iPhone 6 Plus bending in pockets

http://techcrunch.com/2014/09/23/the-iphone-6-plus-gets-bent/

by robot_scream • 12 years ago

63 110 12 years ago

The mild level of hysteria over this has been interesting. It's a slab of thin aluminium that has a large surface area, a consistent amount of pressure is going to cause bending. I'm personally surprised that the glass didn't crack on some of the pictures.

dalai• 12 years ago

True, but I would assume that most people have a reasonable expectation that their phones will not get damaged in typical usage scenarios. And yes, I do think that putting your phone in your front pocket is typical. In my view that means that there is a design flaw.

georgespencer3• 12 years ago

I do think that putting your phone in your front pocket is typical

Correct. And for, hm, probably 99.98% of the 10m iPhone 6 users created over the weekend, that isn't an issue.

You're drawing a misleading comparison between putting your iPhone in your pocket and it becoming bent out of shape. What happens when you put your phone in your pocket is crucial: exerting sufficient pressure to bend (as opposed to flex) the phone.

This is a problem with any object of similar proportions and rigidity when sufficient pressure is applied.

Tl;dr: if you sit on something, it might break.

allegory• 12 years ago

This. I've had several smartphone devices over the years and not one has been bent in my pocket, even when I sit on it. I don't expect it to happen, even on a premium device.

ghaff• 12 years ago

Assuming accuracy of reports, etc. But, yes, if it's relatively easy to bend a phone even slightly by putting it in a normal (for reasonable tightness values of normal) front pocket, that's questionable. Though--I would add--not because as many regurgitated articles suggest because Aluminum is a "soft, bendable metal" or because the heat in one's pocket softens the metal.

MCRed2• 12 years ago

These are not typical usage scenarios. These are standard issue "put it in a bench press and pretend it happened in my pocket" anti-iphone hysteria.

Just like the claim that the finger print scanner didn't work, the entirety of antenna gate and, naturally, all the pictures of shattered glass we see every time a new model comes out.

"oh, it was just sitting on the night stand and fell about 6 inches into a pillow and the glass shattered!"

I predict we'll get "my iPhone caught on fire!" and "man in china electrocuted by genuine apple power adapter[1]!" stories in the next couple months.

[1] Actually cheap poorly made knockoff but the press won't mention that.

nicholassmith7• 12 years ago

Sure, but it's not a normal phone, it's essentially a mini-tablet at that size. Yes, there's a pervading sense of 'you're pocketing it wrong', but there's been a few photos dug up and Apple will have sold somewhere between 1-3m iPhone 6 Plus' so far. Either it's limited to very specific circumstances, or they've got devices that have a specific structural weakness, or we've yet to hear the full extent.

kalleboo• 12 years ago

So the conclusion is: buy a slab of plastic instead, it'll hold up better https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FwM4ypi3at0

nicholassmith7• 12 years ago

Plastic can also suffer similar effects, enough pressure and it'll crack or start showing the bend point but it'll return to shape more than metal.

duncanawoods• 12 years ago

The glass breaks when you bend it back apparently

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FwM4ypi3at0

IkmoIkmo6• 12 years ago

I'd be mildly hysterical too, the 6 is a phone that'll sell 100m units within its first six months and already sold 10m in its first weekend. If some of those units are based on a faulty design, that's a really big deal affecting tens of millions of people and tens of billions of sales.

nicholassmith7• 12 years ago

It's a bit of hysteria, as like you've pointed out they sold 10m units and so far about a dozen people have had issues with bending. There's an issue yes, but it doesn't seem to be as widespread as the news reports seem to want it to be. It's the same as when one Tesla caught fire, the news reports covered it like there was going to be a full recall and much wailing and gnashing of teeth.

personZ2• 12 years ago

The mild level of hysteria over this has been interesting

It is a brand new, $1000 consumer device. As haughty and rich as we all present ourselves, it really supremely sucks if you're the person whose brand new device got bent -- regardless of your available spending cash, it's a major bummer, moreso if you have a 2 year contract ahead of you and a dead device. That is why there is a "hysteria".

Gorilla glass (not sure if the iPhone uses that brand specifically, but they use ion enhanced glass which is what it is) famously bends.

This story got knocked back to page 3 for having too many comments to upvotes, as an aside.

lh7777• 12 years ago

I'm not worried. 14 day return policy + AppleCare = no risk that that I'm stuck with a bad/dead device.

If this turns out to be a major problem that doesn't happen to me initially, I'll return the phone. If it's not that widespread but I'm among the unlucky ones who ends up with a bent phone over the next 2 years, Apple will replace it for free (or worst case charge me $79 if they think it's my fault).

collyw7• 12 years ago

If the glass bends, and they marketed it right, it could have been a cool feature. It is Apple, they managed to market the Shuffle for basically having almost no user interface and complete lack of features compared to anything else on the market.

huuu2• 12 years ago

It's amazing that people think nothing can happen to a phone. Years ago I sold phones. People wanted money back because they drowned a Nokia in the toilet. Or complained the device stopped working after they dropped it from a great hight.

Nowadays people complain something will bend when you apply a lot of force to it.

eyko3• 12 years ago

It's not an unreasonable expectation seeing as a different phone of a similar form factor does not bend: https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=FwM4...

rvschuilenburg• 12 years ago

I'm pretty sure my Galaxy Nexus would break if i applied the same pressure this guy did.

huuu2• 12 years ago

Well the Samsung Galaxy S4 will bend. And so will other phones.

Large and flat will bend, break or crack. It's just the nature of things.

higherpurpose• 12 years ago

What was the line again? "Apple produces only high quality devices" or something?

kubiiii• 12 years ago

Maybe the bending is a consequence of a better than average shock proof design. Not an apple fan boy here but I find hard to believe that a top selling phone would go on the market without extensive mechanical testing.

easytiger• 12 years ago

Funny, as I'm yet to meet an iPhone 4 that didn't have a smashed screen

zelos• 12 years ago

That's mainly because of the magical super-slip coating on the glass back, isn't it? I swear my iPhone 4 used to slide off level surfaces.

terhechte• 12 years ago

Mine, I got it when it came out in 2010, used it every day since end of 2013 when I got the 5s. Screen is still in perfect condition, so is the back side.

girvo2• 12 years ago

Mine. Had it since launch. Not even a scratch on the screen either.

readerrrr• 12 years ago

They could have done the analysis and determined that replacements would cost less than a harder shell for every phone.

supercoder2• 12 years ago

Apple will no doubt acquire that youtube bend guy to bend all their products from now.

girvo2• 12 years ago

Jesus Christ I'm sick of this "*gate" crap. Get a new gig, people.

supercoder2• 12 years ago

Yep, bend a phone and it bends: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SwdZzvCFhLo&feature=youtu.be

eyko3• 12 years ago

Not in your pocket.

_pmf_2• 12 years ago

Ungrateful peasants. They are privileged to use the world's best phone and complain about such benign issues.

Clearly if I got the plus I'd never be able to sit at a table with it. This is bringing back the holster.

This should be the preferred way for hipsters to wear their apparel.

linker3000• 12 years ago

They're trousering it wrong. Their problem.

I currently have a Galaxy S4 - no problems. Previous phone was a whopping-big, first generation Note - ditto. Both live/lived in my front trouser pocket.

The only device I have managed to break while in my pocket was an HP/Compaq iPaq, about 10 years ago, when I sat on a child's swing next to my son in a playground - the metal 'rope' went taught against my side and the pressure cracked the screen.

Edit: For a bit of objectivity, what was the last phone that received this level of attention for being prone to bending in tight pockets - has there been one?

dragonwriter2• 12 years ago

I've had a Galaxy Note 3 damage pockets that were particularly tight, but not the other way around.

dimillian• 12 years ago

So if you feel a pressure in you pocket, DO NOT REMOVE the phone.... Are people just plain dumbs or what?

morganvachon• 12 years ago

A coworker just got that new waterproof Android phone from Kyocera. For some reason he thought waterproof == indestructible, so he never got a case for it. Two weeks later it ended up with a cracked screen. He cracked it when he had it in his pocket and leaned against a table.

Yes, these devices are made to withstand rough conditions, and each generation seems tougher than the last. But cases exist for a reason; no phone is indestructible.

Nursie• 12 years ago

That's a shame, and not something I've experienced with my Galaxy Notes of various generations. You'd think it would be tested for this sort of thing.

Though who knows, maybe some folks have had problems with these devices and it's just not widely reported. Given the high profile launches and expectations of flawlessness from Apple (rightly or wrongly), it may well come under increased scrutiny.

antimagic2• 12 years ago

As a counter-point, independant testing indicates that the iPhone 6(+) is the toughest iPhone yet: http://blogs.wsj.com/personal-technology/2014/09/22/iphone-6...

I think we're at least going to have to put an asterix on the tale of the guy that bent his phone in his pants pockets. Until it's been reliably reproduced, I for one won't be jumping to any conclusions.

loxs• 12 years ago

True, but I, on the other hand won't be jump-buying the device either :)

danford4• 12 years ago

SquareTrade found that the iPhone 6 holds up impressively well in drops, spills and slips

But surprisingly they didn't test bends.

NicoJuicy2• 12 years ago

It doesn't matter how tough it is, if i can't put it in my pocket while sitting... It's kinda useless to me.

IkmoIkmo6• 12 years ago

Did you read the article or the headline? It doesn't mention any bending tests, but does mention tests with spills and scratches explicitly. In other words, it seems like the article has zero relevance to this particular issue.

As for your second point, fair enough, I'd like to see more testing, too. But it's already been replicated numerous times, even on unedited video. All looks pretty reliable to me.

pcarmichael• 12 years ago

Looks like it is possible, but takes a pretty decent amount of force: http://youtu.be/znK652H6yQM

MCRed2• 12 years ago

The galaxy note is made out of plastic, it wouldn't bend, it would break, if subjected to the same forces.

This is like antenna gate-- typical Apple bashing pretending like there's some sort of defect when there isn't. And like antenna gate, if you analyze other phones on the market, you'll find they too don't have super human strength.

In fact, the fact that they bent, instead of breaking, is pretty strong evidence that they are the best built phones on the market.

Subject any competing phone to 300pounds of force differential between the center and the edges (or whatever they used to get these to bend) and I'm pretty certain they will be destroyed.

One of the reasons I buy Apple products is that they are built to be durable in a way that very few of their competitors are.

danford4• 12 years ago

The galaxy note is made out of plastic, it wouldn't bend, it would break, if subjected to the same forces.

This video says different:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FwM4ypi3at0

IkmoIkmo6• 12 years ago

Can you bend a flagship plastic phone with your hands though? Cause I just saw someone doing that with an Apple 6 plus.

And what about antenna gate, did that turn out to be false? I'm genuinely curious, as all I've seen is that it was a serious issue that was later corrected by Apple. i.e. these people had all the right to complain. Let me know if you've seen other info.

highace2• 12 years ago

Pretty sure a pants pocket doesn't exert the kind of force required to break a plastic phone. Bend slightly - sure, but fortunately plastic returns to it's original shape once the tension has eased. Metal... not so much.

qwerta3• 12 years ago

Cheap 5" chinese phone did not bend or break. Perhaps expand your market a bit...

personZ2• 12 years ago

The galaxy note is made out of plastic, it wouldn't bend, it would break, if subjected to the same forces.

Based upon, apparently, your opinion?

they are built to be durable in a way that very few of their competitors are.

Material porn has absolutely nothing to do with actual suitability to purpose. iPhone devices are absolutely wonderful devices, but the narrative around the build materials, which people wrongly conflate with built "quality", is detached from reality.

dragonwriter2• 12 years ago

That's a shame, and not something I've experienced with my Galaxy Notes of various generations. You'd think it would be tested for this sort of thing.

Well, given how Apple consistently said people didn't want bigger phones because they weren't suitable for pockets, its not entirely implausible that when they finally bowed to the sales numbers that showed the first part of that was wrong, they might have gotten the wrong message and thought that the second part was still basically right -- that they believed that people wanted bigger phones even though they weren't convenient for keeping in pockets, so that pocket suitability wasn't an issue for bigger phones.

Admittedly, its inconsistent with the myth of Apple's near-prescience when it comes to consumer preferences, but that myth seem to me to be as much a product of people misreading the high-profile cases where Apple marketing has been very good at creating consumer demand for whatever it is Apple is making as anything else.

pritambaral4• 12 years ago

So I just tested this on a few non-aluminium bodied phones, i.e., plastic and glass bodied phones. Plastic is more elastic (etymological irony) than aluminium and returns to its original shape.

I wouldn't have believed if someone claimed my plastic-glass phone wasn't perfectly straight when in my pocket, because I'd never witnessed it bent, and truly believed it sturdy enough to not easily bend.

I guess Apple's miss was that aluminium is less elastic, and the larger/taller your phone the more linear deflection it suffers.

mambodog• 12 years ago

It's almost like they'd be better off making the glass less flexible so it would just crack when people bend it too much, and then they'd know they did the wrong thing. The fact that the phone can bend like this without breaking might mean they don't realise that they've subjected it to an unreasonable amount of force.

NicoJuicy2• 12 years ago

It's trending on Twitter in my area https://twitter.com/hashtag/bendgate

johnpowell• 12 years ago

This guy seems to exert a lot of force for it to bend.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=znK652H6yQM#t=34

I can't understand how having the same happen in your pants wouldn't indicate that maybe you should take your phone out or adjust your trousers.

And I will beat you to the you are wearing your pants wrong joke.

watty• 12 years ago

If they do in fact bend in tight pants it won't be a joke. Apple will not be afraid to tell people that they need to use a case or that they're wearing their pants wrong.

nnnnni2• 12 years ago

I suppose that the pants' tightness would also be a factor. Roomier pants would theoretically be less likely to bend a phone than hipster-tight pants.

pritambaral4• 12 years ago

Notice the bending in OP's video isn't the same level of bending in the pocket-bend claims. The latter is much more subtle, yet still noticeable. I'd say any kind of permanent bend from just being in pants' pockets is a design flaw.

highace2• 12 years ago

He doesn't have to use much force to get the kind of bend that would be noticeable when the phone is put down on a flat surface. I can easily see that being possible in a fitted pair of jeans.

robflynn• 12 years ago

I have a bent iphone 5. I bent it by accidentally dropping it, having the back of the phone land perfectly on the small ledge leading into the doorway of my home, and then stepping on the phone (I weigh about 200lbs.)

The phone bent, but the glass did not break and the phone is still functional. That surprised me. It's actually quite curved. I'll try to get a photo of it later, not near my computer with a webcam at the moment.

I kind of lost the point I was trying to make. Mostly just posting to say, I bent my phone but it took a lot of force.

sakri• 12 years ago

Hipsters do wear very tight jeans.

jbrooksuk• 12 years ago

I wear skinny jeans, but am not a hipster. I just have really skinny legs and look (and feel) ridiculous if they're baggy.

nnnnni2• 12 years ago

Hopefully no one will downvote you for this comment.

Tighter pants would lead to more force being exerted from multiple angles.

rickdale• 12 years ago

Think about the person that waited in one of those long lines that I dont understand and now their walking around with a warped cell phone.

In all seriousness. Why do people stand in those lines? What can you do with the phone that you can't do with another phone? Is it just a material thing?

valarauca1• 12 years ago

I've stood in lines for books, when I could have just as easily purchased it online. Its more of a social thing, you get to interact with other fans, have fun with strangers, bond over a shared interest.

Its kinda like going to a convention except much smaller, and far more jam packed.

MatthiasP• 12 years ago

You can sell the phone in China for $3000, that is why.

joezydeco• 12 years ago

This is what the iPhone launch looks like, now:

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

return02• 12 years ago

I assume it's a social thing, like going to a concert.

collyw7• 12 years ago

So they can feel a sense of achievement, as the staff clap them on the way in.

chrisBob• 12 years ago

I am hopeful that this will lead to a decline in skinny jeans, and I will be back in style.

petercooper3• 12 years ago

It's not really a pocketable phone. Even in my sweatpants (trendy!) it proved so heavy it ended up dragging them down past my ass in the style many kids are rocking nowadays, except I don't rock the underwear or have the ass definition to pull off the look.

Like an iPad, it's better placed in a bag. With everything else, really. Carrying stuff in your pockets is a pain in the arse and a great way to lose stuff.

lomnie• 12 years ago

I'm interested to know why you employ two spelling variations of ass/arse.

Does each cheek identify to different naming conventions?

rahoulb• 12 years ago

He has a transatlantic backside

petercooper3• 12 years ago

I use ass for the literal ass, arse for the metaphorical - it's more mellifluous to me.

collyw7• 12 years ago

I have never lost my phone, or had it stolen. I put that down in part to the fact it always stays in my pocket. Unlike many friends who put their phones / wallets on a bar table as soon as they sit down. That seems to be asking to get it stolen in certain places.

Plus carrying a bag everywhere seems somewhat impractical. (Ok, most girls I know do carry a bag everywhere, most guys I know don't).

petercooper3• 12 years ago

See, I credit the same thing to not carrying stuff in an open pocket but in a bag that has a strap going round my neck and shoulder. Stuff doesn't fall out of it, I don't have to keep checking some git has pickpocketed me..

I carry a messenger bag with my phones, pens, pills, and go knows what else everywhere and don't really give a crap if anyone accidentally thinks I'm female or whatever.

bjclark• 12 years ago

It's not a purse, it's a european carry-all.

qwerta3• 12 years ago

Can wait for dialog "it is a feature" and response from competitors "our phones do not bend" :-)

IkmoIkmo6• 12 years ago

Already heard one today: 'Apple phones at this pressure bend, Android phones at this pressure break'. i.e. it's a feature.

It's a fair point if actually true, but I've seen people bend this iphone with their fingers. I haven't seen anyone break a flagship android phone with their fingers.

In any case, it's not relevant to me to do a competitor comparison, as when you make the comparison to the iphone 1,2,3,4,5, it's obviously worse.

edit: video of a note 4 bend test, seems the 6+ has a unique problem.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FwM4ypi3at0

qwerta3• 12 years ago

It is sort of parody for antenna gate. Motorola responded to Jobs that they do integrated antennas for decades and do not have signal issues. Also there was ad campaign:

"No Jacket Required."

"it's just one of those things that comes as a given when you've been making mobile phones for over 30 years."

guidefreitas• 12 years ago

When the antena gate happens with iPhone 4 Apple gives bundle cases to their customers, I wonder if this time they will give new pants. :)

_pmf_2• 12 years ago

I wonder if this time they will give new pants.

No, they will automatically add the new Justin Bieber album to every iTunes user's profile.

return02• 12 years ago

I thought that would be considered a feature!

bruceboughton• 12 years ago

You're not-holding it wrong.

malka• 12 years ago

48 points in 2 hours. Page 3. Why ?

RossM• 12 years ago

Flags or moderator intervention. I wouldn't call it targeted for this site.

bryanlarsen2• 12 years ago

number of comments is higher than the number of upvotes. HN uses this as a heuristic to bury flame wars.

collyw7• 12 years ago

really? Where do people find out about the algorithms, etiquette and other unwritten stuff about this site. Often people seem to make claims about certain aspects of HN, like you did above, but I can never find anywhere to either prove or disprove it or understand what the 'rules' are.

billconan• 12 years ago

I think they should put a thicker battery in the iphone. why do cell phone need to be so thin? they are hard to hold.

dllthomas• 12 years ago

I'm skeptical about the reporting, but the quotes are choice:

"This is not an issue that Apple - or other phone companies - need to be compelled to respond to or fix. If anything this is a reflection of how people have started to use devices beyond what they were designed for,"

What kind of absurd industry apologist do you have to be to assert flatly that there's no reason people should be expecting their phones to hold up to pockets? I thought the whole reason people want thinner phones in the first place was so they fit better in their pockets.

iPhone 6 Plus bending in pockets

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