Asian Countries Too Humid for iPhones?

Apple's been slapped with many lawsuits for overheating products in the past, but over in Asia, iPhone owners are finding out the hard way that 95 per cent humidity isn't the best treatment for the temperature-uncomfortable phones.

The South China Morning Post yesterday commented on the ever-increasing cases of iPhone owners having issues with voided warranties due to water damage, saying that Asian message boards are populated with stories from those who found their iPhone's liquid indicators were affected by humidity.

Indeed, it appears even in the US there have been problems with positive readings on the iPhone's moisture indicators, with one woman filing a class action suit earlier in the year.

While Apple's website says the indicators, located in the headphone jack and base of an iPhone, "are designed not to be triggered by humidity and temperature changes that are within the product's environmental requirements described by Apple," it could be that Asian countries that see above 95 per cent humidity just aren't suited to iPhones.

Drawing on the example of Hong Kong resident Justin Hayward, the SCMP paper quoted him as saying "If the limitation is over 95 per cent humidity, they ought not to be selling the product here. I find it quite unbelievable—a real piece of corporate greed or a great oversight."

While his network agreed to replace the iPhone for a fee, Hayward is staying strong and sticking by his claim that he hasn't done anything to void the warranty—and that Apple should be testing them more thoroughly in places of high humidity.