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iPad The new (10.5") iPad Air is bent too!

Arctic Moose

Arctic Moose

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Jun 22, 2017
1,603
2,135
Gothenburg, Sweden
After being sent two bent iPad Pro 11" units I gave up and sold the third one unopened at a loss since Apple wouldn't let me return a product that clearly has issues I cannot accept.

I was going to buy an updated MacBook 12" instead, but the line was dropped, not updated.

Since I need a small mobile computing device I decided to try the new iPad Air. I could tell before even taking it out of the box that it wasn't straight. Holding it up to the side of my iMac or the top of my Magic Keyboard, both of which are confirmed reasonably straight, it is obvious there is a gap in the middle. I could probably fit the height of the famous stack of four papers through it.

I've had every single generation iPad excluding one or two, and none of them have been visibly bent. I still have the original iPad Air and the iPad Air 2 in the house, they are both perfectly straight after years of abuse by children. The iPad Pro 10.5 I gave away when I thought the new iPad Pro would replace it was also just fine. (I still have access to it, have checked.)

This is ridiculous. What the hell is going on?

All the bend threads I've found have been about the new Pros. Has anyone else received a bent iPad Air?
 
Too thin. The Air 2, 9.7 and 10.5 Pro as well as the Air 3 can all easily bend. Oh, also the 11 and 12.9-inch Pro (worse than all the ones listed above). Apple makes them too thin. If they’re going to do that, they need to use stronger material.

Edit: 9.7 is meant to be 9.7 Pro
 
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Freakonomics101 said:
Too thin. The Air 2, 9.7 and 10.5 Pro as well as the Air 3 can all easily bend. Oh, also the 11 and 12.9-inch Pro (worse than all the ones listed above). Apple makes them too thin. If they’re going to do that, they need to use stronger material.
Click to expand...

You may want to update 9.7 to 9.7 Pro to avoid any confusion. The regular 9.7 never had bending isssues.
 
That sucks.

I had a Santa Rosa MacBook Pro back in the day and an iPhone 6 Plus that both bent.

This seems like a lesson the designers should’ve learned by now. It’s only been fixed via redesigns.
 
Freakonomics101 said:
Too thin. The Air 2, 9.7 and 10.5 Pro as well as the Air 3 can all easily bend. Oh, also the 11 and 12.9-inch Pro (worse than all the ones listed above). Apple makes them too thin. If they’re going to do that, they need to use stronger material.
Click to expand...
Perhaps, but I haven’t had any issues with earlier models. The iPad Pro 11” and iPad Air 10.5” have both been bent straight out of the box.
 
As the Mini shares so many elements with the Air, it raises the question of whether that would be too, but perhaps the unchanged form factor from the Mini 4 is a blessing in disguise that will save it.
 
*~Kim~* said:
As the Mini shares so many elements with the Air, it raises the question of whether that would be too, but perhaps the unchanged form factor from the Mini 4 is a blessing in disguise that will save it.
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The Pro 10.5 had the same form factor as the Air 10.5, and I never had an issue with it. Since I haven’t seen anyone complain about the new Air I’m wondering if I’ve just had bad luck?
 
Freakonomics101 said:
Too thin. The Air 2, 9.7 and 10.5 Pro as well as the Air 3 can all easily bend. Oh, also the 11 and 12.9-inch Pro (worse than all the ones listed above). Apple makes them too thin. If they’re going to do that, they need to use stronger material.

Edit: 9.7 is meant to be 9.7 Pro
Click to expand...
o_O Are you really sure you did not sat onto one of these devices? So I travelled (via backpack) a lot with my Air 2. I even walked the Camino de Santiago 800km (500 miles) with a 11.5 kg (25lbs) backpack and it is not bent till today?
 
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My air 3 has yet to bend and I am pretty rough with it. I use it as my daily driver and do 100% of my work on it. I work at a school with tons of kids around constantly eyeing my ipad. Then I plug it in at home into my bluetooth keyboard and mouse and use it there. Its with me whenever I leave the house which is almost daily.

They seem pretty strong man. I honestly think your air bending was just bad luck
 
That sucks. But having said that I have both a 12.9 (2018) and now an 11”. Neither were bent out of the box. The 12.9 has been with me all over the world and is as flat today as it was the day I bought it.

I know this is just my experience and wasn’t meant to say it’s you. I’m just saying it isn’t fair to categorically deem the design or material are at fault. To me, out of the box faults are quality control issues.
 
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Torty said:
o_O Are you really sure you did not sat onto one of these devices? So I travelled (via backpack) a lot with my Air 2. I even walked the Camino de Santiago 800km (500 miles) with a 11.5 kg (25lbs) backpack and it is not bent till today?
Click to expand...

I personally have never had a bent iPad but you gotta admit they are thin and pretty easy to bend IF not taken care of like it should be. Look at the general iPads. Harder to bend. I never sit on my iPad or put it in my backpack in a bad place. My backpack has its own special pouch for my iPad where nothing gets in the way of it.
 
Learn to take better care with your devices. For real, just because you’re bent out of millions, doesn’t mean there is a defect. Take responsibly for your irresponsibility and stop blaming Apple.
 
Macintoshrumors said:
Learn to take better care with your devices. For real, just because you’re bent out of millions, doesn’t mean there is a defect. Take responsibly for your irresponsibility and stop blaming Apple.
Click to expand...
Gotta love how delusional Apple superfans are.
 
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Freakonomics101 said:
Too thin. The Air 2, 9.7 and 10.5 Pro as well as the Air 3 can all easily bend. Oh, also the 11 and 12.9-inch Pro (worse than all the ones listed above). Apple makes them too thin. If they’re going to do that, they need to use stronger material.

Edit: 9.7 is meant to be 9.7 Pro
Click to expand...
The pro models tend to bend around (or suspiciously close) to the pogo smart connector if previous bend/durability test vids are to go by. I assume there is lack of any reinforcement in this particular area. There is likely hollow air although I haven’t seen any teardowns to back this up.
 
Got one on Sunday, can confirm: not bent.
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Herrpod said:
Gotta love how delusional Apple superfans are.
Click to expand...

Gotta love how delusional Apple haters are. Hey, check out the Alternatives to Mac section, plenty of that there. I'm sure there's room for one more, right, @Queen6 ? ;-)
 
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0989382 said:
Got one on Sunday, can confirm: not bent.
[doublepost=1567670508][/doublepost]

Gotta love how delusional Apple haters are. Hey, check out the Alternatives to Mac section, plenty of that there. I'm sure there's room for one more, right, @Queen6 ? ;-)
Click to expand...
Total a hater with my Beats Solo 3s, MBP, iPad, iPhone, iMac and EarPods. You caught me! Anyone who automatically blames the user for an Apple problem IS the problem. It's OK to enjoy Apple products without also inserting one's head directly up a corporation's behind. They don't care about you at all. Why would you defend them?
 
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Herrpod said:
Total a hater with my Beats Solo 3s, MBP, iPad, iPhone, iMac and EarPods. You caught me! Anyone who automatically blames the user for an Apple problem IS the problem. It's OK to enjoy Apple products without also inserting one's head directly up a corporation's behind. They don't care about you at all. Why would you defend them?
Click to expand...

You can still own and use the products and be a hater! I guess you could call it, an innovation of your own...

Sometimes it's Apple's fault, sometimes it's the users fault. That's reality.

My iPad isn't bend. There are lots of bitter people on that sub-section of the forum. How does that mean I have my head up Apple?

I don't think they care about me, they're a company. They honour their warranty / AppleCare agreements and do the right thing for me every time I have an issue (even when they don't have to in writing), so as far as a company goes, they've looked after me. Credit where credit is due.

I'm not defending Apple, I'm just saying that haters are hilariously bitter, resentful and angry and delusional, so to use the words you chose! ;-)
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Seanm87 said:
My iPad Air bent when I sat on it. I managed to bend it back though.
Click to expand...

I feel like I was there!!
 
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