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Hmm... IPhone 4, 4s, 5, 5s, 5c... The world says 'oh Apple isn't innovative or spectacular because their phones are so much smaller than the Samsung/HTC/etc'. iPhone 6, 6+... 'Oh Apple put out a bigger phone to copy Samsung/HTC/etc, and theirs is bendy and fragile.' Blah blah blah. It seems like no matter what is done, it's never good enough for the masses. Some people out there will just point out the negatives of every device that they can come up with, just to show the weakness of the competition.

Here's a bit of advice: don't drop your phone, ANY PHONE, because they're liable to break somewhere. And if you've got a giant phone, get bigger pockets. No device is impervious to damage. Suck it up, learn from it, move on. It isn't rocket science, folks. Metal bends, glass breaks. Welcome to the world of electronics, nothing is perfect. :)
 
K factor

When ones applies a force enough to bend metal, metal will bend. Can anyone simplify this one for me with an equation governing this anomaly?

latex.php

Source: http://sheetmetal.me/k-factor/
Read the details of the formula.
No one should mention how a device bends without documentation.
 
Had the problem with my 5s and apple did not do anything...

I hope they will help people and acknowledge this problem, especially with the 6 and 6+ since it take it as a design flaw. A phone should not bend in a pocket

Wait, what?!

And a car should not crumple when you run it into a wall?

Place force on thin aluminum object: Object bends. Make object thinner: Less force needed. Since when did the fact that you put the phone in your pocket and applied said force become a design flaw? For Christ's sake!!
 
Will putting a case partially prevent this maybe?

If more and more people start to report that their phones are bending while its in their pockets, this is very worrisome. I don't want my iPhone even 'slightly' bending just because it's in my pocket. Yes in the video the guy was applying a lot of force, but it was already slightly bent! Hopefully this isn't a major design flaw.

I've had iPhones and other Android phones for years now, and I wasn't ever worried about bending. For the iPhone 6 however, I'm kinda worried already. Apple with its insane amount of cash in-hand should be able to have the resources to build a phone that doesn't have defects here and there.
 
I know I sound like a broken record but I've said over and over again that the 4/4S had the best design of any iPhone even the most recent ones. I still use my 4S at home from time to time as a media control and streaming source and I marvel at it's design in comparison to my 5
 
Gimme a break. you could do this with most phones on the market. Put pressure on it and it will bend/break no matter what it is.

Every time a new iPhone comes out everyone freaks out that it's a "bendgate".

I tried that on my 4s and it was fine. Apple devices are in general surprisingly resilient. Given how annoying ios can be iDevices should survive deliberate attempts to break them.
 
I have a 6+ on order currently. I'm also a mechanical engineer by day. I see a lot of "well duh if you bend it, it's going to bend" type comments, but it seems clear that this is something Apple overlooked. They should have predicted that under many normal circumstances people were going to put this phone in their front pockets. The phone shouldn't bend that easily. The guys phone was noticeably bent even before forcing it with his hands. Apple simply failed to analyze this scenario. It makes me wonder if they even run any kind of structural analyses at all on their phones, a simple Finite Element model would show this phone lighting up like a christmas tree at the weak spot in the case (clearly near the volume buttons), and could be reinforced fairly easily without sacrificing thickness of the overall device. Jony may be a good designer, but he is clearly a *****ty engineer.

Suffice it to say, I will not be putting this phone in my pockets ever.

Good to see a fellow MechE in the forums. It's assuring to know I'm not the only one with concerns about this rev of iPhone
 
Sick. Sick. Sick.
This purposeful destruction and defacing of devices is such a waste.
It is rather sad that some people are so filthy rich they just destroy stuff.
 
I have a 6+ on order currently. I'm also a mechanical engineer by day. I see a lot of "well duh if you bend it, it's going to bend" type comments, but it seems clear that this is something Apple overlooked. They should have predicted that under many normal circumstances people were going to put this phone in their front pockets. The phone shouldn't bend that easily. The guys phone was noticeably bent even before forcing it with his hands. Apple simply failed to analyze this scenario. It makes me wonder if they even run any kind of structural analyses at all on their phones, a simple Finite Element model would show this phone lighting up like a christmas tree at the weak spot in the case (clearly near the volume buttons), and could be reinforced fairly easily without sacrificing thickness of the overall device. Jony may be a good designer, but he is clearly a *****ty engineer.

Suffice it to say, I will not be putting this phone in my pockets ever.

Apple's reliability team is doing all kinds of drop/shock and bending tests (3-point). I don't know why they deemed this device suitable for release, but it seems that there is an issue. To all the people saying that putting the phone (regardless of size) in the pocket seems outrageous - phones in a pocket is pretty much the most straightforward usage scenario. They might not have captured it in their reliability tests though (or underestimated the usage bending stresses), which might be the reason why we are seeing this.
 
I wonder why Jony Ive didn't design a couple ribs of aluminum running top to bottom through the phone. The 4 and 4S had separate structure parts and they never bent. Now the iPhone 6 and 6+ have no internal structure parts and they bend
Because it would have been 7.2mm thin then! Unacceptable!

Plus, weren't a lot of people looking for a curved screen? Hidden optional customization!
 
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Is the iPhone 6 Plus bulletproof? Can somebody make a scientific video?

It's unlikely that the bullet situation will be replicated in my pocket, but I guess it doesn't take much to put holes into the device.
 
Is the iPhone 6 Plus bulletproof? Can somebody make a scientific video?

It's unlikely that the bullet situation will be replicated in my pocket, but I guess it doesn't take much to put holes into the device.

I would highly doubt it. Maybe if it was a small bullet from far away it would stop you being so badly injured by absorbing some of the energy.
 
I feel bad for Apple now. Is this present in iPhone 6 too?
Or does this only happen when you really push hard?
 
I know I sound like a broken record but I've said over and over again that the 4/4S had the best design of any iPhone even the most recent ones. I still use my 4S at home from time to time as a media control and streaming source and I marvel at it's design in comparison to my 5

I refuse to leave my 4s. Everyone at work always come to my desk, look at my phone and claim its the best model phone Apple made, apple lovers or haters.

Its so strong, straight, solid and small enough for pockets. Never had a case.

Ugh why Apple. Thinner, bigger phones. Exactly what most of us don't want.
 
BS this requires a significant amount of force to bend. You could see this guy hand shaking when he's bending it. It's metal so of course if it's in your back pocket and you're sitting somewhere on something hard and the phone isn't flat but at an angle it might bend depending on how heavy you are. I've sat with all my iPhones in my back pocket but in my car and office chairs which are soft. Who in their right mind puts their phone or something valuable in their back pocket and sit on something hard, then when it's damaged you complain?
 
Gimme a break. you could do this with most phones on the market. Put pressure on it and it will bend/break no matter what it is.

Every time a new iPhone comes out everyone freaks out that it's a "bendgate".

These tests are a good start at easing people's worry. But 2 more tests are needed:

1. What kind of force IS normal to happen within a front pocket that contains no other objects?

2. How much force can OTHER phones (especially phablets) stand? I'm sure there's quite a range. Where does the 6 Plus fall within that range?

Apple's own team surely "tested" phones in pockets for hours--it's hard to avoid. So what was different about the guy that claimed a short drive and gentle dancing destroyed his unit?
 
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