Report: iPad 2 Sports No Liquid Contact Indicator - Now Cleared For The Bathroom

Apple has gotten a bit of bad press in the past over their use of liquid contact indicators in their various devices. These little chemical patches allow Apple to know when your device stopped functioning after being in contact with water or exposure to extreme humidity, thereby voiding your warranty. Why the bad press? Well, while very useful for Apple's support personnel, these have often proven unreliable. People with sweaty hands or living in humid climates have seen Apple void their warranty because the detectors were activated, when they shouldn't have. Recently, Apple relaxed their policy on how Apple support was to approach these situations. Yet, we're hearing they might have taken this even further now by actually removing the detectors altogether from the iPad 2. The news comes from 9to5mac, who report confirmation by a Genius Bar employee; liquid contact detectors are no longer used in Apple's new tablet. They show proof from iFixit that the new jack connector doesn't have them, and apparently Apple's Genius Bar policy has also been changed to focus on signs of corrosion to identify water damage, rather than using these detectors:

iPad 1: Liquid Contact Indicators The iPad warranty excludes coverage for damage caused by liquid. To help determine if an iPad has been in contact with liquid, two liquid contact indicators (LCIs) are installed on the iPad at the following locations: • At the bottom of the headphone jack • In the 30-pin connector port (requires holding the product at a 45 degree angle to view) Use a lighted otoscope to look into the headphone jack and 30-pin connector slot for activated LCIs. They turn red on contact with liquid. *iPad 2 check sim card tray for corrosion

If true, this is a welcome, but surprising change. It's hard for us to believe Apple would actually give up on a way to assess if you didn't handle your device properly. Yet, this will give you some piece of mind next time you take your iPad 2 on vacation in a tropical climate, or simply turn it into a bathroom TV. Have you heard more about this? We'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments. [Image Credit: Tunewear waterproof iPad case]

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