I don't see how it changes the situation. Even if the owner intentionally damaged the phone they would still be entitled to having it repaired for $parts + $labor.

Genuine replacement screen: $450 2 hours labour from highly trained apple certified screen replacement technician: $180.

"....but I shouldn't have to pay these exorbitant fees - I didnt drop it in water...."

"Yes you did"

Shouldn't a $1000 phone be waterproof?

Isn't this behind the point?

For one, still not all $1000 phones are waterproof, and second, this can apply to all kind of other devices, like laptops, who can't be or is very difficult to make waterproof without major compromises (e.g. heat dissipation).

<sarcasm because="Poe's law">

Owners of $1000 phones don't go near water or need cases. They never make mistakes.

</sarcasm>

Anecdote: dropped an iPhone 6 to the bottom of a pool. Failed spectacularly bringing it back up a few times. Total about 2-3 minutes submerged at around 2m.

Put the phone in a rice bag for 2 days, charged and it's working fine :)

I've seen the rice treatment work also, but chances for success are reportedly better if you do not try to turn the device on first.

That red strip on iDevices that changed in temporary high-humidity conditions. If Apple actually produced good PCBs and conformally-coated them and capped their JTAGs, water damage and corrosion would be much less likely.

Why do say they don't produce good PCB's?

Conformal coating introduces problems too and, moreover, makes repair intractable.

I don't know if conformal coating even works properly with the very fine pitch BGA's that cover much of the surface area of the PCB in an iPhone.

>If Apple actually produced good PCBs and conformally-coated them and capped their JTAGs, water damage and corrosion would be much less likely.

If? In what world they don't, and compared to which alternative?

Do iPhones still have the water sensitivity marker?

Yep. It became a lot more pertinent after the iPhone 7 was water resistant, as the markers seem less protected than the boards.