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

[Lictor]

Bendgate Status: Closed

It remains to be seen if there was not a problem with the first batch of iPhones (it happens), if there was not a silent update by Apple (wouldn't be the first time)...
Also, I don't know consumer reports, but do they buy themselves the stuff they test or do they receive them from the manufacturer? I read a tech magazine that decided to buy its own stuff to test and the result were pretty interesting... Manufacturers do tend to give only their best samples to test.

 

[booksbooks]

Your second paragraph is of little significance.

In response to your third, drill a hole in something and that will be a vulnerable point drill a couple you will increase the vulnerability. Not flaming rocket science. Applying even 70lbs of forced pressure is a lot and if you're unclear get someone to apply that exerted pressure on your wrist or elbow or your nose. You'll get the idea pretty quick that even that kind of pressure is significant and difficult to achieve through placing a phone in your front pocket and being seated taking up all the room in the available material. The pocket size, the available room left once the person wearing them will determine pressure. This would be regarded as ill fitting if this is how you achieved the bend! And you'll see the number of people in ill fitted clothes right, I mean they're ten a penny where you aren't they? Remember from the millions sold there are only 9 cases of bend reported. This is the part where you come in. You're one of so many people out there making such a fuss that you're forcibly trying to keep this out there. Why? And if you really have the phone then surely you have the know from your direct experience with the device to feel its durability. You're making a mountain out of a molehill and this all from a story of 9 bent phones. Does stink of being alarmist don't you think.

Your final paragraph is a shift. We're talking about the bend here. So how about you stay focused on the subject matter. The report is about CR testing the bend, not CR tests humidity, altitude or water resistance of a phone and comes up short. Chow.

We've got another live one folks...

 

[subsonix]

This thread is filled with people talking about "science" and "objectivity" as if there is some fact of the matter about what counts as "scientific" or "objective." These concepts--these practices (science and objectivity, respectively)--are contested and subject to constant argumentation.

Yeah but what's your point? That everything is relative, and any "evidence" is as good as any other?

 

[Max(IT)]

well to be fair to the bendgate thing, apple's iphone 6 and 6+ did perform worse than the samsung, which bent at greater than 2x force.

It's pointless since their product still exceed specific requirements

 

[saha-med]

We've got another live one folks...

The muppetry that goes on in this thread (and the others) are astonishing


No wonder the droid fanbase laughs at us and calls us sheeps.

 

[zonesey]

Argh, that picture just makes me cry

 

[Max(IT)]

I think that problem could be eliminated by NOT sitting on your phone.

I've never carried my phone in my back pocket... and I certainly wouldn't sit on it if I did.

There were reports of iPhones bending in a front pocket. That's what I want to see tested.

All these videos of industrial presses don't really give me the information I need.

I want real-world pocket tests.

I think most of those reports are just fake, maybe from people who screwed up sitting on it and now are claiming it was in their front pocket...

Btw did you try to sit with a 5.5" (plus bezel!) in your front pocket??? It's far from comfortable....

 

[fmcarv]

I'm not attacking anyone. I'm saying why new poster's comments don't get the respect that more seasoned posters do.



I'm focusing on the problem. The problem is that the amount of force on my iPhone 6+ when it's in my pocket is not enough to bend it (If it were, mine would be bent, and it isn't). You can't bend my phone in my pocket no matter what you post.



My iPhone is strong enough to resist bending in normal use. I don't need it to be stronger. You may, but that means nothing to me.



Why is it so important to you that the iPhone be the unbendiest phone in history? It only need to be unbendy enough to be a phone. And mine is. I can't join your crusade, because I'm not a believer in your cause, which appears to be evaporating before your eyes.

If phones (in general) were that strong and indestructible so why does everyone buy cases for them.

What's the point in Otterbox then??

 

[booksbooks]

It's nice to see that some forum members are still willing to write reasoned and articulate responses on this topic!

You're not getting it and neither is he. The CR test is a controlled experiment and as such, is not entirely conclusive prima facie.

As we're now discussing, it may be the case that there is a structural weakness in the new iPhones around the bottom volume button that is weaker than the rest of the phone. The CR test put pressure primarily not on this area, but in the centre of the phone. This theory would explain any patterns of bending seen in and around the bottom volume button area and explain why it was so easy for this guy to bend the phone (more empirical evidence). Remember, the HTC did not really bend/break when he did the same to it multiple times even though it scored poorly on the CR test. This is an excellent example of how controlled testing does not always translate over to real world stuff because it's... too controlled and lacking in its inclusion of the multitude of variables that exist in the "wild". A classic example used in the study of the scientific method and research is a study on depression when the people lived in an area with no sun. The sun is a variable that can affect people's moods, as the theory goes... then there's yet another one where heavy equipment was strapped to the backs of hockey players to measure VO2 max... I could on about variables in controlled experiments but I won't:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJ3Ds6uf0Yg

 

[Yojimbo007]

Unreal. Let's play. I'm a doctor who studied medicine. I've also got a degree in philosophy. I moved into software development of all twists and turns in life to get in touch with my artist side. I've been trained vigorously in the scientific method and on attacking the scientific method. I've wrote essays endorsing and attacking it. But the fact remains: science is the best thing going. It provides real answers to real problems. The concept of variables (independent, dependant, and extraneous) are powerful and the bedrock of objective study.

I've got an idea: take yourself out of the thread and do something else and leave people alone. That's the point here. You are just another number chiming into a forum "Get a life!". "Phandroid!" Blah blah. It's worthless to the discussion at hand and a waste of time. All you do is distract and disrupt objective inquiry. We're here because WE'RE INVESTIGATING A POTENTIAL FLAW IN A PRODUCT THAT COST SOME OF US $1200.

No.. You are here because the completion manipulated u to be here through disinformation.
Surprised that a person of your Claimed education and experience is still so naive and ignorant of this fact. Or u are....?
read my post above and u will see the true facts !

 

[booksbooks]

Yeah but what's your point? That everything is relative, and any "evidence" is as good as any other?

He doesn't have a point. He's making references to things you learn in first year University (sciences), which some of us did years ago and have moved in on life personally and professionally having had much time and experience with such matters. That we now know a lot of it is idle tea room talk. That science solves problems and saves lives. The end.

 

[fmcarv]

That's stupid.

6+ has an obvious structural weakness near the volume buttons - that's why given certain circumstances it deforms around that point. But they're testing it in 3-point setup, applying pressure to the MIDDLE! Do you know how leverage works? This test makes only academic sense, but not a real-world-usage one.

Why on earth in real world would you apply a two point load on the phone in the same position as Lewis from Unboxing Therapy?

That's the only case I've seen that can produce bending on the volume rocker area

----------

well to be fair to the bendgate thing, apple's iphone 6 and 6+ did perform worse than the samsung, which bent at greater than 2x force.

From 90 to 150

How did you get 2x from..

crap at Maths??

And since the Note 3 is a beast of phone thick as a brick its hardly surprising.

Compare the crash capacity of a Smart Car and that of a Hummer....

 

[H2SO4]

A simple question : why the hell would a normal consumer intentionally try the bend the their Phone ? Let a alone an $$$ iPhone.
Flaw design ; some people keep asking !?
Manufacture designs products for "normal" people with "normal " usage !
Not for idiots who try to sit on it or intentional bending it !

Really !? Get a life.

Admittedly your average person will not try and intentionally bend their phone. They do not intentionally crash their cars either.
Look the CR tests that some are taking as gospel PROVE that the 6 is a step down, (quite a significant one), in strength. Whether it's still strong enough or not is what the debate is about.
What they should have done for each phone is;
1. Put some regular jeans on. (Regardless of your size shape you can probably get a set of regulars).
2. Place phone in pocket.
3. Carry out 10 of each day to day movements with phone in pocket which may be -
Getting into and out of car.
Sitting down on a sofa or on a stool.
From seating position at a desk bend over to pick up pen.
Crouch under table to plug something in.

Re-examine phone.

Not exhaustive but surely the kinds of things we all do?
These need to be done in addition to the scientific tests and ALL the results considered TOGETHER.

 

[User 6502]

The weak spot on the iPhone 6+ is obviously the area where the down volume button cutout is. A force directly at that point will highlight the true strength of the phone.Therefore if someone was to sit on their phone and stress it at this location it won't need a lot of force to bend.

I still reckon this is a design compromise they could have avoided but instead chose to maintain its thinness of the phone against a potential backlash over the rigidity. Jony Ive got his way it seems.

Actually applying the force in the middle of the phone you're giving it the worst possible condition because in the middle the stress will be higher than if you applied the force in any other position. If you applied the force where the button are the maximum stress would be indeed there, but this maximum stress would not be higher than the one in the middle or in the volume buttons area when you applied the force in the middle. This is a very basic problem of statics

 

[yansun]

Why on earth in real world would you apply a two point load on the phone in the same position as Lewis from Unboxing Therapy?

That's the only case I've seen that can produce bending on the volume rocker area

If you can bend the phone as much as shown with your hands, it's completely impossible that under certain circumstances the phone could bend to a minimal extend at the "weak spot" near the volume buttons in your pocket?

 

[Yojimbo007]

Oh my lord there is so much wrong with your thinking I won't even start...

Lol!!! Of course
Did not expect anything more from u.
I Rest my case... Now go get your pay for your posts!

You guys got beat by facts... Now u are just trying to keep the conversation going... Pathetic.

 

[TJ82]

70lbs of force to bend an iPhone 6.

So if it's in your back pocket and you sit on a soft chair, it is likely to bend. And the difference between the iPhone 6 and 6+ and the Samsung for example is huge. 67/70lb to 130lbs.

 

[H2SO4]

We've got another live one folks...

Yep, and what's 'Chow'?

 

[booksbooks]

No.. You are here because the completion manipulated u to be here through disinformation.
Surprised that a person of your Claimed education and experience is still so naive and ignorant of this fact. Or u are....?
read my post above and u will see the true facts !

I am here on my own accord because in spite of people like you constantly interrupting a systematic discussion where people are trying to figure out if there really is a problem... I want to know if I'm keeping this $1200 phone I paid that much for. My decision rests solely on whether this thing has a major structural design flaw - a weakness - or not.

I can only imagine people like you in a professional setting making all kinds of immature and inane insults and accusations toward people. Nobody would get anywhere or anything done, which is probably why... a theory has arisen that you might be nowhere...

 

[SlipSlidinAwa]

50% strength reduction

Just occurred to me the iPhone 6 bending at 70lbs is almost half the strength on the 5S at 130lbs, so this real is form over function to for a thinner lighter product and if the customer bends after the initial fuss dies down Apple wil say don't sit on your phone, now would you like to by the much stronger 6S

 

[fmcarv]

If you can bend the phone as much as shown with your hands, it's completely impossible that under certain circumstances the phone could bend to a minimal extend at the "weak spot" near the volume buttons in your pocket?

Yeah it's plausible if Superman comes near you and inserts two fingers on your leg and presses to 90lbs of force.

By then your leg probably would have snapped if you managed to maintain your stance

 

[Max(IT)]

One thing that I notice that differs with these "by hand" bend tests is the uneven forces applied at different points on the phone case. Both Apple and Consumer Reports did "3-point tests" which apply even, distributed force at 3 points across the phone's frame. When bent by hand, the forces are applied unevenly, and that may be the killer difference for the iPhone 6. It doesn't seem to have a solid, one-piece frame.

I'm sorry to say, but I have to agree - the iPhone 6 definitely seems to have a flawed construction. Is this a manufacturing problem or a design problem?

Could you even understand physics? The 3-points test is the worst scenario, where the forces are applied in the worst displacement points... (Fulcrum, moment... anyone???)

 

[Michael Scrip]

I think most of those reports are just fake, maybe from people who screwed up sitting on it and now are claiming it was in their front pocket...

Btw did you try to sit with a 5.5" (plus bezel!) in your front pocket??? It's far from comfortable....

No... I don't have an iPhone 6 Plus yet. But I'm thinking about getting one.

I carry my iPhone 5S in my front pocket right now... which is why I was wondering if the 6 Plus would survive in a front pocket.

Maybe the general rule should be: always take your phone out of your pocket before you sit.

 

[subsonix]

He doesn't have a point. He's making references to things you learn in first year University (sciences), which some of us did years ago and have moved in on life personally and professionally having had much time and experience with such matters. That we now know a lot of it is idle tea room talk. That science solves problems and saves lives. The end.

It seemed to vaguely relate to the thread, I was trying to figure out in what way.

 

[NovemberWhiskey]

How do you know that this would "never happen in your pocket or under normal use"?
Of course the iPhone will not bend in your front pocket as much as if you bend it with your hands. But if you can bend it as easily as shown with your hands if you put pressure near the volume buttons, its probably possible that the phone could also bend in your pocket under certain circumstances (jeans size, position of the phone in your pocket, time of pressure put on the "weak spot") and of course to a way lesser (=minimal) but noticable (if you put it on a table e.g.) extent...
Again, if the metal reinforcement behind the volume buttons would be longer, it would also be harder to deform it as shown. That's not "poor design"? And just to make it clear, I'm everything but an Apple "hater" (instead Apple user since more than 12 years), but I'm not blind too.

You took one guy's HYPOTHESIS, and assume it to be absolute truth. A poorly explained hypothesis at that, especially concerning his A & B shapes.

While I can understand what he is trying to say, I'd also like to point out that that design of internal reinforcements, interrupted by breaks, continues all the way down the side of the phone. And if I had to guess, it also lines the opposite side of the phone. Please also note that the battery flanks that entire length.

While it is POSSIBLE that his explanation is the cause, it is certainly far from the truth.

It is far more likely that the breaks are the weak points since they are not reinforced there, but reinforced on the two immediate sides. However, you have to note, that you have the same break roughly midway down the phone (use the SIM tray for reference), precisely where the consumer reports testing, and Apple's testing applies their force. And Apple's is applied over a smaller surface area longitudinally compared to his thumbs, with 90 degree edges as opposed to this thumbs. If there was a bending problem due to the breaks or the reinforcements, we would have seen the same type of bending from the Apple/CR testing.

I am not saying the phone can't bend, or that the reinforcements aren't the cause. But if they are, there are more breaks than just the one below the volume buttons.

I just can't imagine those forces being generated on your phone, at that precise spot, by your jeans. Unless you were wearing EXTREMELY tight jeans, I just don't see it happening in normal use. Can it happen? Possibly. But not in normal use.

I'm willing to bet that the increase in reports are coming from people now trying to purposely bend the phone after watching these videos.

Anyone remember the iphone 5/5s bending claims? A few people had the same problem. It was actually in the SAME PLACE (just below the volume buttons). Doesn't mean it was widespread or a design defect. I used my iPhone 5 normally for 2 years, and never had a bending problem, just like the MILLIONS of other users.

Anyone have a teardown of the 5/5S to compare?