though Apple does eventually fix their stuff, they push it as far as they can and refuse to admit. They even censor their stupid community forums so that people can't share their issues, get together and sue them.

BTW, they replaced my 1st gen iPod nano that could explode due to a defective battery... 5 years after I bought it... Still miss the clickwheel. They replaced it with the 6th gen trash that looks like a watch and has no tactile feedback.

All of those issues don't happen with $600 cheap laptops, Apple pretty much has to offer extended repair service because its a serious hardware flaw, and when they do its often because they got sued over it. People are defending the same company that denies repair over water intrusion stickers without even really inspecting for water damage, or charging for a whole new mainboard even though the display cable popped out.

I wouldn't excuse Apple over batteries though, because they glue the batteries to the laptop, and bulging usually kills the trackpad, and warps the keyboard so apple will also charge for a whole new bottom part of the laptop.

[Nayr438]

So Apple released a statement on "July 02, 2020" saying not to use a Webcam Cover. -> https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT211148

Someone used a webcam cover anyways, broke there screen, and now want's to sue.

 

Also this issue isn't specific to Apple, it applies to pretty much anything with a display on a hinge that closes against another object. People have been destroying laptop screens for years by placing objects between the keyboard and screen. the tighter the housing around the display, the more likely it's bound to happen.

 

With this logic, you might as well throw your iPhone in your back pocket along with a set of keys and sit on it, then sue because your screen broke... or has someone already done that...

 

I always find it funny how Apple and Samsung always get called out for problems that affect pretty much every other brand, in most cases caused by user error. I mean these are not even new problems, they have been problems for years. The only difference is people were apparently smart enough to not do idiotic things and admit when they did something wrong, compared to now where people expect to toss there device outside of a moving vehicle and still expect it to work, otherwise its the manufacturers fault.

 

Manufacturers do make bad products, always have, but this isn't a instance of that happening.

Somehow though with the world we live in, I wouldn't doubt that this makes it to court and wins, which is just sad.