Flexgate is real, and Apple should recognize it

I have a MacBook Pro end of 2016 and, like many people equipped with this generation of laptops, I have recently been a victim of the Flexgate display problem. Flexgate refers to a design fault in the ribbon cable connecting the body of the laptop to the screen: this cable is supposed to flex with the opening and closing of the computer, but wears out too quickly with use conventional. Discovered by a I fix it report and identified by one of the users of the site, this problem is aggravated by the fact that the cable in question is attached to the display. The only way to repair the problem is therefore the complete replacement of the display. Which is not cheap.

Owning a Mac has always been an expensive undertaking. I could not even afford to think of a MacBook during my college years, and it was only because my first writing job was asking for a Mac that I bought my first laptop from Apple. But in the decade that followed, the mantra of "You get what you pay for" remained the same with Apple. MacBook computers have long been the most reliable laptops with the most durable batteries, the best touch pads, the finest screens and the best construction. Apple's quality assurance and after-sales service also exceeds those of PC manufacturers such as Dell, HP and Lenovo.

It's because of this habit of charging higher prices and the excellent customer service I expect from more Apple than other manufacturers.

My MacBook Pro repair experience was a chance because I already had AppleCare that covered expenses of £ 391 ($ 520). But what about all the people who bought an Apple laptop in early 2017, expecting it to live up to the company's reputation and last for many years ? I fix it says the Flexgate Fault means that it's a matter of when, do not if, the display cable of your MacBook will yield. In the European Union, consumer protection imposes a two-year warranty on all products, and it seems that the problem of Flexgate begins to appear in the most concerned laptops at the end of these two years . This means that even if your statutory free repair rights run out, you suffer from an intolerable screen malfunction.

Image: iFixit

Apple seems to be aware that this is a problem. In a follow-up report on the update of the MacBook Pro 2018, I fix it found that Apple had lengthened the design of the screen cable, apparently to get rid of the defect that affected the 2016 and later laptops that preceded this update. This change has occurred without any public recognition and, to date, Apple continues to act as if Flexgate was not a real or widespread problem.

A petition, now numbering more than 15,000, would not be different. He asks Apple to publicly acknowledge Flexgate as a design flaw and to commit to repairing all affected MacBook Pro notebooks. I think that's exactly what Apple should do, and that's no less than what we should expect from a company that praises its reliability and the satisfaction of its users, no matter how lucky it is. Nobody should have to pay more than 500 USD to replace an entire screen, simply because Apple (a) has decided to attach a fragile cable to one of the most expensive components of its MacBook Pro, and (b) miscalculated the required length of this cable. his first design.

I have contacted Apple several times to try to get a comment from the company on the Flexgate situation, but I have received no response. In my conversations with Apple support staff, which included phone calls with support centers in the United Kingdom and the United States, as well as repeated visits to the Apple Covent Garden store in London, no member of the company seemed to aware of the Flexgate problem. Worse still, discussions launched by MacBook Pro users who were the victims of the Flexgate disaster have been removed from Apple's support forums.

Apple, I would like to believe, is better than that. And yet, the company had been slow to recognize the problems associated with its keyboards butterfly and its batteries for iPhone. Both problems were finally dealt with satisfactorily, even though they undermined the sense of confidence that Apple is working hard at creating among its users. The famous episode of Bendgate around the iPhone 6, which one would later learn that Apple knew that it was more likely to bend under the pressure, was not solved. Subsequently, as if by magic, the iPhone 6S was made from stronger materials.

I do not blame Apple for Flexgate. Design problems can occur. But society must live up to its aspirations by recognizing the problem and treating its customers fairly.