Earlier this month it was reported that following the update to iOS 11.3, some iPhone users were discovering that their iPhone displays were failing to respond to touch input. It was later speculated that Apple might have been indirectly behind this where this was an attempt to discourage users from going to non-authorized third-party repair stores.
The good news is that if you were one of the affected ones, you might be pleased to learn that Apple has since released iOS 11.3.1 which should address the issue, according to the update’s changelog. The changelog also makes a note warning users against non-authorized third-party display repairs, claiming that they might have “compromised visual quality” and “may fail to work properly”.
This is actually not the first time Apple has done this as a couple of years ago the same thing happened, except that it resulted in phones being bricked completely. Apple was hit lawsuits following the incident and presumably the relatively quick release of the fix in this instance is trying to avoid more lawsuits in the near future.
However this also brings up the issue of the “right to repair”, where some are trying to make it so that companies would have to make official parts and accessories available to third-party repair stores. The idea is to give customers an alternative to repair their products if they don’t want to go through official (and more expensive) channels.