Apple has quietly updated its returns policy in Korea, where it will now replace malfunctioning iPads and iPods returned with one month of purchase with brand new products, according to a Chosunilbo report.
The company’ global policy sees defective products replaced by refurbished units but, pressed by Korea’s Fair Trade Commission (FTC), it has extended the policy — initially introduced for iPhones last September — across its iOS-powered device range in Korea.
“Consumers will be protected under Korean warranty standards for all of Apple’s small electronic gadgets sold here from now on,” the consumer watchdog organisation reported on Wednesday.
The move follows the latest revision of the FTC’s information guidelines, published April 1, which state that electronics goods makers must “indicate warranty standards that are disadvantageous to consumers in detail on the outside of packaging”.
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iPhone owners that find issues with their device within a month of purchase are also entitled to free repairs and full refunds and these perks are also extended to iPads and iPods.
Initially high demand for the iPhone 4S in Korea, the home of Apple’s chief smartphone rival Samsung, slowed down, although a recent ruling to relax retailers’ sales of mobile phones may play in Apple’s favour.
Apple’s iPad has been a raging success in the country, outshining equivalent devices from Samsung and passing 1 million sales in Feburary.
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