Apple Says Some 2018 iPad Pros Ship Bent, But It's Normal and Not a Defect

[redbeard331]

So nobody at Apple tested this thing during the design process and found out that aluminum foil does indeed “bend”??? How on Earth could something like this get through the process? The back looks to be about as thick as a beer can, they should have put some steel support shanks into the sides so this didn’t happen. Do they even employ ONE engineer that could have told them that putting holes right in the middle of the long sides of the device would weaken the snot out of it??? For the prices they are charging for these things they should be able to withstand some pretty hefty forces, mind blown..

 

[silver_mtb]

if bent is normal does that mean straight is not normal? I want to return my iPad because it is not bent!

 

[Patriks7]

Oh boy. I’ve been an Apple only user (Mac, iPod, iPad, iPhone ...) since 2007, but lately I have a feeling I might think really hard about my next purchases.

 

[tigres]

Almost 1k posts in less than 24 hours. This thread is bending the scales.

 

[bluecoast]

Apple are heads above nearly every other company’s industrial design.

However it seems that almost every other year they have an industrial design own goal where they over-reach themselves.

The last was shipping the jet black iPhone 7 with a finish that pretty much came out of the box with scratches, in 2016.

3014 saw the easy to bend iPhone 6.

Then we had the antennae-gate of the iPhone 4.

And I’ve probably missed a few, too...

EDIT: oh yeah, the MacBook and MBP keyboards from 2015-2917, which were great (according to Apple) until they weren’t.

 

[darkslide29]

And see this is the ridiculous thing... A defect is an "imperfection that impairs worth or utility." Does the iPad still function correctly and exactly as it should? Yes. Is the worth impaired? Perhaps, if you try to sell it, a bent iPad is worth less.

But just because something happens randomly does not mean it is outside of their control. Perhaps it is... In which case they have manufactured some items that do not conform to the "model." Companies usually rectify this rather than the customer simply having to suck it up.

I simply don't understand people like you. Are on the Apple board of directors? Are you heavily invested in their stock or something? Why would you argue that consumers should simply accept products and excuses like this? Are you not a consumer? Why do you want to weaken your position as a consumer? I understand wanting consumer and producer to have a good relationship so that both can keep profiting from the exchange, but why side so strongly with the producer?

Hold on, time out. I guess I didn't say it the way I should have.. I am not happy with this, and I was trying to be critical of them for making an obvious business decision to please their CEO and shareholders, over doing the right thing for the customer. Me saying that it could be "beyond their control" was a bad choice of words. I more was thinking outloud that I can't believe they made a profit-driven decision over treating their customers with respect. Instead of doing the right thing, some design team or accountant gave an answer that wasn't liked, so they decide to play with words by saying its not supposed to happen, but it's not a defect. That is a cowardly way to approach this, and I don't think other companies would get away with it.

I was more getting to that if the fix was as simple as flipping a switch (for lack of a better example), I would expect Apple to do it, since they pride themselves in customer satisfaction. So for them to not fix this must mean it can't be fixed (too expensive, too much time, would require a re-design with new molds, etc) until the next version of iPad. Not that it literally can't be fixed, but that they won't, to make sure their sales and profits don't suffer. That stinks, and it just reeks of the greed.

If I were in the market for an iPad Pro, a bend, regardless of it not affecting usability, is unacceptable. For that amount of money, for a premium tablet, it should be to as close to perfect as possible. This is an embarrassing stance to take and I hope it sticks to them harder than any of the other apple-gate scandals. Samsung could very well be working on their next tv commercial already.

 

[nameischarles]

I wonder what the greatest Apple fanboy Rene Ritchie will say about this lol

 

[GuruZac]

Tacoma Narrows bridge.

But they’re building it out of the same minimalist metal they used for the iPad Pro 2018

 

[Fozziebear71]

Your dollar is your vote folks.

Apple has increasingly done slop-shod quality assurance on software since Mac OS X 10.6, instead relying on users to report problems in beta and users to suffer through problems at release. The difference in an Apple beta release vs a final release is the calendar date, that's it.

And any accountant will tell you, it is not about right or wrong, it is about how much quality assurance and 'to market second' costs vs the damage control and updates. If it costs less for a mining company to not re-enforce the mines and let workers die, and pay off lawsuits, that's what they do. Welcome to capitalism!

Now you are seeing the same approach to Apple hardware quality control, or lack there of. It started with Macs using engineering-defective Nvidia video cards in MacBooks, graduated to bend-gate phones and screen-gate flickering displays. A bend is normal... my (*). I have never seen a 12.9" iPad Pro prior to these new ones bent out of the box or even bent later.

One thing for sure, 1984 in 2018 is not what we expected... Time to vote with your dollar... your Christmas dollar.

While I agree that Apples response to this "bending" issue is awful. Why would you equate this to "capitalism"? The argument could easily be made that the reason we are even having this discussion is because capitalism is the reason the iPad, or for that matter, any of Apple's products were created in the first place. What is your alternative?

 

[aevan]

And "one more thing" in the true "Steve Jobs" way.

I bet Apple Park does not have bends in it's walls, ceilings or humps in the floors. I bet the Apple space ship is perfectly round to the fraction of an inch. It is the last part of Steve that the world can appreciate.

The healthy Steve Jobs (one not overcome by cancer) would have never let this go. Heads would have rolled.

Yes, because there were no GPUs failing at a massive scale, overheating issues, delaminating screen issues, dust under screens issues, swelling batteries issues, cell reception issues, software issues, etc. under Steve Jobs. Oh, wait.

And I remember people (on this forum, too) were talking how Jobs only cares about profit and how Apple is worse than it used to be and.... yadda, yadda, same old story.

I did vote with my wallet, as you said - I got myself the new iPad Pro and it’s amazing. Possibly my most favorite Apple device of all time. Sorry to hear some people are having issues, but you’re drawing conclusions from a very limited sample.

 

[imaChaser2001]

You and I are sayin’: what a f.... joke. But they are not cattering to us anymore. The sheeple are believing anything. That is their target since they put out such ...

 

[827538]

I hope they are in 'advanced talks' to replace him.

People attribute so much of Apple's financial success to him directly, but I maintain that anyone, even someone somehow MORE incompetent arrogant and ideological than Tim could still produce the numbers they did. Apple sells itself and they could have done so without being so self destructive too. I'd prefer even the Coca Cola CEO to take over if it means de-throning Tim.

It also come to an unsustainable tipping point that is entirely in their control.

They are a trillion dollar company but because of hiked prices year over year, dongles everywhere, nickel and diming customers (you cant fast charge out of the box with your $1100+ phone, and 5w to charge that massive battery is completely unrealistic, and you cant even connect your iPhone to your new usb-c mac without buying a usb-c to lightning, pencils come with 1-tip instead of 2 now despite a $29 price increase for the product for a negligibly small piece of plastic... after years I just started using the second tip and I appreciated having a spare, the headphone dongle is removed in box, the extension cable for MBP's is removed in box, etc etc etc), and denying basic design flaws. Not entirely earned and merit based.

It has and will tarnish the brand. Making everything politically alienating as well, when people from all walks of life and the full political spectrum, share enjoyment and use of modern tech.

Steve was many things, including arrogant, but he also understood a fundamental need to please customers and not show them the door or he will be shown it. He acknowledged this by stating Apple is a leaky ship, and without the right captain to patch up the holes, it *will* sink.

He was even willing to drop the price of iPhone, the first generation, Tim isn't. Tim will pull marketing voodoo of trade in values and go on talk shows to show its just the cost of foregoing a cup of coffee every once in a while. And the iPhone is so many things converged, which we well understand by now without him 'breaking it down.'

Steve was even willing to give out free cases to lessen the blow of antennagate, and crafted a really brilliant keynote to turn attention of the issue over to other manufacturers having faults, not just Apple. Not saying it was moral, but it was brilliantly done... over his most prized possession, the glass sandwich with an Achilles hell, Tim isn't willing to compromise... (though not sure the context for free cases today would make sense as a direct comparison, but AT LEAST something that shows they care, even if we know they dont)

There's nothing brilliant about saying iPads bent out of box is normal and not a defect, contrary to the definition of defect, and using The Verge as their vessel is anything but subtle.

I agree, Apple has been pretty much on cruise control and anyone could have seen the success that Cook has.
I'm getting less and less impressed with Apple by the week. AirPods have been the only thing that have really impressed me since Cook has been in control. I admire Apple's focus on privacy but I do not appreciate Cook's progressive grand standing.

My wife and I earn a heck of a lot of money (lawyer and engineer) but even we are saying to ourselves this is getting expensive. I've gone from regular updates every two years to just sticking with what I've got and buying some shares instead. Also their complete lack of focus on their Mac lineup is pathetic. I don't need them to reinvent the wheel every other year but having chips that are years out of date isn't acceptable on such expensive devices. The average consumer should be able to walk into an Apple store and know the product is as up to date as possible. We just bought a couple of iMac's for the office and it pained me to spend $5000 on stuff that's out of date (saved a fortune upgrading the RAM myself).

 

[Heat_Fan89]

I remember Sony had a similar problem back in 2006 with the launch of the Sony PSP. Users were complaining of dead or stuck pixels on the screen and Sony quickly released a response saying it was normal for LCD screens to develop stuck or dead pixels. Now Sony was correct that LCD screens do in fact develop bad pixels over time but most of the users responses was they rarely if ever saw them on any of their displays and that's also true as LCD manufacturing processes and technologies has pretty much squashed the dreaded stuck or dead pixels. But it still can occur.

So I don't fault Apple's response because just like Sony it probably is true. They do however run into a unique problem because unlike Sony, Apple has complete control in the design of their own equipment. Their engineers and design teams knew what type of metals they wanted and how thick they needed to be. Sony had no such luxury in that their Sony PSP displays were design by IIRC "Sharp".

So Apple justifiably sets itself up for the wrath of its customers when they are spending on average 2-3 more than going with the budget iPad.

 

[vegetassj4]

It was designed to be curved to make it easier to pick up off of flat surfaces, with the added benefit of enhancing water resistance by causing droplets to roll off of the curve.

 

[Dresling]

Congrats Apple... you’ve outdone yourselves..

 

[bliggs]

Problem with the 10.5 is the bright white spot after months of use....trust me it will come.

It most certainly will, I have the same issue. I'm just glad that it's only apparent on white backgrounds. I wonder if it's in the same spot on all of them or in random places?

 

[jazz1]

I wonder what the greatest Apple fanboy Rene Ritchie will say about this lol

I do enjoy Rene's enthusiasm for the brand, and I'm not being sarcastic.

I think people can enjoy and promote Apple without being blind to issues surrounding their products and support of customers. I hope he does the same.

After all it is pretty hard to ignore the latest "bend/warp gate". I know I can't ignore the issues as I've got a slight case of the bends myself.

I've said it before and I'll say it again here. I'm an Apple Fanboy. But I'm not blind or immune to the issues surrounding their products.

So I guess what I am saying is that you can be critical of Apple, but you don't have to necessarily abandon ship. Criticism is good and I hope Apple listens without the "this isn't an issue". Well of course it is.

This Apple Fanboy says, "Apple, own up to it and take care of your customers!" Otherwise the Fanboys will become Flameboys

 

[GoCubsGo]

It was designed to be curved to make it easier to pick up off of flat surfaces, with the added benefit of enhancing water resistance by causing droplets to roll off of the curve.

Apple should hire you in their PR department. I nearly spit my water out when I read it. Kudos!

As for the bend, I wholeheartedly disagree with Apple's position. While it could be true that the bend does not impact performance, there is a huge number of people who buy Apple products with the intent to resell when a newer model is released. Apple seems to still hold a higher than average resale value among other similar electronics. With a bend, that will impair sales.

 

[MoreRumors?]

When a finished product is not perfect, it is usually sold at a lower price and categorized as cosmetic blemish, irregular, etc. I can see it can become an issue if it needs to be brought in for repairs and the people at the Genius Bar say it can not be repaired because it is "damaged". That means the display is bent and can not be replaced or the internal parts are bent too and can not be replaced. I find Apple's response to be unacceptable and how can one think their customer service is great?

 

[iPodClassic1]

We really aren't sure what to make of Apple's acknowledgment on this. It seems rather unbelievable that consumers should be expected to consider a bent brand-new device acceptable, especially when you think about the possibility of Apple denying warranty repairs down the road due to "damage."

This is the first time I see MacRumours siding with the customers/users. Seems like I've been away for too long. (I wonder how long before this comment gets deleted)

 

[Defthand]

But would it surprise you to know that there are unit-to-unit variances in any mass-produced product?

I guarantee that if you sighted-down the side of several of a line of the same model of new car sitting on the dealer's lot, you'd find some units with slight imperfections.

In fact, Andy Warhol made a career (remember the famous "wall of soup labels" graphic?) of the fact that even mass-produced-to-be-identical items have slight imperfections that actually make each one of them unique.

They are called "tolerances" for a reason.

Having said that, if I got one that was too bent for my tastes, I would take it back during the 14 day "no questions asked" return period and get another one.

But they are right that this is a very difficult effect to control when a big slab/sheet of metal goes through a bunch of manufacturing steps. It's just that no other brand is held to the same standards as Apple's products.

And remember the internet amplification effect...

A bent tablet is not an imperfection. It is a failure. An imperfection means the defect is cosmetic and function isn’t compromised—which Apple insists is the case. But flatness is an attribute that is essential to a tablet’s function.

 

[jujufreeze]

I agree. Amazed how well the new iPads are designed. Perhaps my most favorite Apple product.

Especially since the pros have the structural integrity of a block of velveeta cheese. Well done Apple.

 

[GuruZac]

Tacoma Narrows bridge.

But they’re building it out of the same minimalist metal they used for the iPad Pro 2018

 

[Defthand]

I wonder what the greatest Apple fanboy Rene Ritchie will say about this lol

Ritchie often has sound explanations for Apple’s design choices, although I imagine Steve Jobs would not have liked him. Jobs was a perfectionist, not an apologist.

 

[Nuno Lopes]

This is not an acceptable communication. I think Apple is loosing focus and needs to be thought a lesson or two.