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Apple admits the iPhone 6 Plus has 'Touch Disease'

Offers cheap-ish fix for screens that lose touch with the real world

Apple has admitted that the iPhone 6 has “Touch Disease”, a glitch that leaves the handset's touch screen inoperable.

The problem surfaced in August when repair site iFixit diagnosed a problem with controller chips that lost electrical contact with the phablet's motherboard.

Apple, as is its wont, remained silent … until Thursday US time when a Multi-Touch Repair Program for iPhone 6 Plus page appeared on its site.

“Apple has determined that some iPhone 6 Plus devices may exhibit display flickering or Multi-Touch issues after being dropped multiple times on a hard surface and then incurring further stress on the device,” the page reads, before outlining a repair program.

For US$149, Apple will fix the device provided the phone “is in working order, and the screen is not cracked or broken”. That's the same price as a new screen, but rather less than the $329 charged for out of warranty services.

For owners who have already paid for repairs, Apple will refund the difference between the price of that service and the $149 deal offered under this program.

Apple's copping a fair bit of criticism at the moment for not offering innovative new products. Its Watch has mostly tanked and the new MacBook Pro and its Touch Bar represents a rather smaller step forward than Microsoft's touchy Surface Studio workstation.

But its devices have, of late, proven quite reliable: the company shrugged off ”Bendgate in the original iPhone 6. Subsequent models have largely escaped early reports of flaws. Apple's had a few heated moments along the way, but none to match Samsung's global recall of the Galaxy Note 7.

Offering slightly-discounted services for a problem that comes along after “being dropped multiple times on a hard surface and then incurring further stress” might even look a bit generous, as might Apple's decision to keep the offer alive “for 5 years after the first retail sale of the unit.” ®

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