Apple is agreeing to pay $53 million to settle a class action accusing the company of failing to honor warranties on iPhones and iPod Touches, according to an agreement obtained today by Wired.

The settlement, (.pdf) set to be filed in a San Francisco federal court in the coming weeks, provides cash payouts to potentially hundreds of thousands of iPhone and iPod Touch consumers who found Apple unwilling to repair or replace their faulty phones under Apple’s one-year standard, or a two-year extended, warranty. Apple chief litigation counsel Noreen Krall signed the agreement Wednesday. Apple admits no wrongdoing in the settlement, which needs a judge’s approval.

According to several lawsuits combined in San Francisco, no matter what the problem, Apple refused to honor warranties if a white indicator tape embedded in the phone near the headphone or charging portals had turned pink or red. However, the tape’s maker, 3M, said humidity, and not water contact, could have caused the color to at least turn pink.

Affected devices include the original iPhone, iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS, and the first-, second and third-generation iPod Touch. Payouts are around $200 and could be less or double based on the number of claims submitted.

Lead counsel for the plaintiffs, Jeffrey Fazio, declined to be quoted on the deal because the settlement is not public. Apple did not immediately respond to a telephone inquiry late Thursday.