Consumer Reports: iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus Not as Bendable as Believed

[Max(IT)]

I was speaking of a user of this forum (77CAR). You tried to ridicule him by implying his phone must have bent by itself...

...while he did not say that. He said the phone bent in his front pocket (not back pocket), what means he thinks he accidentally bent it by putting it in his jeans front pocket and "using" it like he "normally" would do with a phone. How do you know it did not bend that way through the pressure on the iPhone inside his jeans while e.g. sitting down or kneeing like the user richardsonrs said in this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQxX_x3HTXQ (at 0:34)? You can completely rule that out? Because you say so? Without any tests? And please don't say "but the CR test..."


I don't know if it's possible that way, but then I also cannot rule out the possibility that it's possible under certain circumstances. Do I ridicule myself with that?
There are users claiming that its possible and happend like that with their phones, and not only the user you were refering to (77CAR), but also e.g. the user richardsonrs who posted a video (see above) and pictures. In addition there is a hypothesis about a "weak spot", where of course absolute coincidentally the iPhones of 77CAR and richardsonrs bent too slightly.
That's why this is an "issue" (or non issue you would say...?) I'm very interested in and I'm concerned about. Not because I hate Apple or I'm a part of "the paid army of Apple bashers" as someone else here were referring to people who dare to be critical in this thread, but because, as I said before, I actually plan to buy the new iPhone since my iPhone 4 is dying slowly and I need a replacement soon...

There is not a single credible video demonstrating the iPhone could bend keeping in front pocket. Not a single one.
I'm not saying they are lying on purpose. I think the just inadvertently sat on it.

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Hello Max mate... Hope you are well... I hope you don't wear yourself out, proving the bozo's wrong.... Whilst they are bitching about 'bent' phones with their bent minds, people are snapping up stocks faster then you can say 'bendgate'...

iPhones launched on 27th in Dubai and within 45 minutes each and every piece was sold out in every store across Dubai.... Most retailers don't even have one single piece to show off at the biggest electronics exhibition GITEX which is on at the moment in Dubai!!!

Some of these morons will put a banana in their pocket and then complain how easily squashed they are, when they sit in it.....

Stay well...

Hi mate, I was in Dubai last month.
I know the iPhone is selling very well in every country. But those haters are doing bad press nevertheless, spreading hysteria all over the web. There are people actually trying to bends iPhones in stores!
That's utterly ridiculous

 

[osofast240sx]

Get this to Apple engineers right away! iPhone 6S-iBeam Plus here we come....

I'm 100% sure they are installing longer titanium retainers in the volume rocker side

 

[calzon65]

Just to be clear, Deformation is “the action or process of changing in shape or distorting, especially through the application of pressure”.

I think a big part of “bendgate” is that the iPhone 6 deforms when only 70 pounds of force is applied to the center/back of the phone (per the CR Deformation chart displayed at the end of their test), whereas the iPhone 5 can withstand up to 130 pounds of force in the same location before it deforms. Now keep this in mind, the experience or level of expectation of millions of iPhone users is primarily based on the iPhone 5. For better or worse, the iPhone 5 is the current “standard” of iPhone deformation resistance because it currently occupies the greatest mindshare of iPhone users (e.g., it’s what we are all used to).

The new iPhone 6 is faster, thinner, lighter and yes according to the CR tests, deforms with significantly less force compared to the iPhone 5, which is making some folks nervous. There is probably some limit on how thin you can make an aluminum encased phone before you reach the point of not being able to withstand “average” everyday use. Has Apple reached that limit?

I think all the theoretical lab testing is about as complete as it will be. Certainly Apple ran extensive tests and CR ran their tests along with all the independent examples of bending. But as the debate rages on, the million dollar question still remains. Is the design of the iPhone 6 sufficient to withstand deformation forces based on “normal/average” use? In a few months as millions of users have experienced the iPhone 6, we should know that answer.

 

[Max(IT)]

IPhone selling by themselves? WOW...Just wow... why not save huge budget for advertising and using this money to.make a phone that is not bankable? Apple spending lots of money on advertising...If iPhones truly selling themselves... then there is no need to spend that much money...

Oh I forget... the bendability is feature not defect... I am sorry...

Are you looking for a company spending an insane amount of money advertising their products? Google about Samsung.... It's a Korean company, just in case you didn't know.
Apple isn't spending so much money. They don't really need it.

 

[Max(IT)]

You are all right. Relax

http://www.forbes.com/sites/anthony...nd-viral-iphone-6-plus-bender-are-both-right/

The article is saying what people here are saying since the beginning: there is a weak spot, but ita weakness can't affect normal usage.

Haters aren't even going to read it, you can bet.

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Phones are bending with normal use, WITHOUT being sat on.

No they are not

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Money quote:



Because we're supposed to buy man purses or fanny packs. We're all metrosexuals here, right?

You don't need to be metrosexual to carry a man purse. Just European.

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How do you still think there was no issue with the antenna? They gave everyone who wanted one a free case for like 3 months and then changed the design for the S version. It was an obvious issue or none of that would have happened.

Because most of the customers, millions of customers, weren't affected by that antenna issue.
Yes the antenna design wasn't perfect.
Yes you could reproduce the effect on almost every iPhone 4 if the network signal wasn't very strong.
But most of the real people in the real life, out of forum, didn't missed our drop a single call, me included.

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My facts are that 3 out 4 people I know that had the 4 dropped calls on a very consistent basis, as in daily. Those number are easily manipulated to show what they want you to see. Att doesn't even count it as a dropped call under many circumstances. Neither do the others. Free cases, replacement phones, changed ant design, and a lost lawsuit. It was a real problem. Those are also facts you can not deny. You can try and make it out to not be a big deal if you want but that isn't fact, that is opinion. Billion dollar companies don't give stuff away for free because they are being nice.. And if you think Apple is different check the current price on the USB lightning cable. If they were all about being nice for the fun of it then it wouldn't cost 30 bucks..

I gave you the offer because I figured if you believe these corporations then you probably will believe anything is all.

Your statistic of 4 people is not irrelevant: it's ridiculous.
Apple sold MILLIONS of iPhone 4 for years. There stupidl still are millions working all over the world.
Blame your poor network for those drop calls, not Apple.

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What's stupid on having a phone in your pocket? Especially when none of phones had similar problems. Are you telling me that on a sunny day I need a special purse to carry the new iPhone 6? That's ridiculous!

Keep it wherever you want: just don't sit on it

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What's stupid on having a phone in your pocket? Especially when none of phones had similar problems. Are you telling me that on a sunny day I need a special purse to carry the new iPhone 6? That's ridiculous!

Keep it wherever you want: just don't sit on it

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99% of civil lawsuits don't affect 8-10 million users and don't have the cash Apple has to continue litigation.

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Yes everyone got cases on their phones and were no longer touching the sides and BAM problem went away.. SHOCKING!! Clearly no issue..

It's quite interesting to note how upset you were about antennagate and Apple, and you keep buying their products, now to be upset about bendgate.
Very strange human nature.....

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I have never sat on my iPhone 6 plus and it has bent. Even if it's a slight bend the phone cost me $1077 it should NOT bend from normal use...

Sit on it isn't normal use

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THIS.

We all buy Apple products at a premium because we expect premium products, yes? So what's wrong with demanding excellence? All this nonsense about other phones bending too, and of course it bends it's aluminium, etc, it's all a load of BS. At the price, the iPhone should be more rigid and durable than the competition, not less so!

Says who? I don't care about a rigid phone. It actually is the last factor I would consider in my choice. I'm not going to sit on it.

 

[z chamber]

I don't know, I'm not him. But if I had to choose which was more plausible between that and "gravity and/or magical Samsung gnomes bent it overnight," I'm going to choose the first thing.

He says that he put his phone, upside down, lying against a wall, on the floor, to charge. Then he wakes up to find it bent. So if he's not implying that gravity did it, I guess it's the Samsung gnomes then? Okay.

But Apple return policy doesn't cover damage by gnomes of any brand and since he was able to swap phones under warrenty, that rules out the Samsung gnomes. Again he never said it was gravity that did it.

He's a developer who magically, inexplicably had an issue he claims he didn't cause, and instead of going to Apple, he spoke to a reporter about his issue.

Where are you getting this from? He bought the phone on thursday and found the problem on saturday morning. He went to the Apple store on Sunday.

Or are you saying that John Cook at Geekwire just magically and telepathically knew that someone, somewhere in Seattle had an inexplicable, magically-bending iPhone and decided to write about it without any prompting, whatsoever?

I never said nor implied any of what you wrote. Your just throwing stuff at the wall now. If you want to know how John Cook came upon this story email him.

From the story itself: "Latiolais stopped by the Apple Store in Seattle on Sunday to see if he could swap out his phone..."

This was before he got it swapped out. The news about the free swap came after the story was published, in an update.



No, but I'm sure that when the Seattle Apple store was mentioned in the article (as we've clearly seen), I'm sure it was brought to his attention. You don't need to be telepathic to read a news article.

Your wrote that "sqeaky wheels get greased" and "I'm sure it was brought to his attention. You don't need to be telepathic to read a news article."

Pure speculation on your part and also unsupported by the facts. Nowhere in the article does the manager speak about the reading the web article. And this is a WEB article not some national or local paper. Latiolais never even spoke to the manager, just to some "geniuses".

 

[Max(IT)]

This is correct. Normal use of the phone will not bend the phone in any way. This is quite obvious however since I assume you're not abusing your phone while using it.

The worry is that when placing the phone in pockets or accidentally placing stress on it. It becomes more worrying than before.



Two scientific studies that are flawed in that they're testing the middle of the phone and not the weak point. How does the public "lie" about bent phones when the process is video taped in public with multiple witnesses? Consumer Reports confirms the phone is a bit sturdy near the middle of the phone. I think we can all agree with that. However, they haven't really said anything about the weak point theory, which is the cause of the whole "bend gate" craze going on right now. What do scientific testing results do when they're not even addressing the problem?

The witnessed test, if not fake (and it could easily be a fake) involved a maneuver you won't never see in your phone's life.
So it's pointless.

 

[kdarling]

Are you looking for a company spending an insane amount of money advertising their products? Google about Samsung.... It's a Korean company, just in case you didn't know.

Apple isn't spending so much money. They don't really need it.

In the US, Apple has spent more than Samsung on advertising smartphones over the years. It was only recently that Samsung passed Apple. And this year, they're pulling back on spending again.



As for needing it, even Apple's own ad agency said they were getting killed by Samsung's ads.

 

[Max(IT)]

It is? How do you know? Because you say so? What about this guy e.g.? He is lying? He was kneeling to much? ...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQxX_x3HTXQ
https://forums.macrumors.com/posts/19935054/

He didnt demonstrate anything. The phone wasn't right and then bent.
He just showed us his pants and pockets. And a bent phone...
We don't know how he bent it.

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In the US, Apple has spent more than Samsung on advertising smartphones over the years. It was only recently that Samsung passed Apple. And this year, they're pulling back on spending again.

View attachment 498879

As for needing it, even Apple's own ad agency said they were getting killed by Samsung's ads.

I don't want to shock you, but world doesn't end in the USA mate...

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He made the video to demonstrate how he thinks the iPhone was bent in the first place...
"Since you guys don't know what the problem is with the front pocket I show you..."

How he THINKS is quite different from how things really went....

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I returned my iphone back to Apple yesterday.

Yes it's not very comfortable to sit on it, right?

 

[richardsonrs]

He didnt demonstrate anything. The phone wasn't right and then bent.
He just showed us his pants and pockets. And a bent phone...
We don't know how he bent it.

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I don't want to shock you, but world doesn't end in the USA mate...

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How he THINKS is quite different from how things really went....

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Yes it's not very comfortable to sit on it, right?

Off the pedestal dude. I have never in my entire life put a phone in my pocket and sat on it. period. Get over yourself. I told you how it bent, move on..

 

[Max(IT)]

If I didn't use Apple products, why would I care if they had flaws?

You need to realize that when we point out a product defect, it is not because we "hate" Apple. Quite the opposite, in fact.

Please doesn't insult my intelligence...
I don't want to start a flame with you, but as an active member of this community it takes seconds for me to search for users history.... But again, I'm not looking for a flame, really

 

[Bilbo63]

I have faith in it and lots of other things. But NOT the 6. Not many other people do judging by the sounds of it.

Yeah, Apple have only sold millions and millions of the iPhone 6 in record time. Yup, that sounds like many people have no faith in the iPhone 6. Do you even think about what you say before you say it? Curious minds want to know.

Still nothing in the major news outlets about the iPhone 6 colossal failure. Hmm. Maybe, just maybe there's nothing there... or maybe there is. I'm still waiting to see for sure.

 

[Adam Henry]

i think the point a lot of the rabid apple fans are not understanding or don't want to admit is its not a question that the phone can bend given enough force; its that over the course of time from normal use i.e. carrying it in your pocket the phone will warp a bit. the 7up youtube guys vid is a perfect example of that.

 

[Max(IT)]

As said previously "only someone in complete denial would claim otherwise".

Think about it - you are that person.

downloading music people hadn't asked for, launch of iPhone marred by reports of bent phones - (whether it's true or not is not the issue) and finally the iOS 8 update fiasco.

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I don't think anyone has said they get bent by carrying them.

A couple of people here had their iPhone magically bent without doing nothing. Check it....

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Which video you are talking about? If you mean this Unbox Therapy guy video, I absolutely don't care about that and the whole media fuss around it.
What I'm interested in and what I'm concerned about are the actual iPhone owners who claim their phone bent. I quoted the user richardsonrs who claims his iPhone bent slightly in his pocket by the pressure applied on it there. See here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQxX_x3HTXQ and here https://forums.macrumors.com/posts/19935054/. How do you know it's impossible the phone bent like this? Because of the CR test? As other people mentioned here this test does not disprove that near the area of the assumed "weak spot" at the volume buttons (where the iPhone of richardsonrs and others bent) the phone might bend easier as the test results for the middle of the phone have shown. How do you know how much pressure it needs to bend the phone there? How do you know what forces are applied on the phone inside a jeans front pocket and how? So how do you know that under "normal use" and under certain circumstances the iPhone is not vulnerable to bending even slightly?

Again and again and again, that user proved nothing. He bent his phone, and we don't know how. Actually even he doesn't know....

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If they don't believe you? haha they don't believe you or me. It's all good. Apple genius did soooo. yeah whatever.. The truly funny thing is just that morning I was telling my co-workers, who were all making fun of me for early adopting a bending phone, that there must have been more to the original story than a dude just dancing and driving. Something HAD to have happened, I did not believe it for one second. And then I looked at mine later that morning and it was bent. Had to eat my words and tell them all the next morning lol. That was fun

No, Apple geniuses are just playing customer satisfaction.... luckily for you.

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So are you calling him a liar too?

No... Maybe just someone that inadvertently sat on his phone. It could happen.

 

[AppleScruff1]

Two people here own the phone and say it bent. A few people who don't own the phone keep telling them it didn't bend the way they claimed. So that makes the owners liars and the non owners the authority on bending?

 

[slackpacker]

First time I don't necessarily agree with a consumer reports test. Bend gate not solved.

 

[Bilbo63]

i think the point a lot of the rabid apple fans are not understanding or don't want to admit is its not a question that the phone can bend given enough force; its that over the course of time from normal use i.e. carrying it in your pocket the phone will warp a bit. the 7up youtube guys vid is a perfect example of that.

Oddly enough, I'm an Apple guy and I wonder the same thing. My iPhone 6 so far has been fine, excellent in fact. I always wonder how any new mobile device will hold up over time. So far my Apple devices have held up very well. My old iPhone 4, 4s and 5 are still in service and being used daily.

This particular phone so very thin, admittedly I'm watching this one more closely. I'm not blind and I happen to feel that Apple messes up from time to time. If this phone does not stand the rigours of day to day life then Apple will hear about it and I'll have them replace it... because you know, that's how this works.

That said, I'm not about to jump to conclusions and run around like my hair is on fire screaming that the sky if falling. I'm willing to take a breath and see how this pans out.

The reality is it's too soon to say right now. Based on what I am seeing with my phone I have no reason to think that it won't withstand day to day use.

 

[flat five]

the only thing that really matters right now is how many phones are bending..

more than previous releases? less? if more, how much more? is the number within typical defect tolerances? etcetc..

only apple will be able to collect this data accurately unless the bending turns out to be a widespread issue in which case, we'll probably see a class action suit, recall, or replacement program..

one of the biggest problems with apple saying "yes, if your phone bends, we will replace it for free" is that (i guess) more phones will be intentionally bent after a year in order to get a free replacement.. or-- people that crack their screen could then just bend the phone to get a new one instead of repairing the broken glass... so really, apple will probably try to avoid going with a free replacement program regardless of how small/widespread the problem proves to be.


but really, there's no way (as i see it) for anybody here to know how many phones have bent so far or will do so within their lifetime.. and it's sort of the only meaningful thing for a consumer to argue/worry about as it's going to determine what happens in the months to come... or said another way-- if a test is conducted which in fact highlights a design flaw BUT, the number of bent phones being returned is within tolerance, then things will return to normal..
if a test shows how strong the phone is But phones are being returned at double tolerance rates then apple will have to do something to address the problem..
(as in-- the tests don't really matter (unless lawsuits arise).. the number of incidents is what matters)

 

[kdarling]

First time I don't necessarily agree with a consumer reports test. Bend gate not solved.

It's clear that we need... the Mythbusters !!

 

[carves]

Get this to Apple engineers right away! iPhone 6S-iBeam Plus here we come....

I didn't suggest building it like an I-beam, but more like a C-beam instead of a U. Is that a sarcastic way to say those suggestions would not increase the bending strength? You said you didn't understand my explaination of bending strength physics, so I explained it in a lot more detail. It's kind of dicky to respond like that.

Sit on it isn't normal use

No, but just like dropping it, it is a fairly normal kind of abuse. Perhaps the next one should be made of .5mm thick Swarovski crystal, as it'll stand up fine to "normal" use, even if it can't take the slightest amount of abuse.

This is the first iPhone I've decided to take out an insurance policy on, both for this reason and because of the way the front glass wraps around the edge of the phone, so will be more prone to shattering on drops.

 

[calzon65]

Two people here own the phone and say it bent. A few people who don't own the phone keep telling them it didn't bend the way they claimed. So that makes the owners liars and the non owners the authority on bending?

Good one!!!

 

[flat five]

This particular phone so very thin, admittedly I'm watching this one more closely.

maybe it's not samsung shills working here.. maybe it's apple shills.. they realize they've got a problem on their hands.. jobs can't handle this one and he's pretty much the only person capable of pulling off "you're holding it wrong"... so the shills go out simply to raise awareness so everyone will be a bit more careful with their phones than they were with previous models.

(please don't take this post seriously in the wrong way)

 

[calzon65]

Oddly enough, I'm an Apple guy and I wonder the same thing. My iPhone 6 so far has been fine, excellent in fact. I always wonder how any new mobile device will hold up over time. So far my Apple devices have held up very well. My old iPhone 4, 4s and 5 are still in service and being used daily.

This particular phone so very thin, admittedly I'm watching this one more closely. I'm not blind and I happen to feel that Apple messes up from time to time. If this phone does not stand the rigours of day to day life then Apple will hear about it and I'll have them replace it... because you know, that's how this works.

That said, I'm not about to jump to conclusions and run around like my hair is on fire screaming that the sky if falling. I'm willing to take a breath and see how this pans out.

The reality is it's too soon to say right now. Based on what I am seeing with my phone I have no reason to think that it won't withstand day to day use.

I understand your points. I'm waiting to see how this thing flushes out before I move forward with an iPhone 6. I don't want to purchase the iPhone 6 to then find out that Apple acknowledges a design issue and is working on a "fix". Yes I know Apple will "take care" of it's customers, but I don't want to go through the hassle, plus the Evutec SP case I use on my iPhone 5 is not yet available for the iPhone 6, its still a month or two away.

 

[linuxcooldude]

Funny, Samsung in its rush to ship the Galaxy Note 4 ahead of Apple in China, shipped the phones with gaps between the screen and the case. Big enough to fit a business card.

While Apples iPhone 6 & 6 Plus are in specifications, Samsungs phones will probably be just a footnote in the media at most.

http://www.slashgear.com/note-4-screen-gap-issue-is-worse-than-bendgate-29348268/

 

[calzon65]

Funny, Samsung in its rush to ship the Galaxy Note 4 ahead of Apple in China, shipped the phones with gaps between the screen and the case. Big enough to fit a business card.

While Apples iPhone 6 & 6 Plus are in specifications, Samsungs phones will probably be just a footnote in the media at most.

I saw that story too and I think you are right; Samsung will probably not get slammed too much.

Apple is the "high flying” company and their often arrogant attitude does not help them. I am not saying Apple has not earned the right to be arrogant, it’s hard to argue with Apple's success and amazing innovations (plural because they have had many amazing innovations). But in some ways success has gone to Apple's head and it comes across many times as a "we are smarter than everyone else" attitude. I remember Apple’s MobileMe launch where their top executives just lambasted Microsoft’s hosted services and Exchange Server, MobileMe was a complete fiasco.

To me the trick is to build an incredibly successful and innovative company while keeping the company attitude in check. This does not mean a company can't be proud of their accomplishments, but I think the Apple “attitude” paints a bull’s-eye on their back and the haters are just waiting for anything to pounce. A little dose of humility can be good for the soul and company culture, plus it keeps people on their toes.