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

[naturalstar]

1. If the 11” iPad Pro I purchased was bent out of the box, it would have went back immediately. Not day 13, not day 5, immediately.

2. I have previously owned the 3rd gen iPad and the Air 2. I was never once concerned about the build quality of either. They both were kept in a case with a screen protector. That was the extent of the protection on them. On the Air 2, when the screen protector cracked from a drop, I took it off and didn’t bother to replace it. Bending was the last thing from my mind.

3. If I have to worry about traveling with my iPad in a backpack, that’s a problem. I don’t toss my backpack around as it also houses my work laptop, but I will have it under the seat in front of me on a flight or set in the storage pouch in front of me. This is normal usage to me, especially when previous versions traveled like champs, so I don’t expect to have a bent iPad after this normal use.

4. Who the hell sits on their iPad? Are we really going to accuse people of doing this?

5. This response is pretty lackluster and smells of carefully crafted PR spin. It’s understood that Apple has a strict tolerance for manufacturing. It doesn’t address how iPads that are outside of their tolerance window are making it into boxes that are then distributed for retail to customers.

Whether or not it’s a serious widespread issue is up for debate, but it’s enough of an issue that it has gained a lot of attention with enough attention for Apple to bother to craft a response. It signals something that needs to be investigated further if nothing else.

It’s unfortunate that this more than likely won’t see a manufacturing resolution until next year’s release ala 6 Plus to 6s Plus.

I have 30 days since I bought mine at BB, it’s wifi only, and I am Elite level. My iPad is straight, but if anything changes - I’m scheduled to travel for work soon and will treat this iPad no differently than my previous devices - it goes back.

So far, I have no complaints, but I do empathize with those experiencing legitimate issues. I do hope those people are able to return bent devices without drama or delay.

 

[8CoreWhore]

Look guys, I rather have the thinnest tablet on the market. If that means I have to throw it in the garbage, so be it.

Occasionally someone will say, "Steve Jobs never wouldve allowed this." This is one of those times that is true. Mistakes could happen, but don't pretend it's acceptable. Imagine spending over a grand on this and then the logic board fails because of stressors that shouldn't have been there.

Let's be clear - this is not a problem with a few if they are all susceptible to bending by putting it in a backpack.

Would Jobs have allowed that keyboard keys to be exposed when case is closed?

 

[torana355]

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.



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.

I'm sorry but history tells me that im exactly right, it's been. Proven many times. Anyway you can defend Apple all you like because the masses have spoken and im sure Apple are already looking at ways to reinforce the next iPad better. Happy days

Ps. There may be one or two idiots that take it to far but the majority are just voicing thier concerns and rightly so.

 

[startergo]

I see macrumors is using that misleading and completely unrelated picture again.

The picture does NOT show a freshly-unboxed iPad.

The user who posted it on MacRumors (link) said it did NOT come bent from the factory:

​

The only bent thing here is MacRumours respect for the truth.

UPDATE - MacRumors has now swapped the picture for a different one. MacRumor's explanation is at post #266

So you really say putting the iPad in the backpack and bending it is your problem and not the OEM problem?

 

[PKoz]

Do people actually think it's possible to manufacture a product without microscopic bends?

Every product is designed with a tolerance metric. There is no such thing as a product designed with zero tolerance. This includes ultra fancy luxury products (smaller tolerances) to crappy products (large tolerance levels).

You do know that your Macbook Pro, Macs, iPhones, etc.. all have these same tolerance levels, right?

Your BMW's and Teslas also have bends in them.

What has been shown in images is not microscopic else we wouldn’t see the obvious bend with the naked eye.

 

[Abazigal]

I'm sorry but history tells me that im exactly right, it's been. Proven many times. Anyway you can defend Apple all you like because the masses have spoken and im sure Apple are already looking at ways to reinforce the next iPad better. Happy days

Ps. There may be one or two idiots that take it to far but the majority are just voicing thier concerns and rightly so.

And can you all be sure that it’s due to the furore here or if it’s all part of improvements made to the manufacturing process?

Plus, who are these “masses” exactly? The people raising a stink about this online are the vocal minority. I know it, you know it.

 

[lowkey]

So you really say putting the iPad in the backpack and bending it is your problem and not the OEM problem?

Potentially yes. If you put your iPad in a backpack and someone stands on the backpack, id say that any bending would be the fault of the owner not the manufacturer. I don't believe that an iPad should be able to resist being stood on.

Apples description is actually pretty clear. If it comes out of the box, with more than 0.4mm of bend across any edge, then you can take it back and get a replacement. Thats extremely straight across a 12.9" screen.

 

[startergo]

Yes. The user bent it “in his backpack over a week of travel.” That’s not how it came.

And this is all normal to you? All these responses can not be from customers but from Apple employees

 

[Baymowe335]

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.

Because a few bent iPads doesn’t constitute at “flawed product.”

That’s where you guys are struggling. Moving a product that has a few reported issues into the category of “flawed” without having any idea how widespread it is in reality.

 

[startergo]

Potentially yes. If you put your iPad in a backpack and someone stands on the backpack, id say that any bending would be the fault of the owner not the manufacturer. I don't believe that an iPad should be able to resist being stood on.

Apples description is actually pretty clear. If it comes out of the box, with more than 0.4mm of bend across any edge, then you can take it back and get a replacement. Thats extremely straight across a 12.9" screen.

Why is my Apple iPad mini not bending in the backpack? Ah I know cause it is lower quality, right?

 

[WilliamG]

And this is all normal to you? All these responses can not be from customers but from Apple employees

No, I'm not saying it's normal. I'm not even saying that these new iPads aren't prone to bending. I'm saying that misleading everyone with pictures of bent iPads from actual usage - (in this case being dumped in a backpack while traveling) - in an article about iPads shipping/being delivered bent is 100% misleading, and poor journalism. Take that from a journalist, for what it's worth.

If there were a separate article about iPads bending easily from actual usage, I'd be fine with that, as there does seem to be a suspiciously large number bending while being user-transported etc.

This isn't even arguable. Picture in this article shows iPad bent from use, abuse, bent too easily in a backpack - whatever. It was used, it was bent - for WHATEVER reason. Weak aluminum, poor design - whatever it is! The actual article itself is about iPads ARRIVING bent, out of the box, untouched etc. I fail to see how Macrumors hasn't updated this thread to remove that picture, and put a picture of an out-of-the-box iPad Pro that is bent.

But hey, those comparatively small bends wouldn't get the masses all worked up like the picture they chose to headline with.

 

[torana355]

Because a few bent iPads doesn’t constitute at “flawed product.”

That’s where you guys are struggling. Moving a product that has a few reported issues into the category of “flawed” without having any idea how widespread it is in reality.

You assume it's only affecting a few, do you have proof of this? No, you don't. Like i said history tells me where there is smoke there is fire, i guess only Apple will have an accurate idea of how widespread the issue is but the fact they have released multiple statements tells me this is affecting more then a 'few' units. Use some common sense!!

 

[Abazigal]

You assume it's only affecting a few, do you have proof of this? No, you don't. Like i said history tells me where there is smoke there is fire, i guess only Apple will have an accurate idea of how widespread the issue is but the fact they have released multiple statements tells me this is affecting more then a 'few' units. Use some common sense!!

No one is going to be able to release any numbers; only Apple will likely ever know how widespread the issue really is.

Apple is going to sell millions of iPads. How many do you feel is too many? 1000? 10000? Seems like a very big number, but it's still a fairly small percentage given the scale at which Apple operates at.

And Apple probably released a statement because there was so much misinformation going on, starting with TheVerge and how they grossly misrepresented what Apple actually said. I agree with you that Apple probably should have just remained quiet, but hey, what do I know. I don't work for them; I am just some random guy posting on the internet.

 

[lowkey]

Why is my Apple iPad mini not bending in the backpack? Ah I know cause it is lower quality, right?

Why is my 12.9” 2018 iPP not bending in my backpack? Because according to you it’s a defective product LOL.

 

[Baymowe335]

You assume it's only affecting a few, do you have proof of this? No, you don't. Like i said history tells me where there is smoke there is fire, i guess only Apple will have an accurate idea of how widespread the issue is but the fact they have released multiple statements tells me this is affecting more then a 'few' units. Use some common sense!!

All I’ve been saying is you can’t call it a design flaw if you have no data supporting how many are impacted.

 

[Macalway]

This actually makes me angry.

A lot of double-talk and BS. Shame

The company has seen better days. Oh well.

 

[startergo]

No, I'm not saying it's normal. I'm not even saying that these new iPads aren't prone to bending. I'm saying that misleading everyone with pictures of bent iPads from actual usage - (in this case being dumped in a backpack while traveling) - in an article about iPads shipping/being delivered bent is 100% misleading, and poor journalism. Take that from a journalist, for what it's worth.

If there were a separate article about iPads bending easily from actual usage, I'd be fine with that, as there does seem to be a suspiciously large number bending while being user-transported etc.

This isn't even arguable. Picture in this article shows iPad bent from use, abuse, bent too easily in a backpack - whatever. It was used, it was bent - for WHATEVER reason. Weak aluminum, poor design - whatever it is! The actual article itself is about iPads ARRIVING bent, out of the box, untouched etc. I fail to see how Macrumors hasn't updated this thread to remove that picture, and put a picture of an out-of-the-box iPad Pro that is bent.

But hey, those comparatively small bends wouldn't get the masses all worked up like the picture they chose to headline with.

If they say it is normal or within our engineering margins that does not matter so much .what matters is that they will bend further during normal usage. So where is the limit of "it will not affect the performance"? When will it? At what bending angle? Instead of admitting a design flaw they come repeatedly with this mumbo jumbo and every excuse sounds sillier than the former.

 

[citysnaps]

All I’ve been saying is you can’t call it a design flaw if you have no data supporting how many are impacted.

People here are not interested in data or evidence. Opinions rule.

Imagine if our criminal justice system were similarly driven.

 

[iLLUMI]

Tim Cook aka iPad Boy - Appletrix:
"Do not try and bend the iPad, even though that's proven possible. Instead, only try to deceive yourself...there is no bend. Then you'll see that it is not the iPad that bends, it is only yourself."

 

[thedemoncowboy]

Just a heads up -- we had some complaints about the photo that was previously used in this article, so I've swapped the original photo for a different photo of a 12.9-inch 2018 iPad Pro demonstrating a slight bend. The original photo featured a more significant bend and some users rightly pointed out that it was not perhaps the same issue that Apple is describing.

It's still unclear what's going on with the bending on the whole, as some of the bends we've seen have been more dramatic than others. For that reason, I'd encourage you guys not to focus too much on the photos in the article, but more so on the information that Apple is offering up.

If you have a bent iPad, please feel free to share photos and let us know if you've been able to get a replacement from Apple. Apple suggests this is just a cellular issue, but we've seen complaints from non-cellular owners too, which indicates there could be more than one bending problem happening.

I called Apple technicians today and at senior levels they told me they had no idea what the bending was and haven’t heard of issues, I told them you guys posted a response today. He stated no we didn’t I have him the link he then said that’s a third party relaying that information. I then told him it’s from
Apple he said sir if you have a bent iPad you can return it if there is an issue. I asked if this was primarily Cellular I’d this could be fixed etc. nothing.

 

[torana355]

All I’ve been saying is you can’t call it a design flaw if you have no data supporting how many are impacted.

Using that logic there could never be an issue with an Apple product as we don't have access to that information, however history tells me it's a big enough issue if Apple are releasing multiple statements on the subject. It's common sense really.
[doublepost=1546754382][/doublepost]

People here are not interested in data or evidence. Opinions rule.

Imagine if our criminal justice system were similarly driven.

You really think Apple is going to release that data to the public? No, so we have to use some common sense and join the dots. It doesn't take a genius to see there is some sort of issue here.

 

[partsofspeech]

Does the ‘bent’ iPad Pro wobble when put on a flat surface? If not, this is not a serious issue. And who would look at the tablet from the side when holding it for normal use?

 

[brentsg]

People here are not interested in data or evidence. Opinions rule.

Imagine if our criminal justice system were similarly driven.

The people thrive on opinion and the site thrives on clicks. Thus the misleading pictures..

 

[mmomega]

Ordering another 12.9" SG right now.
Zero $'s given about some Bendy-McBenderson-gate.

Hope you all can have a nice day.

 

[Baymowe335]

Using that logic there could never be an issue with an Apple product as we don't have access to that information, however history tells me it's a big enough issue if Apple are releasing multiple statements on the subject. It's common sense really.
[doublepost=1546754382][/doublepost]
You really think Apple is going to release that data to the public? No, so we have to use some common sense and join the dots. It doesn't take a genius to see there is some sort of issue here.

I’m not saying there aren’t issues, but there is a difference between normal failure rates when you are producing 300m devices annually and a straight up design flaw.

The problem is, many people here immediately jump to design flaw, hardware failure, and a failure of Apple QC. It’s not black and white, but that would be too reasonable.