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

[Bilbo63]

I have an iPhone 6. My wife has a 6 Plus. I know many people who have iPhone 6s or 6 Pluses. No one, I repeat, no one has seen a bending issue of any kind.

In other news, if I drag a screwdriver down the side of my car, it scratches the paint. I guess that I'd better whine about that to the manufacturer and scream from the mountain tops.

I wonder what the next fabricated "gate" catastrophe will be, because you know these same people will invent something...They always do.

 

[maxsix]

There wasn't any bendgate

Disclaimer: Respectfully... I'm not criticizing you, just using this quote as an example.

The comment above is just another one of many examples illustrating the level of denial that is propagated amongst the Apple Believers.

If Apple didn't feel that their case wouldn't benefit from being made stronger they would not change it. Apple is nothing if not cheap when it comes to spending money. Just like every other company that uses parts built by the lowest bidder, Apple is no different. It's cost control well done.

The big difference is Apple's army of defenders that are emotionally attached to the company and it's products. Insult or criticize Apple and you'd think you were attacking their mothers. A fascinating cult like behavior. Not too much unlike The Dead Heads.

 

[TomMcIn]

Figure most of the complaints either came from over-weight, rotund people in tight jeans carrying their phones in the back pockets and cramming themselves into small airplane seats
or
idiots that put the phones into hydraulic presses to start the bend then finish it with their hands for the YouTube crowd.

 

[Lars T.]

That's why I complained it was too big. If I wanted a giant phone, I could get one from Samsung. I didn't *need* one from Apple.

You must have missed the fact that I was talking about the original iPhone (no bloody numbers or Ses).

 

[StyxMaker]

When did you buy it? Perhaps it's true that Apple made some mid-product-cycle improvements.

A back pocket sounds much more hazardous than an front pocket - that's why I'm skeptical. In fact, I'd expect it to bend in someone's back pocket sitting down - even if I hadn't experienced a (front pocket) problem myself.

Phones in front pocket would be vulnerable to seat belt pressure while driving, or pressure against the bottom of the steering wheel when entering or exiting the car.

 

[b0nd18t]

Didn't want to believe bending was really an issue. One day I closely inspect my 6 and notice it is bent by the power button. Pretty disappointed.

 

[Lars T.]

If you can point me to forums full of people claiming their is NO fault with the phone bending as FACT and the manufactures claiming only 9 people have reported a fault, then fine. I will cheer.

Well Samsung for denied that there was a problem. They didn't say that there where only 9 complaints, they said nothing about complaints. They tried to silence anybody who showed that their phones also bent. They even build a "butt robot" to prove their phones don't bend.

So cheer for them already - we know you want to.

 

[OTACORB]

It is amazing the emotions that people post in threads like this. Clearly there are plenty of people that have had the bending issue, now rather that is a personal responsibility thing or just poor design we won't ever really know. People will line up on both sides of that issue and refuse to accept the other sides position. I don't have a iPhone 6, but I plan to get an iPhone 6s Plus, so I am glad that for whatever reason Apple is strengthening the iPhone. This is a good thing and I personally don't give a rats rear end why they are doing it.

Right now I'd take an bent iPhone 6 over this damn Galaxy Note 4. I cannot wait to get rid of this darn thing!

 

[iSee]

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?

Its only scientific testing that tells us bendgate isn't a real thing. And that over a hundred million people have iPhone 6/6+ and there doesn't seem to be a significant issue.

Btw, the question isn't whether or not an iPhone 6/6+ will bend -- metel bends -- but whether it will bend more easily than other phones or under normal daily usage. And the question isn't whether or not it has weak points -- everything has a weak point -- but whether or not the weak points are too weak.

There's just nothing out there showing bendgate is anything other than some anti-Apple fanatics clinging to a click-baity hashtag.

I've had my 6+ since around lanuch. At first I babied it, but soon I stuffed it in my pocket without a second thought alon with everyhing else. It's a little beat up now, but... still no bend.

I guess it's the hypocrisy keeping it straight?

 

[TechZeke]

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.

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.

To quote the article above:

Nevertheless, it appears that Apple engineers have tweaked the design of the so-called "iPhone 6s" by strengthening the weak points of the smartphone's rear shell.

I've had my 6 Plus since December and mine is still perfectly. I use a case, but it's a very flexible plastic. I've put it in my front pocket, sat on it, etc. and I still have not experienced bendgate. People deliberately trying to bend the phone isn't scientific proof of bend gate. Nor is a random guy on the internet posting a random picture of a bent phone. I've even deliberately tried to find any hint of a bent. Still can't.

Strengthening the phone is probably more of a PR move than anything else for when the youtube videos come out.

 

[kdarling]

Apple later commented that an iPhone 6 Plus bending under normal use is "extremely rare," adding that it had received only nine complaints from customers about the issue at the time.

To be specific, Apple said that only nine people had "contacted Apple" about bent iPhone 6 Pluses at the moment of their acknowledgement of the problem, six days after launch.

At the time, most people had gotten their phone from a carrier, which is who they would've contacted, not Apple. Plus forums were full of people urging everyone to wait for Apple to say something before complaining to Apple, the return period was only halfway up, and people tend to not report problems quickly, especially if they think they caused it.

Apple smartly rushed to publicize this cherry-picked number while it was still low enough to be influential on opinions (and while carefully ignoring any other complaint venues).

They never publicly updated the value, though. If it was nine in a few days just to them, then how many over a year via all complaint / return venues? Hundreds? Thousands? Still a small percentage, but they were happy to leave "only nine" stuck in the public consciousness. And it worked; just look at how many people blindly repeat it.

--

As to whether it was a design flaw, an engineering analysis noted that the brace for the volume switch, instead mistakenly acted as a fulcrum to make it easier to bend at that particular location.

This is the difference between the bending tests that sites rushed to perform, and the actual problem at hand. It was not about pressure in the middle or a three point test, it was about the bending moment at that critical location.

It's like the difference between death-gripping phones to make the signal go down, and touching a single spot on the iPhone. One is expected, the other is a design flaw.
--

Such flaws tend to get past testing, when secrecy is more important than sharing experiences using a non-cased, normally used device. As long as Apple values secrecy more, these preventable errors will continue to get through.

 

[Keirasplace]

It is amazing the emotions that people post in threads like this. Clearly there are plenty of people that have had the bending issue, now rather that is a personal responsibility thing or just poor design we won't ever really know. People will line up on both sides of that issue and refuse to accept the other sides position. I don't have a iPhone 6, but I plan to get an iPhone 6s Plus, so I am glad that for whatever reason Apple is strengthening the iPhone. This is a good thing and I personally don't give a rats rear end why they are doing it.

Right now I'd take an bent iPhone 6 over this damn Galaxy Note 4. I cannot wait to get rid of this darn thing!

No, it is not clear at all. Considering the number of phones sold, it's even farther from clear.
The position is that on one side, we have a few anecdotes and Internet/media fueled parlor trick, and on the other side we have science, hundreds of millions of phones sold and a company that stands behind its product.

Not all positions are identical, this is a fallacy. Some positions such as saying, the phone has a major design issue, are completely wrong.

That doesn't mean its impossible to bend the phone under certain circumstances; off course its possible, it's not alien technology!

 

[blacktape242]

oh well, with the 6s there will be something different I'm sure.

 

[5232152]

Good. Apple has a lot of progression to catch up with the market. Longlivity is not only in the software.

 

[Glideslope]

Breaking News : iPhone 6S users experience Spendgate

85+ Million orders from Apple to it's manufactures. Coincidence?

 

[bwillwall]

Apple copied samsung by making the phones bigger

Please leave?

 

[Glideslope]

oh well, with the 6s there will be something different I'm sure.

It's the most extensive mid cycle update in iPhone history.

 

[RamGuy]

Since when did there need to be an issue for something to get enhanced? Following this logic, one could claim that Samsung Galaxy S5 had issues with the quality of it's glass due to the Galaxy S6 sporting a newer and more rugged version of Gorilla glass. That would not make much sense now, would it?

Did the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus have performance issues, as the new iPhone 6S and 6S Plus will feature a newer, improved and faster SoC? Did it have a camera issue as it supposed to feature a new improved camera?


This whole "bend-gate" seems to be blown out of proportions. The iPhone 6 has been the most selling smartphone ever, and yet we have only heard of rather few incidences of bent phones. We are talking tens of millions units sold, shouldn't there be at least a couple of million bent phones by now if there ever was a "bend-gate"?


Yet one could always claim that those who suffered from bent phones should never have had to deal with it. We are talking about one of the most expensive phones on the market, so it shouldn't bend. But then again, pressure tests have proven again and again that you need force beyond what's considered "normal" for a phone in order to bend it. So one has to question how people have managed to bend their phones to begin with. Do they use insanely slim-fit jeans, do they store their phone in their back pockets while sitting down or something? Hopefully the enforced casing will address this issue for everyone.

 

[KdParker]

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







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?

I carry my phone in my front pocket and there isn't any bend at all.

 

[Azzin]

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.

So you recommend it to everyone?

 

[Mactendo]

So the same ugly couch potato colours and disgusting bands? SERIOUSLY?

I'm curious what iPhone 7 will look like. Jon Ive seems to be incapable of good hardware design without Steve... It'd be great if Apple could hire a new fresh talent and he'll make their products cool and unique again.

 

[KdParker]

Disclaimer: Respectfully... I'm not criticizing you, just using this quote as an example.

The comment above is just another one of many examples illustrating the level of denial that is propagated amongst the Apple Believers.

If Apple didn't feel that their case wouldn't benefit from being made stronger they would not change it. Apple is nothing if not cheap when it comes to spending money. Just like every other company that uses parts built by the lowest bidder, Apple is no different. It's cost control well done.

The big difference is Apple's army of defenders that are emotionally attached to the company and it's products. Insult or criticize Apple and you'd think you were attacking their mothers. A fascinating cult like behavior. Not too much unlike The Dead Heads.

Well you should use the whole quote next time.

But to your point the issue around bendgate was that there would be a large proportion of phone would 'bend' from normal usage which wasn't even remotely close to the truth.

Was the iPhone Plus the strongest smart phone on the market? Ofcourse not, but that didn't make it defective.

 

[Mactendo]

I have an iPhone 6. My wife has a 6 Plus. I know many people who have iPhone 6s or 6 Pluses. No one, I repeat, no one has seen a bending issue of any kind.

In other news, if I drag a screwdriver down the side of my car, it scratches the paint. I guess that I'd better whine about that to the manufacturer and scream from the mountain tops.

I wonder what the next fabricated "gate" catastrophe will be, because you know these same people will invent something...They always do.

Itdoesntbendgate

 

[apolloa]

Well Samsung for denied that there was a problem. They didn't say that there where only 9 complaints, they said nothing about complaints. They tried to silence anybody who showed that their phones also bent. They even build a "butt robot" to prove their phones don't bend.

So cheer for them already - we know you want to.

Show a link then to a none Apple site reporting this story. And it's only you who believe I will be cheering for Samsung.

Its only scientific testing that tells us bendgate isn't a real thing. And that over a hundred million people have iPhone 6/6+ and there doesn't seem to be a significant issue.

Btw, the question isn't whether or not an iPhone 6/6+ will bend -- metel bends -- but whether it will bend more easily than other phones or under normal daily usage. And the question isn't whether or not it has weak points -- everything has a weak point -- but whether or not the weak points are too weak.

There's just nothing out there showing bendgate is anything other than some anti-Apple fanatics clinging to a click-baity hashtag.

I've had my 6+ since around lanuch. At first I babied it, but soon I stuffed it in my pocket without a second thought alon with everyhing else. It's a little beat up now, but... still no bend.

I guess it's the hypocrisy keeping it straight?

I've had my 6 Plus since December and mine is still perfectly. I use a case, but it's a very flexible plastic. I've put it in my front pocket, sat on it, etc. and I still have not experienced bendgate. People deliberately trying to bend the phone isn't scientific proof of bend gate. Nor is a random guy on the internet posting a random picture of a bent phone. I've even deliberately tried to find any hint of a bent. Still can't.

Strengthening the phone is probably more of a PR move than anything else for when the youtube videos come out.

So you guy's sit there and proclaim their is no bendgate, yet already there are people in this thread stating they had bending problems... hmmm now who to believe.. I think the fact this report is about Apple strengthening the chassis weak points sums it up.

 

[JustThinkin']

Those who have been fortunate enough not to have this problem shouldn't mock those who have.


FWIW, I nearly always put the phones in my pocket in the same orientation, with the charging port and speaker facing up. This was suggested by an Apple Genius with my iPhone 5, which had collected too much lint in the charging port and stopped charging reliably.

And I usually face them with the glass towards the thigh, so they keep getting pressure against the same spots.


When I rock my phones on a flat surface, one of the corners of the 6 comes off the surface by about 1mm, while on the 6 Plus it's about 2-3mm. Hardly disastrous, but very real. I suspect many people simply choose to ignore this amount of play - or don't even notice - so they won't report any problem. And the phones function fine.

But I'm sure Apple never intended any noticeable bending.