Did he get Apple Care+?
I'm unsure. Also, this is not in the US. He's in Germany.
AppleCare+ covers accidental damage. Without it, accidental coverage is NOT covered. It doesn’t look like the kind of damage that could give the Apple Genius any "wiggle room"... but I guess it won’t hurt to try. If they say "no", your friend is still in the same place he is now. If they say "yes", then he’s golden.
I popped down to an Apple store today and they said it's possible to replace it for a fixed fee, as long as it's "in one piece". So I think we'll try that route!
I popped down to an Apple store today and they said it's possible to replace it for a fixed fee, as long as it's "in one piece". So I think we'll try that route!
^^^ I was just about to say! Was i the only one that immediately went WTF happened to that thing!?
I don't know if you solved your issue yet, but sometimes Apple will just replace the phone at no charge. I dropped my iPhone 5 a couple months after getting it, and a call to Apple was all it took to get a brand new replacement (you could probably go to an Apple Store too). I was out of the 90 day warranty, which doesn't cover accidental drops anyway, and I didn't have AppleCare. Just be persistent (but don't beg). Doesn't hurt trying, you could get lucky like me.
"Free of charge" replacments are on a case by case basis according to the Apple Store manager I spoke to about my mothers cracked iPhone 4. Some stores flat out do not do it, other seem to be much more liberal in their decisions when it comes to this.