Apple Addresses 'Bendgate' By Strengthening Weak Points of 'iPhone 6s' Shell

[ipedro]

I usually wear fitted pants and the iPhone 6 Plus slides in tightly into my side pocket. At first, I was conscious of Bendgate and was careful to take it out if I needed to tie my shoe laces for example. It was never an issue, my phone never bent and I've even often kept it in my back pocket and sat on it in the car and have never found it to bend in the slightest.

Of course, purposefully applying a lot of pressure with the intention of bending the phone will result in bending it just as kicking in the door of my car with the intention of denting it will dent it. This whole thing was always aimed at an easily impressionable audience and naysayers.

 

[Rogifan]

A company makes improvements to their products. Wow, what a revelation!

 

[tkukoc]

There is no bendgate, this was and still is some nonsense cooked up by people who don't protect their devices. No one goes around bending phones like they show. And if you stick your phone in your back pocket and sit on it.. causing it to bend that's your fault! Of course the next device will hit and someone will make some more garbage up and chuck "GATE" at the end of it. Clearly people don't know what "GATE" really means when they just associate it with another word. RAMBLEGATE! annoying.

 

[chriscrowlee]

No they have fixed the issue. If their was never any issue as apparently stated as fact by users on here, and only 9 people complained, then Apple would NEVER spend the money 'enhancing' the design.
And your'e attempt at making this out to be something else, like it must mean every other iPhone was broken, is pretty immature and lame.

That's weird. I have a 2013 car where they used standard bumper molding around the exhaust pipe, which tends to show exhaust shadow more than if they used a plastic dark material. So in the 2014 model, they changed it to the plastic material. I hardly think that means my car was broken, nor suffered from some horrible design flaw.

When companies refresh product lines, they improve in aspects that they have discovered imperfect. Everyone in my life has iPhone, and I don't know ANYONE who managed to bend their 6 or 6 Plus. Surely it's not an issue that affected the masses or they would have fixed the issue immediately, not waited until the next model\version.

I think you're blowing it out proportion. I beg to differ that Apple wouldn't improve on design, even if it's a minor adjustment.... but you seem really incessant on steamrolling anyone who disagrees, so we'll just have to agree to disagree.

 

[Sloppy.Joe]

You're bending it wrong...

 

[John.B]

Should have also linked the bend test for the Galaxy Edge:

 

[chriscrowlee]

There is no bendgate, this was and still is some nonsense cooked up by people who don't protect their devices.

Whatever do you mean? I drove my car off a cliff and it bent, surely there's an issue with the car.

I used my TV remote as chocks to keep my dirt bike from rolling, and it cracked. Surely there's a crackgate going on with my remote control manufacturer.

Why do people never take personal accountability for their actions? I've never heard of anyone's iPhone bending by using it as it was designed to be used. You don't have to use a case. I've had iPhone 6 and 6 Plus for almost a year now and it's never bent. Never known anyone who has had one which has. I guess anything will bend\break if you treat it like an indestructible object.

 

[krikaoli]

I had the clicking iPhone 6 screen problem, because the screen probably was discreetly loose and I do not recommend the iPhone 6 to no one. Apple replaced it my defective one, but I can't bare to use an iPhone that is so fragile, even to put in and out a hard leather case... the problem is not only with pockets. Before anyone comes here defending Apple, I must declare I take care of my iPhone as a baby, never falls, avoid using on pockets and I use with a hard leather Apple case. In fact, I believe putting in and out of the leather case that provoked the issue. It is a very hard case and I figure it could be the only possible explanation, or the heat and cold did dilate some component in the day use.

 

[MattG]

Silly Apple, why make it better when you could just deny there's an issue??

http://www.nbcnews.com/tech/gadgets...-6-edge-bends-more-easily-competition-n336821

 

[Rogifan]

hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha............

Oh how the many many many people on here strongly stated as a FACT that there was NO issue with bendgate, and yet Apple is 'fixing it' hahahaha...

Apple is going to pay for having ludicrously thin devices for no reason, considering Ive only believes in thin devices and not battery life as he has stated.

Companies improve products all the time. The fingerprint scanner on the Galaxy S6 is supposedly much better than the one on the S5. Improvements were made to the design of the Surface Pro 3. That's how the real world works. You do things, you learn from them and improve the next time. Apple learned things designing the Watch that are now rumored to come to iPhone.

Btw, there are phones thinner than iPhone, tablets thinner than iPad and notebooks thinner than MacBook. Obviously companies aren't making thin devices for no reason, they're doing it because they sell.

 

[chriscrowlee]

I had the clicking iPhone 6 screen problem, because the screen probably was discreetly loose and I do not recommend the iPhone 6 to no one. Apple replace it my defective one, but I can't bare to use an iPhone that is fragile even to put in and out a hard leather case... the problem is not only with pockets.

Yeah I hate when I go to put my iPhone into a case and the phone just breaks into a million pieces. LOL, seriously?

 

[ArtOfWarfare]

5-6 years? I can't do it. New iPhone every year for me thanks.

I went 3GS -> 4S -> 6. I'm planning on waiting until the 8 or so to upgrade.

I've been stretching it even further with computers.

1999 iMac -> 2002 eMac -> 2007 iMac -> 15" Retina MacBook Pro with Skylake (2015 hopefully?)

I'm thinking that'll be my final computer, too. I'm hoping it'll last me until sometime next decade, by which point I'm thinking we'll no longer have local computers, but will instead have dummy I/O devices with blazing fast cellular internet that will connect to remote computers which actually do all the lifting for us.

 

[Technarchy]

Why would Apple fix a problem that didn't exist?

 

[gugy]

That makes a lot of sense. When the iPhone 6S is released, there will definitely be people who will try to bend it and people who watch them do it. They probably don't want to risk the conclusion that the new phone still bends.

I never understood people destroying things to prove a point. Seriously this is stupidity to another level.

 

[apolloa]

Companies improve products all the time. The fingerprint scanner on the Galaxy S6 is supposedly much better than the one on the S5. Improvements were made to the design of the Surface Pro 3. That's how the real world works. You do things, you learn from them and improve the next time. Apple learned things designing the Watch that are now rumored to come to iPhone.

Btw, there are phones thinner than iPhone, tablets thinner than iPad and notebooks thinner than MacBook. Obviously companies aren't making thin devices for no reason, they're doing it because they sell.

What phones are thinner than the iPhone and what tablets are thinner than the Air 2? And this is an issue as the usual 'fans' on here flat out refused their was any issue what so ever, and still are reading on here, yet here is Apple enhancing the weak points in the iPhone 6 Plus chassis, the weak points everyone refused existed.
Surely you can appreciate the hypocrisy of it all?

 

[Aluminum213]

Apple admits to the problem

 

[apolloa]

Why would Apple fix a problem that didn't exist?

Exactly, a simple statement that is tuned into a 'Oh Apple are merely enhancing the design nothing to see here' statement on here.

 

[WordsmithMR]

Such a "rare" occurrence, where they only had 9 reported bends at the time that they commented about it, yet they felt it was necessary to improve the stability of the build. I don't know any company that would improve on a physical feature that had "minor" and "rare" defects. Clearly they lied about this "rare" occurrence.

I personally know about 10 people who's 6+ phones bent. My screen shattered inside my jacket pocket when I was walking. As visually pretty, and great internals are, the quality of the 6's build was just horrible. I rarely see a non cracked or bent 6/6+. I find it extremely unlikely that it is everyones fault and not the quality of the phone.

 

[JustThinkin']

yet they do not seem to care and dont fix it on current devices. LAWSUIT

(didnt happen to me but a friends mute switch stopped working and apple was like NOPE your device has been bend when he didnt even know about it)

edit: updated with screenshot

That's bad. I hope Apple doesn't treat it that way at most locations.

delusional.

Sarcasm?

The current devices never really bent unless you tried to. And if you try to bend a current 6 Plus, of course it will, anything does.

the problem is so bad and widespread, that you read about it every day

There wasn't any bendgate, but that doesn't mean there can't be minor changes in the hardware.

How many of you keep it in your front jeans pocket and have no bend whatsoever? I have a 6 and a 6 Plus. I keep one in each front pocket. Neither one will lie flat on a table (both have the Apple leather case). I'm average size and wear normal jeans.

Naturally, the 6 Plus is bent more than the 6. I can feel some pressure on it when I merely sit down to drive.

Perhaps we now know the reason for the protruding lens! It keeps one from noticing the slight bend if the phone has no case on it!

This bend doesn't ruin my phones. I normally never think about it. The phones still work properly, and I'm happy with them. But the bend is very real. It's a design defect - this is why Apple is fixing it. I think they barely managed to slide by without it becoming a major issue.


Who else has noticed this?

 

[Technarchy]

Apple admits to the problem

It's a de facto admission for sure.

Tim Cook and Jony Ive really need to stop thinking margins and think great products and customer experience first. The iPhone will sell. You will make hundreds of millions or more, but don't do it at the customers expense.

 

[Kissaragi]

I dont think it was ever really an issue under normal use but stronger is always better if they can do it.

 

[Rogifan]

What phones are thinner than the iPhone and what tablets are thinner than the Air 2? And this is an issue as the usual 'fans' on here flat out refused their was any issue what so ever, and still are reading on here, yet here is Apple enhancing the weak points in the iPhone 6 Plus chassis, the weak points everyone refused existed.
Surely you can appreciate the hypocrisy of it all?

Oppo R5 is 4.85mm thick. iPhone 6 is 6.9mm thick.

http://www.businessinsider.com/oppo-r5-specs-and-photos-thinnest-smartphone-2014-11

The Galaxy Tab S2 is thinner and lighter then the iPad Air 2.

http://www.iphonehacks.com/2015/07/samsung-unveil-thinnest-tablets-yet-take-ipad-air-2.html

Asus Zenbook is thinner than rMB at its thickest point.

http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2015...ts-no-macbook-but-its-a-good-midrange-laptop/

 

[dannyyankou]

hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha............

Oh how the many many many people on here strongly stated as a FACT that there was NO issue with bendgate, and yet Apple is 'fixing it' hahahaha...

Apple is going to pay for having ludicrously thin devices for no reason, considering Ive only believes in thin devices and not battery life as he has stated.

Because one guy who used all his strength to try to bend it caused bad publicity for Apple, despite so few cases being reported. This was an issue for the minuscule amount of people who had bent iPhones as a result of sitting on it in their back pocket, but I haven't seen a thread complaining about a bent iPhone in months. Anything to strengthen it is welcome though.

 

[Rogifan]

It's a de facto admission for sure.

Tim Cook and Jony Ive really need to stop thinking margins and think great products and customer experience first. The iPhone will sell. You will make hundreds of millions or more, but don't do it at the customers expense.

I think you need to replace Ive with Schiller. I highly doubt Ive has anything to do with pricing products or what gross margins should be. Also when Apple did respond to this last year they trotted out Schiller and Dan Ricco (head of hardware engineering) not Ive. Do you really think hardware engineering has no say in product design and they just blindly do whatever Ive tells them?

 

[Bbqthis]

Because one guy who used all his strength to try to bend it caused bad publicity for Apple, despite so few cases being reported. This was an issue for the minuscule amount of people who had bent iPhones as a result of sitting on it in their back pocket, but I haven't seen a thread complaining about a bent iPhone in months. Anything to strengthen it is welcome though.

This. It was not nearly as widespread as the media (and macrumors cough) made it out to be. There was a group of people however, who had this happen to them, so Apple is making sure it doesn't happen again. If anything, this shows that Apple will look out for even a small percentage of their customers to improve the experience.