Apple Addresses 2018 iPad Pro 'Bending' Controversy, Says Subtle Deviations May Be More Visible Due to New Design

[trifid]

I'll just leave this here, in 2014 with bendgate on iPhone 6, this was Apple's official response:

"Our iPhones are designed, engineered and manufactured to be both beautiful and sturdy. iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus feature a precision engineered unibody enclosure constructed from machining a custom grade of 6000 series anodized aluminum, which is tempered for extra strength. They also feature stainless steel and titanium inserts to reinforce high stress locations and use the strongest glass in the smartphone industry. We chose these high-quality materials and construction very carefully for their strength and durability. We also perform rigorous tests throughout the entire development cycle including 3-point bending, pressure point cycling, sit, torsion, and user studies. iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus meet or exceed all of our high quality standards to endure everyday, real life use."

https://www.forbes.com/sites/ewansp...oes-not-say-sorry-over-bendgate/#2bebf475329d

Keywords: extra strength, rigorous tests, exceed quality standards

Sounds familiar?

Having said all of that, a year later Apple reinforced iPhone 6s.

I find it ironic that the Apple apologists are in such denial when we are seeing actually worse results on youtube from 2018 ipads bending like tinfoil. Guys we already went through this.

 

[Wags]

You're absolutely right. Apple could've included a picture on their support article and settled this. That's pretty dumb of Apple. Internet PR 101. Had a chance. Missed it.

Pretty shoddy given Apple's size and resources.

Maybe they should for fair disclosure. Not to mention they only display WiFi models in the retail store that won’t have any bend. So why wouldn’t a buyer expect the LTE to look the same.
[doublepost=1546742226][/doublepost]

I'll just leave this here, in 2014 with bendgate on iPhone 6, this was Apple's official response:

"Our iPhones are designed, engineered and manufactured to be both beautiful and sturdy. iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus feature a precision engineered unibody enclosure constructed from machining a custom grade of 6000 series anodized aluminum, which is tempered for extra strength. They also feature stainless steel and titanium inserts to reinforce high stress locations and use the strongest glass in the smartphone industry. We chose these high-quality materials and construction very carefully for their strength and durability. We also perform rigorous tests throughout the entire development cycle including 3-point bending, pressure point cycling, sit, torsion, and user studies. iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus meet or exceed all of our high quality standards to endure everyday, real life use."

https://www.forbes.com/sites/ewansp...oes-not-say-sorry-over-bendgate/#2bebf475329d

Keywords: extra strength, rigorous tests, exceed quality standards

Sounds familiar?

Having said all of that, a year later Apple reinforced iPhone 6s.

Keywords: thin, cheap quality, more profits.

 

[kazmac]

FFS .

Class actions coming soon, and rightly so, IMO.

 

[Rocko99991]

It's bent. I don't care how it's made or what your opinion of it is-it's bent.

 

[9081094]

If I were running Apple, I would have scrapped the Mac Pro (and the Mac mini) a long time ago (so that more resources can be freed up to focus on mobile and wearables), but that’s probably just me.

Better to use their profitsfor R&D instead of shareholders and make sure the little variety of apple’s offerings are worth the premium. The neglect has taken its toll so will the numbers.

 

[torana355]

Again, they’ve likely sold over 10M, so we’d be hearing about it a lot if it was anywhere close to a big issue. We are the only people talking about it consistently.

Plus, Apple will replace those out of spec. Seems like the usual issues of selling 300 million devices annually.

Apple sold a similar amount of the previous generation of iPads and there was no statement released with those. Why is it so hard for some people to accept that sometimes companies release flawed products, it happens, and people speaking out about it ensures the issue is rectified in the future. You don't need to defend every single thing Apple does, it's a tech company not a damn religion. History shows that when there is smoke there is fire. Just Accept it already.

 

[nordique]

I’m happy for you it gets swapped for free. But this should also be possible when not having Apple Care. As you’ve described it, it’s faulty by design. My guess is that Apple silently restructure the design of the iPad Pro like they did with the magic keyboard II.

I agree. That is my issue too. Had I not had apple care, maybe they would not have been so kind

There's definitely a design flaw if it's prone to bending. This was the case with the iPhone 6/6+

They fixed that design flaw and voila...no one has complained about iPhone bending In such large volumes since.

 

[9081094]

Apple has never competed on price or features.

For example, all phones have fingerprint scanners, but Touch ID set the gold standard.

All phones have touchscreens, but none as responsive and fluid as what iOS devices enjoy.

Apple processors deliver better performance on fewer, faster cores.

If you are looking for the cheapest products or the highest paper specs, then apple products aren’t for you, and will never be.

Instead, as products like the airpods and Apple Watch have shown, Apple competes by using their control over hardware, software and services to create a unique experience which the competition can’t replicate.

That’s what Apple sells. An experience, but technology.

Apple’s experiences or whatever you call it are overpriced and starting to suck. Their whole platform is stagnant for years.

 

[torana355]

I'll just leave this here, in 2014 with bendgate on iPhone 6, this was Apple's official response:

"Our iPhones are designed, engineered and manufactured to be both beautiful and sturdy. iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus feature a precision engineered unibody enclosure constructed from machining a custom grade of 6000 series anodized aluminum, which is tempered for extra strength. They also feature stainless steel and titanium inserts to reinforce high stress locations and use the strongest glass in the smartphone industry. We chose these high-quality materials and construction very carefully for their strength and durability. We also perform rigorous tests throughout the entire development cycle including 3-point bending, pressure point cycling, sit, torsion, and user studies. iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus meet or exceed all of our high quality standards to endure everyday, real life use."

https://www.forbes.com/sites/ewansp...oes-not-say-sorry-over-bendgate/#2bebf475329d

Keywords: extra strength, rigorous tests, exceed quality standards

Sounds familiar?

Having said all of that, a year later Apple reinforced iPhone 6s.

I find it ironic that the Apple apologists are in such denial when we are seeing actually worse results on youtube from 2018 ipads bending like tinfoil. Guys we already went through this.

Very good post!! I really don't understand why people can't just accept mistakes happen and sometimes companies release flawed products and it's up to us, the consumers to make noise and keep the huge companies honest.

 

[9081094]

I'll just leave this here, in 2014 with bendgate on iPhone 6, this was Apple's official response:

"Our iPhones are designed, engineered and manufactured to be both beautiful and sturdy. iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus feature a precision engineered unibody enclosure constructed from machining a custom grade of 6000 series anodized aluminum, which is tempered for extra strength. They also feature stainless steel and titanium inserts to reinforce high stress locations and use the strongest glass in the smartphone industry. We chose these high-quality materials and construction very carefully for their strength and durability. We also perform rigorous tests throughout the entire development cycle including 3-point bending, pressure point cycling, sit, torsion, and user studies. iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus meet or exceed all of our high quality standards to endure everyday, real life use."

https://www.forbes.com/sites/ewansp...oes-not-say-sorry-over-bendgate/#2bebf475329d

Keywords: extra strength, rigorous tests, exceed quality standards

Sounds familiar?

Having said all of that, a year later Apple reinforced iPhone 6s.

I find it ironic that the Apple apologists are in such denial when we are seeing actually worse results on youtube from 2018 ipads bending like tinfoil. Guys we already went through this.

I have heard only noise from Apple since 2012. They’re past delivering good hard- and software. Apple has become a financial institution instead of a technology company.

 

[JMPATLANTA]

You’re telling me this is how it came out of the box? As in, this picture was taken right after unpacking it?

Agree, no way this came out of the box bent like this. I have both new iPad Pro 11 and 12.9 and the 12.9 out of the box had a very very slight bend and was probably a little past the 0.4mm tolerance but was under 1.0mm and is of no consequence in it's functionality. Granted, the company bought it and if I had spent my $1800 on it, I'd be pretty sore in the rear-end about it. Not just the bend but arrogance at which Apple is now designing products and expecting us, the consumer to buy their PR BS. I am not saying this is a bad product, actually the contrary. This is the best tablet ever, by far. You use one and it blows last year's iPad Pro out of the water but things are starting to slip. They will fix the design and strengthen the case on next year's model but if they'd just own it and admit the issue I'd feel a lot better as the consumer. But, we should all remember the iPhone 4 Antenna-gate. SJ did the same thing but he did give out bumpers. In fact, I wish they would make bumpers for the new iPhone Xs and Xs Max to show off their pretty glass backs. Oh well, I am now stepping down off my soap box.

 

[panjandrum]

This is the kind of thing one might expect from a 60's British sports car (which had famously poor fit) not from a company which makes famously well-manufactured devices.

I'm definitely calling "utter BS" on this one, it's not a "new perception" it's a "new flaw".

I daily work with just under 100 4th gen iPads in an educational environment. iPads which are used by gaggles of young students, passed from hand to hand, and generally abused (actually, it's a great group of kids that treat them very well, but they are still K-8 students). Every summer we take them out of the cases for cleaning, and they get sent through the refresh/setup process via Apple Configurator etc. So I personally handle these things on a semi-routine basis, out of the cases, flat on tables. Not one of them, ever, has felt, or appeared, or in any-way seemed "not flat" to me. These don't have a camera bump, and they sit totally flat on the tables. No wobble, no bends, nothing wrong, nada. If they could do it when they made the 4th gens, they sure as hell better be able to do it now.

 

[ike1707]

This is the second message from Apple where instead of apologizing it's actually saying that the bend is because they are too good at manufacturing products. The tone of their next message, the third, will be that actually, the bend is customers fault who wants thinner and thinner products and that they are never satisfied. In the future, I see that the increasing price tag of any products will be a customers fault as well who persists in sticking on their devices for more than one year instead of updating. Why don't we just shut the **** up and simply buy a big tube of lube?

They’ll frame it as “constant negativity“

 

[Delgibbons]

Apple yesterday posted a support document addressing the 2018 iPad Pro bending snafu that's been circulating around the internet over the course of the last couple of weeks.

Image via the MacRumors Forums​

In the document, Apple describes the new design of the unibody enclosure of the device and how cellular models use a new co-molding process to create the antenna bands in the chassis.Apple says this process helps ensure the new iPad Pro models can meet a flatness specification of no more than a 400 micron deviation along any side, which less than the thickness of four sheets of paper. This is a tighter specification than on any previous model, but Apple says the new design could make any minor deviations more visible than before.New iPad Pro owners first began noticing slight bends in their tablets shortly after the launch of the new device, prompting them to share their concerns on the MacRumors forums. iPad Pro users were worried about the structural integrity of the device, which is the thinnest iPad ever.

Users are encouraged to contact Apple if they believe their devices do not meet Apple's stated specifications, and the company reminds users of a 14-day return period and one-year warranty available on Apple products.

Apple devices have previously had issues with bending, and there was major consumer outcry over a "bendgate" controversy with the iPhone 6 Plus, which saw the iPhone bending due to regular use. iPad Pro owners are, understandably, concerned about another bendgate situation.

Apple last month told The Verge that the slight bending that some iPad Pro models are exhibiting is a side effect of the manufacturing process, caused by cooling of the metal and plastic components, but the new support document offers additional detail on the situation. While no official Apple statement was included in The Verge's article, it clearly said that Apple did not consider the bend to be a manufacturing defect, leading to customer confusion.

(Thanks, Bob!)

Article Link: Apple Addresses 2018 iPad Pro 'Bending' Controversy, Says Subtle Deviations May Be More Visible Due to New Design

Or...

"Sorry about this, at that price we should've done our homework on structural design and we apologise."

There you go, Timmy.

 

[Rob_2811]

I'll just leave this here, in 2014 with bendgate on iPhone 6, this was Apple's official response:

"Our iPhones are designed, engineered and manufactured to be both beautiful and sturdy. iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus feature a precision engineered unibody enclosure constructed from machining a custom grade of 6000 series anodized aluminum, which is tempered for extra strength. They also feature stainless steel and titanium inserts to reinforce high stress locations and use the strongest glass in the smartphone industry. We chose these high-quality materials and construction very carefully for their strength and durability. We also perform rigorous tests throughout the entire development cycle including 3-point bending, pressure point cycling, sit, torsion, and user studies. iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus meet or exceed all of our high quality standards to endure everyday, real life use."

https://www.forbes.com/sites/ewansp...oes-not-say-sorry-over-bendgate/#2bebf475329d

Keywords: extra strength, rigorous tests, exceed quality standards

Sounds familiar?

Having said all of that, a year later Apple reinforced iPhone 6s.

I find it ironic that the Apple apologists are in such denial when we are seeing actually worse results on youtube from 2018 ipads bending like tinfoil. Guys we already went through this.

The "extra strength" part is particularly misleading.

"Extra strength" but you know, seven times more likely to bend than the previous model ...

The information is contained in internal Apple documents filed under seal in a class-action lawsuit that alleges Apple misled customers about touch disease. The documents remain under seal, but US District Court judge Lucy Koh made some of the information from them public in a recent opinion in the case.

The company found that the iPhone 6 is 3.3 times more likely to bend than the iPhone 5s, and the iPhone 6 Plus is 7.2 times more likely to bend than the iPhone 5s, according to the documents. Koh wrote that “one of the major concerns Apple identified prior to launching the iPhones was that they were ‘likely to bend more easily when compared to previous generations

https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/a3a3gg/iphone-6-touch-disease-documents

 

[Val-kyrie]

It depends. You may not need to, but I need to see more information and data.


"Or will you just attack every user like others did with the iPhone 6 Plus fiasco?"

Shrug... I used a 6+ for around three years. Absolutely zero issues. And still have it as a backup after getting the $29 battery replacement. It's a solid phone - even dropped it a few times.

I had a 6+. It had a battery failure—swelled and shut down. Apple collected it and replaced it with a refurbished one. Every 6+ which I received after that had issues, including bending from heat. I had 3 additional replacements. I sold the last refurb I was given before it could develop issues. My phones are always in pristine condition—in a case with screen protector—and I don’t sit on them. That was the only model with which I have ever had a problem.

At this point, I personally don’t need more evidence or information about the iPad. This seems to be a Gen 1 issue—like many others in Apple’s past—and I expect next year’s model will correct it. Smart buyers will avoid this particular model.

 

[Gogeta-Blue]

sorry apple but I have 0 tolerance for bent products
next time come up with a better lie or excuse
now i'm hearing people saying that those ipads doesn't come bent like that from factory
implying that the buyer bent the ipad

well if apple stop the "let's make it thinner" madness, obsession, maybe they won't bend that easily
stop trying to blame the costumer and take responsibility as a company
I'm paying for an expensive premium product, I don't want a boomerang

my 2017 ipad will do fine for now until it runs out of updates

 

[bluespark]

Apple's mealymouthed explanations haven't helped them here, but all manufacturing is based on tolerances and this sounds like a tight tolerance. What they should be emphasizing is that their return policy applies if a customer is ever bothered by this issue.

Also, as far as this story is concerned, displaying a generic picture of a "bent" iPad is highly misleading unless that iPad is one within the tolerance specified by Apple as normal.

 

[Wags]

Very good post!! I really don't understand why people can't just accept mistakes happen and sometimes companies release flawed products and it's up to us, the consumers to make noise and keep the huge companies honest.

I think more irritating with Apple’s response. The fact that they expect us to accept it.

 

[flimpy]

Is this a joke? April Fool's already?

Apple's Fool's day...
or maybe month? year(s)?

 

[Peperino]

New Apple features!

I wonder why Apple just lowered revenue guidance...

And Tim Cook the only thing he is willing to do about it is to increase the iPhone trade in program... What a joke.
Tim Cook should go.

 

[merkinmuffley]

The bent ones are a lead in to the folding IPad. They’re just slowly preparing us for the next generation of tablets.

 

[transpo1]

The bent ones are a lead in to the folding IPad. They’re just slowly preparing us for the next generation of tablets.

I was literally just about to write the same thing. I've always wanted a foldable display

By the way, huge Kubrick fan and love the Dr. Strangelove reference in your profile.

 

[ob81]

Part of the problem is that people lie about their product experience until it goes mainstream.

 

[Abazigal]

Very good post!! I really don't understand why people can't just accept mistakes happen and sometimes companies release flawed products and it's up to us, the consumers to make noise and keep the huge companies honest.

Except that you are not.

You all make so much noise online, making the forums that much more toxic and acerbic for everyone else, while continuing to buy the very Apple products you are vilifying.

So what message is Apple supposed to get exactly?

Meanwhile, this just reinforces the already-very bad precedent that one basically has to act like a bully and a jerk online in order to get noticed. And more often than not, companies respond just to shut the critics up, not necessarily because they are right. Which further encourages this sort of behaviour.

I can’t believe I am saying this, but I sure miss Steve’s arrogance sometimes. Maybe John Gruber was right in that regard.

Part of the problem is that people lie about their product experience until it goes mainstream.

What exactly is there for people like myself to lie about? I am not paid a single cent by Apple, and I have absolutely zero incentive to lie about my Apple product experience or make it sound any more rosy than it really is.