Apple Is Forced By EU To Give 2 Years Warranty On All Its Products 270
dsmalle writes "Apple has adapted its warranty to cover 2 years, under pressure of the European Union and after European consumer organizations sued Apple. From the article: 'The warranty conditions have been changed and these changes can be found on the website of Apple. Products that are purchased on the website of the manufacturer or in stores are now under warranty for two years, as it is required by the EU warranty guidelines. However, the warranty for Apple products that have been purchased elsewhere will not change and they will only be given a limited one-year warranty.'"
Headline Is Understated for Once (Score:5, Insightful)
For once, the headline is understated.
It really doesn't matter what Apple's warranty duration is, because there seems to be a statutory warranty of 2 years in at least part of the EU.
What this story is really about is Apple selling 2-year AppleCare plans in places with statutory warranties of 2 years, which is pretty darned slimy IMHO.
Comment removed (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Apple still weaselling out of it (Score:5, Insightful)
What's the point of a warranty that lasts two years which covers defects that were present on delivery?
"Defects present on delivery" IS what the law requires. However, the intended interpretation of this is that a product is defect if it cannot sustain two years of regular wear and tear without breaking. As such, bad soldering causing your screen to stop functioning after 19 months is considered a defect present at moment of purchase.
Re:Apple still weaselling out of it (Score:4, Insightful)
That IS what a warranty is. You seem to be mixing up insurance and warranty.
Otherwise, what's to prevent me from breaking the display and claiming it should be covered by the warranty?
Re:I'm glad to hear this (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Swings and Roundabouts (Score:5, Insightful)
Too bad the US allows companies to force you into no-sue contracts (like Sony and EA have done).
Re:Swings and Roundabouts (Score:2, Insightful)
EU mandating higher prices (Score:0, Insightful)
By this action, the EU is just mandating higher prices for Apple products. They'll have to build-in the cost of the extended warranty.
By meddling like this, the EU can do for the price of smart phones what they've already done for the price of gasoline in Europe.