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

[Shirke]

I hope Apple learn from iphone 6
I guarantee you apple will beef up the next iPhone 7.

 

[jb007clone]

A random photo on the internet is gospel, but Consumer Reports testing is flawed. Ah the internet....lol.

Except when Consumer Reports is talking about antennas, right? Then it's bull. /s

Fanboys ITT:

 

[yansun]

The problems with most metals, and Aluminium in particular (thanks to rGiskard above) is that the 70/90lbs of force doesn't need to be applied all at once.

Metal is not flexible like plastic, however it is stronger. The problem is that the lack of flexibility leads to a result called metal fatigue. This process occurs when a given section is repeatedly subject to a similar force over time.

I suspect this is where the REAL bananagate will come from.

It may also be how some tricksters prepare the phone, by repeated micro-movements, causing metal fatigue and making the final push that much easier when it hits.

This is actually a worse problem if it is true, because it will hit most consumers well out of their 90 day grace period.

Anyway this seems to be a real and not a non issue. I really don't believe all these people who are stating their phone bent under "normal" use made their story up because someone paid them/they hate Apple or that they are lying about what they done to it.
Even in the CR test the iPhone was way more vulnerable to bending than the other 3 tested phones except the HTC. In addition there seems to be a "weak spot" where you probably even have to put less pressure on to bend the phone (not tested by CR). And if your and rGiskards assumption is right, then its maybe even worse... I hope not, because I actually still want to buy one.

 

[rsocal]

Except when Consumer Reports is talking about antennas, right? Then it's bull. /s

Fanboys ITT:

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That's correct.

 

[johnnygee]

Why would they have done that?

OK Mr. Nitpicker, then the iPhone 6 AND the HTC One (M8) are BOTH at the bottom of the list. You must be in marketing or in politics because people like you are excellent at twisting a meaning. See you could have said the iPhone 6 and the HTC are both at the bottom of the list, however, you didn't say that. So your response was factually incorrect based on the bottom of the list meaning the phones in the test that received the worst score.

So to be clear, the bottom of the list means the phones in the test with the worst score!

Maybe you didn't consider that Consumer Reports put the HTC One (M8) at the bottom to be courteous to Apple.

CR has been in continuous publication since the 1920s. They have no allegiance to any product manufacturer.

 

[styymy]

Move along.

Consumer reports test is BS. All they needed to do was put the phone in a fat chick's rear jeans pocket and have her sit down on a hard bench.

Unfortunately, this is way over the heads of the average consumer. They don't understand what pounds of force or per square inch is. They should do another video in 2nd grader speak judging by a lot of comments for this to really be understood.

 

[Lankyman]

Actually - no it was science, measurements and actual facts.

It was totally flawed in the way it was carried out, so although what you assert is true, if the way you carried out the test was flawed then it follows the results will be flawed to.

Sorry Tim but you wasted the companies money with this.

What I can't understand was why Apple didn't source a curved Samsung screen for the new iPhone.

 

[TheRainKing]

The question here is not why is Apple not on top.. There is no competition to have the most bend-resistant phone. Nor is it Apple's ambition to build the world's strongest phone.

Never said it was. I was just wondering why so many people were happy with the results.

 

[johnnygee]

Nonsense

Which goes back to the point that strongest part of the phone/device/object is never the point of failure. An object is only as weak as its weakest point.

Which still makes the iPhone 6 physically weaker than the 5. Wouldn't matter if the screen was made out of Star Wars transpasteel and could take turbo laser strikes, if the rest of it can't stand up to hand bending.

The ONLY way this could be an advatange would be if the bending and disconnecting of components allowed the more expensive display and touch input systems to survive and allow for in-expensive repair/replacement costs. This sadly not the situation.

The 6 is just too thin and too weak.

And I would argue personally needlessly too big. The iPhone 5 struck about the right balance of nice.

You'll never put 70 to 90 lbs of force on any phone by carrying it around in your pocket...or by making phone calls.

 

[yansun]

You know what's very very convincing? This:

Image

You know what irony is?

 

[craznar]

It was totally flawed in the wa

No. You are incorrect. Nuff said, moving back onto the current issue.

 

[fmcarv]

You mistake is assuming the CR test applies to forces from any direction. CR only tested rigidity in a single three point test that did not exploit the weak point at the volume button discontinuity. We have no idea how much force is required to bend the phone at that point.

But if CR was to apply a force to the iPhone's weak point then they would have to apply the same force to all other phones weak points.

And trust me they all have them

 

[Trapezoid]

Except when Consumer Reports is talking about antennas, right? Then it's bull. /s

Fanboys ITT:

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What the heck does what other people said about CR's antenna report have to do with me??

You're quickly falling apart. Maybe you should post another South Park cartoon?

 

[calzon65]

Yeah, ok granny...

Put the glasses on, wear your hearing aid and watch the video again.

Then after you have a quick mug of tea, come back.

Ok Mr. Reading challenged person, I am talking about the Deformation chart prepared by Consumer Reports and displayed at the end of their video. This is what scientific testers call “A Summarization of Related Facts”. In the case of Consumer Reports, as with all professional testing labs, to eliminate subjective interpretation of the results, they summarized their results, in writing, with a Deformation force chart at the end of their video.

I will be happy to lend you some reading classes and a hot cup of tea whilst you read the chart.

 

[rsocal]

Unfortunately, this is way over the heads of the average consumer. They don't understand what pounds of force or per square inch is. They should do another video in 2nd grader speak judging by a lot of comments for this to really be understood.

I posted about pounds per square in. as well, and being in the collision business I understand how much 90lbs per sq.in. is.

 

[iBug2]

It was totally flawed in the way it was carried out, so although what you assert is true, if the way you carried out the test was flawed then it follows the results will be flawed to.

Sorry Tim but you wasted the companies money with this.

How is the test flawed? Should they have tested it on the back pockets of various fat people? That would be more scientific?

 

[Trapezoid]

You'll never put 70 to 90 lbs of force on any phone by carrying it around in your pocket...or by making phone calls.

This is what I figured as well. Seems like you'd have to have some crazy crap going on in your pants to exert that much pressure on a phone through normal use.

 

[fmcarv]

Here's a summary of the design flaw as I see it:



Here is the weak point as viewed externally.

View attachment 497845



From iFixit's teardown, here are the internal reenforcements.

View attachment 497846



Note that Apple chose to use a series of short steel plates in lieu of a single continuous steel plate. Had they chose the latter, the phone would not have pivot points at the ends of each plate. The meager reenforcements are "good enough," save a few cents, and make for a slightly lighter phone. A continuous steel angle or I-beam could have been used without altering the size of the phone and would have resulted in a virtually unbendable device. They probably used a formula to predict the cost of iPhone replacements vs. increased manufacturing costs, yet Apple's reputation was not factored in. It's a typical American business mistake - even Apple is not immune.



As a result of Apple's flawed design (under a test that doesn't even exploit the weak discontinuity at the volume buttons), the competition is about 150% more resistant to bending:

View attachment 497847



In only a few days, we already have 9-10 reported iPhone bends. Stress is additive for aluminum, so with time phones will grow more prone to bending. Figure that for several years, each person with a bent iPhone will show it to everyone he knows, and factor in the social media amplification, and the result is irrepairable harm to Apple's reputation as a maker of high end quality products.



The diminished reputation occures with people see others with bent phones. Whether it is "stupid" to carry a phone in one's pocket is irrelevant, since all that matters is what other people see. Take a cashier who sees mobile phones all day long: if he sees more bent iPhones, he'll reach a conclusion. This is why a rigid phone is so important to Apple's reputation. Surely any Apple defender wants Apple to do well - I know I do as a longtime Mac user.

" a few days" ???

We're past the 1 week mark...

 

[craznar]

But if CR was to apply a force to the iPhone's weak point then they would have to apply the same force to all other phones weak points.

And trust me they all have them

Forget that test - I want a metal fatigue test using EXACTLY the same point of pressure they currently use (to simulate normal use).

Basically perform 100 x +/-2mm micro pushes, with a 5-10 second gap.
Then repeat the original experiment and determine if the required force to deform the case is reduced significantly.

 

[rsocal]

This is what I figured as well. Seems like you'd have to have some crazy crap going on in your pants to exert that much pressure on a phone through normal use.

If you do have that kind of pressure in your pants, I'm jealous!

 

[declandio]

The iphone6 is still weaker than most phones. No wonder there are so many reports of bending. It is weaker than previous iphones

It's all relative. Who cares if it's 'weaker than most phones' if it's strong enough for normal use. A Porsche is faster than a Kia but both are fast enough to lose your license.

Those youtube videos are crap. You can see peoples hands shaking due to the amount of force they're having to use. Smack anything hard enough and it will break.

 

[yansun]

" a few days" ???

We're past the 1 week mark...

A week is still just a few days... What is your point?

 

[Dorje Sylas]

You'll never put 70 to 90 lbs of force on any phone by carrying it around in your pocket...or by making phone calls.

That's only from the the distributed load test, which has its flaw that the force is DISTRUSTED.

What was not tested is specific weak areas, such around the buttons, which is where we are seeing most of the bending and wrapping happening.

That zone was also where iPhone 6 failed first in there distributed test. How much force will take if the force is focused at that point? The Consumer Report test didn't examine that.

Weakest point of failure determains strength of structure.

 

[fmcarv]

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

It's all relative. Who cares if it's 'weaker than most phones' if it's strong enough for normal use. A Porsche is faster than a Kia but both are fast enough to lose your license.

Those youtube videos are crap. You can see peoples hands shaking due to the amount of force they're having to use. Smack anything hard enough and it will break.

It's even more pointless since until now NOBODY bought phones on the basis of their bending-resistance.

Maybe that's a spec resellers need to start writing down on their product specs LOL

 

[calzon65]

It's all relative. Who cares if it's 'weaker than most phones' if it's strong enough for normal use. A Porsche is faster than a Kia but both are fast enough to lose your license.

Those youtube videos are crap. You can see peoples hands shaking due to the amount of force they're having to use. Smack anything hard enough and it will break.

All correctly stated, especially the stupid "hand bending" videos. Those are such are joke like the drop test videos you see all the time. The Consumer Reports test was professional.

Yes the ultimate question is the iPhone 6 strong enough for an individual's every day use. I have a feeling for most people the answer will be yes.