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Last night I got the following reply from Dan Riccio, Senior Vice President of Hardware Engineering to a note I sent.

Regarding the website article - https://www.macrumors.com/2018/12/19/apple-2018-ipad-pros-ship-bent/ let me clarify, This did not include a company statement and we will be reaching out to outlets to comment on this officially later today.

Relative to the issue you referenced regarding the new iPad Pro, its unibody design meets or exceeds all of Apple's high quality standards of design and precision manufacturing. We’ve carefully engineered it and every part of the manufacturing process is precisely measured and controlled.

Our current specification for iPad Pro flatness is up to 400 microns which is even tighter than previous generations. This 400 micron variance is less than half a millimeter (or the width of fewer than four sheets of paper at most) and this level of flatness won’t change during normal use over the lifetime of the product . Note, these slight variations do not affect the function of the device in any way.
 
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No other tablet on the market can be ripped in half.

What do you mean by ripped in half? Literally every tablet or metal device can be bent.

The new iPads can be bent. The old ones can be bent. You can bend a Surface or a cheap Android tablet.

If what you’re saying that they can be bent more easily than others - then I am asking how do you know. Because judging how much strenght a Youtuber used when bending is highly unscientific.

Some came bent out of the box due to the manufacturing process. But as many users pointed out here - they don’t bend from normal usage and you don’t have to treat them with special care. Apple also said they stand by the structural rigidity of their product.

Now, maybe it is easy for them to bend, maybe not. I can only speak from my experience, the one most users who bought them seem to share: it doesn’t bend easily - in bags, in hands, anywhere. But yeah, if you do want to bend them, you can, just like any other tablet.

So, do you actually have any proof it’s substandard or is this it?
 
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For those wondering if the iPad will bend at a later date. No. The issue, as they stated, is part of the cooling process (makes sense). Once it is cooled, only excessive pressure will cause it to bend, just like any other Apple product in the last 10 years. If your iPad is good out of the box, you'll be very happy with the device.
 
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A person does have to look at this through Apple's point of view to understand their reasoning for stating that it is a normal condition. If it is somewhat common because of the manufacturing process they cannot afford to be replacing all of those iPads because of slight bends out of the box.
Good point, however they can certainly afford to FIX the manufacturing process.
 
Here’s how I think the announcement should have gone...

“Apple is aware of a certain number of 2018 iPad Pros that, due to a manufacturing anomaly, may exhibit a slight bend in the chassis. Although not presenting a usage issue, customers that are concerned may bring their device to the nearest Apple Store for a replacement. Apple strives to provide the highest quality products to its valued customers and apologizes for any inconvenience this may cause.”

I know that will never happen, but if I was running a trillion dollar company with a reputation for highest quality products and a loyal customer base, that is what I would do.

To me, it’s like this...

i-ZDxJQZP-M.jpg

Agree, that would have been a much better explanation. I am not sure how no one on their team could have realized that.
 
Companies don't make public responses like this for "small numbers". Apple is undoubtedly seeing a large number of returns and concerns or they wouldn't have made such a statement.



While the tech is impressive, it does no good to throw it into a foil bag and hand it to someone for $1500.

And yes, Cook should absolutely take a bow. The number of missteps he has made over the past two years are setting Apple on a destructive path. Aside from bumping specs, Cook has led no real innovation or new product development during his tenure. It's time for him to step aside and for a new generation of technological idealism to take over.
Read the article. It says they aren’t experiencing more than normal returns.

The fact you aren’t paying attention doesn’t mean the innovation isn’t there.
 
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What do you mean by ripped in half? Literally every tablet or metal device can be bent.

The new iPads can be bent. The old ones can be bent. You can bend a Surface or a cheap Android tablet.

If what you’re saying that they can be bent more easily than others - then I am asking how do you know. Because judging how much strenght a Youtuber used when bending is highly unscientific.

Some came bent out of the box due to the manufacturing process. But as many users pointed out here - they don’t bend from normal usage and you don’t have to treat them with special care. Apple also said they stand by the structural rigidity of their product.

Now, maybe it is easy for them to bend, maybe not. I can only speak from my experience, the one most users who bought them seem to share: it doesn’t bend easily - in bags, in hands, anywhere. But yeah, if you do want to bend them, you can, just like any other tablet.

So, do you actually have any proof it’s substandard or is this it?

Comparing the old to new, I still have an iPad 2 and you can just tell by handling it that it's built more tough compared to the newer ones. The new ones will flex with a bit of pressure applied but the older iPad doesn't give at all. Of course they will both bend at a certain point, but there's no doubt the older one takes more force to do so. I don't think anyone is saying that the iPad is the only device that will bend, it's the threshold at which it does that is in question. There is no question in my mind that the newer devices are more fragile than the older ones.

I don't usually link to videos on YouTube, but this one does show the difference between the new and the old.

 
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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.

I certainly agree that the new iPad Pro is gorgeous. I also voted with my wallet and skipped this release. If a very limited amount of people were experiencing bending issues. I do not believe apple would have made any statement. Glass breaks, and water is wet, and these devices will bend. That is not the issue. The issue is having a 1200-1500 dollar device come shipped with a bend and be told this is 'normal'. I assure you, it is not.
 
Read the article. It says they aren’t experiencing more than normal returns.

Yeah, and a company would never exaggerate to keep the sales up, would they? If the returns are "normal", why even make a statement?

The fact you aren’t paying attention doesn’t mean the innovation isn’t there.

Name one new product that has been developed solely under Cook's leadership? Everything that's out now was either out or in the works when Jobs died. Spec bumps don't count. That's just following the tech curve. New products are what keeps a company alive.
 
Yeah, and a company would never exaggerate to keep the sales up, would they? If the returns are "normal", why even make a statement?
Maybe to combat internet fud?

Name one new product that has been developed solely under Cook's leadership? Everything that's out now was either out or in the works when Jobs died. Spec bumps don't count. That's just following the tech curve. New products are what keeps a company alive.
iPhone 6, 6+, 6s, 6s+, 7, 7+, 8, 8+, x, Xs, Xs max, homepods, AirPods, Apple Watch plus more
 
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Comparing the old to new, I still have an iPad 2 and you can just tell by handling it that it's built more tough compared to the newer ones. The new ones will flex with a bit of pressure applied but the older iPad doesn't give at all. Of course they will both bend but there's no doubt the older one takes more force to do so. I don't think anyone is saying that the iPad is the only device that will bend, it's the threshold at which it does that is in question. There is no question in my mind that the newer devices are more fragile than the older ones.

I don't usually link to videos on YouTube, but this one does show the difference between the new and the old.

The video is stupid even for bending videos, and designed around a preset narrative. Making jokes about the headphone jack (why am I not surprised), the “perhaps build them better next time” comment - this is a classic clickbaity, unoriginal Apple-bashing video that tells us nothing and attracts people who either have no interest in Apple devices or find them too expensive. That’s it.

And even the comparison is stupid. Of course the first one, which is twice as thick, a lot heavier and has a smaller surface will bend harder. The question is - will this iPad bend under regular usage? (and of course, everyone is a structural expert all of a sudden so they know it will). Anyway, are these iPads built well and will they stand wear & tear from normal usage, over time? If you do want to compare them, at least compare them to other iPad Pros and under regular usage scenarios (put them in a tight bag, for example). The best test will be time itself, once this non-controversy dies down, we’ll see how many iPad Pros actually bent.

Until then, this is just people venting their frustration, that is all.
 
iPhone 6, 6+, 6s, 6s+, 7, 7+, 8, 8+, x, Xs, Xs max, homepods, AirPods, Apple Watch plus more

Again, spec bumps. All of those products were released or being planned prior to Cook coming on board. You're really going to give Cook credit for inventing the iPhone?
 
Yeah, and a company would never exaggerate to keep the sales up, would they? If the returns are "normal", why even make a statement?



Name one new product that has been developed solely under Cook's leadership? Everything that's out now was either out or in the works when Jobs died. Spec bumps don't count. That's just following the tech curve. New products are what keeps a company alive.
Yeah, let’s just agree you didn’t read the article and now you’re just saying they are lying about returns or the info is wrong. Whatever. You missed it.

Cook gets credit for the watch and wearables. The current Watch is nothing like the original and neither are the current iPhones. Steve didn’t want large screens...wrong. Steve might have conceived of the Watch, but that’s been all Cook.

Services are on a new level, a $40B business.

ApplePay, AirPods, FaceID, the mobile silicon is on a different planet than before, etc.

This advancement in mobile silicon will be a huge the future of consumer tech. The advancements in facial recognition, depth sensing and the tech behind FaceID will be instrumental in future products/services. People like you who think it was just done as a replacement for TouchID fail to see the big picture. Just like you fail to appreciate what the advancement in powerful chips can do. “Now I can open Instagram faster” misses the point.

You just want a new product like the iPhone or iPad. Truth is, those products don’t come out every year or even every 5 years. Cook has taken iPhone to a completely new level. Apple sells 3X more iPhones than before.

Cook created $800B in shareholder value.

BTW, Steve always knew Cook was a genius. That’s why he CHOSE him to run the company. Cook is a better negotiator than Jobs, which Jobs even admitted in an interview.

The game is also not over. After creating $800B in value, Cook still has time to release the next new product and it will be possible with many of the innovations you’ve missed so far.

The right strategy is to get all you can out of your current products, honing, addeinf and improving them. You don’t just throw stuff out every year for the sake of “innovation.”
 
A person does have to look at this through Apple's point of view to understand their reasoning for stating that it is a normal condition. If it is somewhat common because of the manufacturing process they cannot afford to be replacing all of those iPads because of slight bends out of the box. Also if they have the policy to replace any bent iPad what happens when people start using them and get slight bends in them after the return period? Do they replace them all because it's a "defect?" That would be a huge drain on corporate profitability.

I'm not saying it's the right thing to do, but I understand Apple's reasoning. If it were any other company they might go forward with replacements because it would be necessary to keep customers. Apple knows it's customers are extremely brand loyal and are going to purchase the brand regardless of previous issues. Most companies do not have as strong of brand as Apple and when you have a strong brand you can get away with a lot and people will keep coming back to you.
Apple does not need you to explain there reasons. They are perfectly capable of doing that themselves. Saying 'it is not the right thing to do, but I understand Apple's reasoning' is implicitly apologizing for Apple against all odds.
 
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Annnnd Apple just cut orders for the iPhone another 4 million units. Man, that stock is gonna free fall.
Apple doesn’t “cut orders” for iPhone publicly, so you’re just speculating along with everyone else.

If you haven’t noticed, the entire market is in free fall.

Looked at NVDA, AMZN, GOOGL, FB, NFLX, TWTR, AMD, etc?

Not one official number or word has come out of Apple to the negative, but fear in markets drive stocks in the short term.

The last numbers we heard from Apple sported 20% revenue growth and 41% EPS growth. But you don’t deal in facts, right? Much more fun to speculate and doom and gloom.
 
The video is stupid even for bending videos, and designed around a preset narrative. Making jokes about the headphone jack (why am I not surprised), the “perhaps build them better next time” comment - this is a classic clickbaity, unoriginal Apple-bashing video that tells us nothing and attracts people who either have no interest in Apple devices or find them too expensive. That’s it.

And even the comparison is stupid. Of course the first one, which is twice as thick, a lot heavier and has a smaller surface will bend harder. The question is - will this iPad bend under regular usage? (and of course, everyone is a structural expert all of a sudden so they know it will). Anyway, are these iPads built well and will they stand wear & tear from normal usage, over time? If you do want to compare them, at least compare them to other iPad Pros and under regular usage scenarios (put them in a tight bag, for example). The best test will be time itself, once this non-controversy dies down, we’ll see how many iPad Pros actually bent.

Yes, the video is what it is, but it does directly compare the structural strength of the way iPads used to be vs how they are now. They used to be much stronger. The point of all of it is about the threshold at which the device can be damaged.

Are the new iPads structurally too weak or fragile for their intended use as a portable device exposed to typical conditions? I don't know the answer but it's a valid question. Especially given the way the new iPads are built with breaks in the ever so thin aluminum shell for things like the LTE antenna etc.

It is entirely possible that a manufacturer, Apple included, has gone too far in their quest for thinness and lightness. I don't purposely try to bend my iPads, but I know to be more careful handling the my newer ones vs my old iPad 2. I'd like to see them go back to a thicker, stronger case personally vs the delicate devices the iPads have become, even though I may be in the minority.
 
I’m really surprised no one said this already but...

You’re folding it wrong.
 
You mean like Steve Jobs telling us we're holding the phone wrong during the antennagate debacle? This is very much apple like in its response. If you want to go back further, I remember Steve Jobs telling us who bought the G4 Cube that those cracks are "mold lines" If Apple isn't blaming its customers its saying the defect is normal.
Both of those comments were direct from the CEO - and not just any CEO, but Steve Jobs himself.

Who at Apple was this comment made by?
 
I just thought of something... who in their right mind, especially after this, would ever trust Apple with their life by buying one of their rumored self-driving cars? Can you imagine the same lackadaisical attitude towards the build quality of a car?

I don't see the big deal. If you buy it, take it out of the box, and it's bent... just return it. They can't deny it. I mean, the bend is "normal", right?

If they consider it normal then they absolutely can deny a return. You’ve got the logic in reverse.
 
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