Apple Canned Larger iPhone 17 Air Model Over Fears of Bendgate 2.0

[MacRumors]

Apple prototyped a larger ultra-slim iPhone 17 Air with a 6.9-inch display, but ultimately decided not to go ahead with the device because of fears that it could be susceptible to bending, according to a new report.

Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman, writing in his latest Power On newsletter:

When it first started work on the phone, it prototyped a device with a 6.9-inch screen — matching the Pro Max. Apple pulled the plug on that over fears that a thin device with a giant screen would be susceptible to bending. The company suffered such a controversy in 2014 — "Bendgate" — when the iPhone 6 Plus would sometimes warp when in a tight pocket.

Earlier this month, we reported on a rumor out of China claiming that the iPhone 17 Air shares the same dimensions as the iPhone 17 Pro Max, with the only difference being in the thickness of the devices. It's quite possible the rumor had its origins in Apple's canned prototype.

Corroborating rumors indicate that the iPhone 17 Air that Apple will launch in September will feature a 6.6-inch display with 120Hz ProMotion support, a Dynamic Island, an A19 chip, a single 48-megapixel rear camera, and Apple's custom-made C1 modem. Gurman has been told that the device may start at roughly $899 in the U.S., which is the same price point as the iPhone 16 Plus that the ultra-thin device is believed to be replacing in Apple's smartphone lineup.

Article Link: Apple Canned Larger iPhone 17 Air Model Over Fears of Bendgate 2.0

 

[cicalinarrot]

They could have just rebranded it as the rumored foldable.

 

[abatabia]

I’ll stick to the 17Pro. You know what they always say about first gen of a new product.

 

[rappr]

Some YouTube douchebags will still try their best to make the iPhone air the next bendgate anyway. May as well release both sizes.

 

[Col795]

Ummm, it’s aluminum. iPhone 17 Air WILL bend with the right pressure.

 

[MRSugarD]

Personally I am excited for the upcoming 17 Air. It sounds very appealing.

 

[Fuzzball84]

The curve is part of the products design that forms and reacts to the environment.

We call it fleximetal

We are so excited to see what you do with fleximetal

 

[TonyC28]

If they prototyped it, isn’t it more likely their tests confirmed it was susceptible to bending, rather than they simply feared it? Not that it would be at all surprising. A thin flat piece of metal in your pocket is going to bend at some point.

 

[TechRunner]

I'm no engineer, but in the context of bending is .3 inches on the diagonal going to make that much of a difference when it comes to the possibility of bending?

 

[Koni17]

I'm going to call this now, after Apple inevitable one day goes through their next slump, a new CEO will take the reigns and slim down the iPhone lineup back to 2-3 models, citing it's "less complicated for the end costumer" and in reality saving on design/manufacturing costs.

 

[PerfectChaos]

No problem, just make it out of liquid metal!

 

[Unregistered 4U]

They could have just rebranded it as the rumored foldable.

That’s assuming this is based on anything other than the “sources” in “I have no more leaks” Gurman head. He knows Apple’s not going to refute anything he says and he needs to keep driving traffic to keep his job. When it gets to the point that reporting on an Apple thing is not several sites with their own sources and, instead, “Today Gurman said a thing”, then there’s nothing left.

 

[Unregistered 4U]

I'm no engineer, but in the context of bending is .3 inches on the diagonal going to make that much of a difference when it comes to the possibility of bending?

Well, Gurman isn’t an engineer either. He’s just a guy that has to “write stuff” daily to keep his cushy Bloomberg job. The fact that it doesn’t make sense doesn’t even factor into it.

 

[Unregistered 4U]

Ummm, it’s aluminum. iPhone 17 Air WILL bend with the right pressure.

There’s not a phone made today that won’t bend with the right pressure.

 

[wanha]

There's something spineless happening at Apple /s

 

[Ozid]

One thing I'm not in the market for is another candybar iphone.

 

[Aeronauts]

For a moment there I thought Apple was launching canned larger. D’oh!

 

[Populus]

If they fear it could bend, why not make it even smaller? A 6.1” iPhone Air would be great. Even better, a more compact 5.8” iPhone Air, that could be marketed as the most lightweight iPhone.

 

[Falhófnir]

Ummm, it’s aluminum. iPhone 17 Air WILL bend with the right pressure.

More or less anything will bend with enough pressure applied (unless it's brittle, then it will snap). The problem with the 6 plus was the pressure needed was low enough that it could bend in a tight pocket. The 6s series introduced a new grade of aluminium though, as well as internal strengthening which made it a non issue. As far as I know they still use 7000 series Aluminium, and likely still have what they learned from the 6 plus to 6s plus to guide the design, so I don't expect the model which is released is going to suffer from this problem in practical situations.

I expect there are still videos comparing the 6 plus to 6s plus being put under pressure, it's pretty impressive how much the 6s could take before deforming, way outside of what you might subject it to accidentally.

 

[sehns]

Why would you make a "thin and light" phone that's got a larger screen than the base model?

They should have made this 5.8" or even 6" amd it would have been perfect

 

[minimo3]

So it’s basically a thinner 17 plus with less cameras?

 

[sunapple]

Some YouTube douchebags will still try their best to make the iPhone air the next bendgate anyway. May as well release both sizes.

Well ever since the iPhone 6 phones have become so strong that bending is now really rare. Even when applying lots of pressure with two hands for the sake of an unscientific YouTube test. Lots of structural improvements were made and have been invented since. I'd say that's a win.

 

[Skimac]

It’s not like you would be able do much with a bigger screen the apps still gone to show the same way one at a time

 

[xiJulian_]

We already had a Bendgate 2.0, it’s called the iPad Pro

 

[yanksfan114]

Ummm, it’s aluminum. iPhone 17 Air WILL bend with the right pressure.

Anything will bend at the right pressure