Apple Admits to Hardware Quality Problems with iPhone X, MacBook Pro

Apple on Friday quietly announced free service programs aimed at fixing endemic problems with two of its most high-profile and expensive devices, the iPhone X and the MacBook Pro.

“Apple has determined that some iPhone X displays may experience touch issues due to a component that might fail on the display module,” an Apple support document notes. “Apple or an Apple Authorized Service Provider will replace the display module on eligible devices, free of charge.”

Symptoms of this problem include a display, or parts of a display, that do not respond to touch and a display that reacts as if touched even if it is not. Apple also notes that this issue is limited to the 2017 iPhone X; presumably, newer models like the iPhone XS, XS Max, and XR are not impacted.

The MacBook Pro issue is even more serious since it results in data loss.

“Apple has determined that a limited number of 128GB and 256GB solid-state drives (SSD) used in 13-inch MacBook Pro (non Touch Bar) units have an issue that may result in data loss and failure of the drive,” a separate Apple support document explains. “13-inch MacBook Pro units with affected drives were sold between June 2017 and June 2018.”

It’s been a tough couple of years for Apple hardware quality. Most recently, Apple admitted to a manufacturing defect in the iPhone 8. And its MacBook Pro laptops have been dogged by keyboard reliability problems so severe that a single crumb stuck under a key is enough to warrant a repair for the unusable computer.