Tumbling Apple share prices led a decline across Wall Street Thursday after the company released and retracted a massively flawed software update Wednesday, adding to a week of bad press over the latest iPhone’s tendency to bend in users’ pockets.
Apple fell more than three percent Thursday after users complained the company’s latest iOS 8 software update was preventing them from making in calls. In some instances, the update was reported to have “bricked” users’ phones completely.
Those reports were accompanied by stories from users and journalists about the new iPhone 6’s tendency to bend just by virtue of being carried in users’ pockets.
Wall Street followed the Silicon Valley giant down by more than 222 points (1.29 percent) on the Dow Jones, 75 points on the Nasdaq (1.65 percent) and 27 points (1.39 percent) on the S&P 500 as of the time of this writing.
Apple’s fall from the $100 share mark to just over $98 marks a loss of $23 billion in stock value since the release of the iPhone 6 on Sept. 19, according to Americas Markets — a daily loss that “exceeds the entire market value of more than half the individual companies in the Standard & Poor’s 500 index.”
The company has stated it plans to release a repaired update to iOS 8 in the next few days, and that it will be replacing bent iPhone 6 phones under Apple warranties.
Earlier this week in celebration of the iPhone 6 launch — which reportedly set a record at 10 million units sold — Apple CEO Tim Cook announced he was giving Apple employees the week of Thanksgiving off in celebration of the company’s recent success.