At the conclusion of a six-month long battle of words and wills, Apple isn't calling its smartwatch "impact resistant" anymore. A judge deemed the claim false advertising.
Gareth Cross, 32, of Wales, successfully sued Apple and while he was only awarded about $625 for half a year of working against Apple, the impact of his victory was much more than minor.
Cross paid about $494 for the Apple Watch Sport last summer. A week and a half later, the smartwatch was defaced with a scratch.
The Apple Watch is scratch and impact resistant, Apple asserted. Since Cross' Apple Watch was somehow scratched, the company refused to warranty the watch.
The man purchased the Sport version of the Apple Watch because he's "prone to knocking things about a bit," he said. The Apple Watch Sport's impact and scratch resistant claims were enough for him to make the purchase.
"When I got to work the hairline crack had got bigger and bigger so I called Apple up to get it repaired," he said.
Cross took Apple up on its offer to take the matter to court, so he filed suit in a small claims court in Aberystwyth, Wales and was awarded relief though the Sale of Goods Act.
It was a bit perplexing why Apple would want to handle the matter in court, said Cross. However, he wanted to stand his ground and exercise his consumer rights.
"The case did start to become a little stressful, especially toward the end with the prospect of having to attend court to defend my claim against what was the most valuable company in the world," Cross said.
Despite the stress in dealing with a watch he only wore for ten days, Cross said he intends to pick up another Apple Watch in the future. He'll likely wait until Apple releases a new model of the popular smartwatch.
The claims of the Apple Watch being impact resistant have been removed. The Apple Watch and Watch Edition both use sapphire glass. The Sport employees Ion-X glass, which Apple says is "strengthened at the molecular level.
