iPad Air glass break

Not trying to condone the rant.

Think of it from our perspective (Especially if you have had multiple iPhones/iPads [In my case, every iPhone/iPad with the exception of the one right before the iPad Air] in the past, none of which ever had problems).

You pay $700 (in my case due to cellular version), within two months you have a crack across the screen. If you don't repair the crack, you run the risk of moisture/dust getting behind the screen.

Great customer service doesn't make up for poor quality products. If I purchased a product from a company year after year without issues, then suddenly my next upgrade breaks even though you treated it the same way as the previous models, im going to be extremely annoyed. Its almost like Apple betrayed me by selling me a product that is known to be reliable/durable under normal conditions only to find out it's subpar .

If there was a disclaimer on the screen or something visible when i purchased it warning me that the screen was less durable than previous generations to save on weight/costs, etc, it would have at least given me fair warning.

I agree that "Great customer service doesn't make up for poor quality products." But a few anecdotes (mine own included) aren't enough to make a judgment as to the the quality of the millions of Airs sold.

By nearly universal acclaim, the iPad Air *is* a great product. The overwhelming majority of people aren't experiencing cracking. Those who are have, for the most part, been met with courtesy and accomodation by Apple staff.

Just like with any high purchase I either buy insurance or protection for it to make sure my device is protected. I have an iPHone 5s and I purchased the warrenty because I know if something happens to that screen accidently I'd have to fork over 269$, for an iPad Air that's 299$. A small 99$ investment in this is a great care of peace of mind

As for your 700 dollars within the two months of getting the crack, I'm not BLAMING you here but you can't be 100% sure it was the exact same matter as the previous models as that would require a vacumn and controlled enviornment that has zero outside influence. It could have been the way you walked a morning, a small drop of impact. If you have a single hairline crack often times going to your apple retail store pleading your case respectfully and if they don't talking to Apple Care tech support may get you a middle ground

You have to understand the company is there to make money, and Apple putting out a sub standard device universally which I would personally would say would be like ninty percent of the devices produces would be a call to arms, however in this case the iPad Air is selling great and while this thread is active do understand that for every problem that exists, thousands of users are happily using the device. This forum attracts the people with problems because that's what it is here for, to resolve problems

Apple isn't leaving or betraying you, it's the simple matter of production, I got two xboxes that had the red ring of death, one as a replacement. I talked to support and got it replaced twice even though one was passed the warrenty, I was respectful and got results, it helps

Nice I did everything but bring dinner and a candle and her steak and feed it to her. She saw a crack with her light and said no AppleCare we will gladly give you 200 for your 13 day old ipad air. Sorry you must have dropped it at least from a height of. 6 ft or more! Since there was 5 more people with same crack all declined replacement. I have been overly nice until I was talked down and pretty called very wrong about damage (liar). I even told them to have a nice day as I left. Tim

IF this happened to you Tim; Contact AppleCare and ask to speak to a supervisor, again sadly this is all depending on the person you get, have this conversation thread saved to show that you've done some more research.

Went thru 2 supervisors , since crack was diagnosed at store no help would be afforded! I'm content with cutting my nose off now to spite my face . People love bad news and I have been sharing. I have remove apple decals off back glass of cars and I'm headed to AT&T to get new samsung . Apple is rotten for me now ! Thanks for the reply. !

Since Apple opened retail stores, I've been to dozens of them in multiple states. Their service has been uniformly impeccable over years and years.

I have to suspect there is something missing from the equation.

In any event, anybody *else* who develops a hairline crack without bezel damage to their iPad Air shouldn't hesitate to politely request and expect a new one.

I would like to add my experience. On December 22, 2013 I purchased a 32 GB iPad Air, paying a little over $600.00 after tax. I left it in the box and gave it to my 11 1/2 year old son as a Christmas present. He was taking impeccable care of the unit. Every time I turned around, he was cleaning it/ wiping off fingerprints with a damp microfiber cloth. We have the Logitech keyboard/case also sold at Apple stores. The iPad Air hadn't left the home. It hasn't been dropped. My son watches Netflix on it a bedtime. He left it on the bed Sunday and went back to school Monday. On Monday January 6, 2014 after school/work, we noticed a hairline crack on the unit, similar to XVortex's posted image on this string. We have taken photos of the crack including the sides of the unit to demonstrate, if need be, there was no drop or impact. The side borders and back of the unit are impeccably clean. Aside from the hairline crack, the screen is clean. My son was obsessing on over the care he is taking of the iPad air. My Wife has an iPad 2. My son was striving to keep hi iPad Air in impeccable shape. My Wife's has no screen damage.

Meanwhile back to the story. Because my kid was upset, I went to the local Apple store on Monday evening January 6, 2013 to make a Geniusbar appointment--after reviewing the posts here. I was polite and courteous. Before I had the appointment set, I was toled a tech could look at it quickly, but he was with another customer. I was told accidental damge isn't covered and was told that for $279.00 they would swap out my 15 days purchased/12 days out of the box $600.00 ipad.

I am happy to have one of my older children upload the photos of the hair line screen crack and pristine unblemished sides of the iPad air. I own Apple stock and have faith in their product and service. The product must be designed to be suited for its intended purpose. Normal, non negligent use should not result in damage. I understand the product is designed with thinner glass to reduce weight. However, there needs to be some durability to allow for normal use. I know the unit wasn't dropped there was no accidental bumping, packing in a back pack or anything else. De care was used, but it still cracked.

One month old iPad Air, no trauma.

Large single hairline crack showed up yesterday.

Apple Care Plus will repair/replace for $49 + tax

No admission by Apple - yet - that there is a design problem....

Many here have been helped by Apple at no cost. You should not have to pay to fix Apple's design flaws.

Ask for a refund. These companies rarely, if ever, admit their mistakes. However, usually, they will help the device owner free of charge. Maybe because you have Apple Care Plus... but didn't you buy that to help with any problems caused by you and not Apple? And now you've used up one of your damage repair uses. And what if it happens again? There goes the 'plus' aspect of your Apple Care Plus.

Apple almost always is very reasonable and pleasant to work with.

Ask for a refund.

Hope this helps.

Apple says that design is not how it looks, but how it works. However, it seems that when prettiness and function are at odds during design, prettiness tends to prevail.

No arguing the iPad Air looks gorgeous. But a closer look shows how some of that comes at the expense of extra fragility. Look at the bezel. There is nothing between the thin aluminum lip and the glass panel framed within. Aluminum is weak and bends easily, the lightest impact will dent it inwards directly against the glass. Maybe a millimeter or two of some type of silicon joint would help; but then the iPad would't look so cool, right?

There is another problem: glass and aluminum will expand and contract at different rates with temperature. With no flexible joint material in between, something may give; and guess what that will be. If the materials are already assembled too tight together then a small temperature change can make the glass go.

Hope someone at Apple takes note.

I have to say I am rather shocked at what I have been reading.

I bought the iPad Air on the weekend and read further on the forums as the whole thing feels hollow and delicate. Even the sound from the speakers sounds hollow.

I haven't damaged mine yet but I'm seriously thinking of asking for a refund.

I think that this is one product 'broken as designed' (or likely to be).

If it's from the Apples tore they should be able to replace it. Will have much better chances if you bought Apple care. Also keep in mind you only have to replace the gorilla glass and not the actual screen.

Same thing happened to me. Overnight a 3 inch crack appeared in the upper right corner (when home button is on the left, landscape mode). Absolutely no mishandling or dropping. Crack, so far, is under the glass. I have Applecare and the tech. was very nice, giving me a case number and telling me to take it to an authorized repair depot, where (he thinks) it will be replaced free of charge. We shall see, but in 20 years of being solely an Apple customer, I have always gotten THE BEST service.

Exactly the same problem. iPad Air less than 2 months old. Always handled with kid gloves and been extremely careful. Never dropped, never banged. Suddenly there's a diagonal hairline crack right across the screen for absolutely no reason. It's so fine you can only see it when the screen is in bright natural light. Having owned and used Apple computers for many years, I am very disappointed and depressed at the hassle of having to take it to an Apple Store, hoping they will do the right thing and replace it without any argument!