iPhone 6 and 6 Plus not as bendy as believed

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/news/2014/09/consumer-reports-tests-iphone-6-bendgate/index.htm

by eglover • 12 years ago

229 175 12 years ago

shawndumas• 12 years ago

  Phone	                 Deformation	Case Separation
  -----------------------------------------------------
  HTC One (M8)	         70 lbs.	90 lbs.
  Apple iPhone 6	 70 lbs.	100 lbs.
  Apple iPhone 6 Plus	 90 lbs.	110 lbs.
  LG G3	                 130 lbs.	130 lbs.
  Apple iPhone 5	 130 lbs.	150 lbs.
  Samsung Galaxy Note 3	 150 lbs.	150 lbs.

Direct link to the video http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/video-hub/3809044640001/

Mithaldu• 12 years ago

First off, their own results show that the 6 series is considerable weaker than the 5 series.

Secondly, they applied that force for 30 seconds and got significant deformation. I'm fairly sure that, given more time, they'd reach the less significant deformation reported and shown by others, with less force.

UnoriginalGuy• 12 years ago

Your second point is a valid good one to at least consider.

However just playing devil's advocate: 9 returns to Apple (assuming that figure is true) is absolutely trivial relative to the units shipped.

I think it will be interesting to see where we stand in 6 months time. Will we see tons more phones return?

idlewords4• 12 years ago

The results show that the 6 series is similar in strength to phones of that size from other manufacturers. It stands to reason that a smaller, thicker phone like the iPhone 5 will be more rigid (though it's interesting that it's easier to deform a 6 than a 6+).

maxerickson• 12 years ago

Deformation depends a lot more on the force than on how long the force is applied. There is a critical point where a material will permanently deform rather than springing back. More here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yield_(engineering)

bane11• 12 years ago

Wow. glad to know my Note 3, as big as it is, is class leading in this particular test. It's definitely a top-notch piece of hardware in every other way.

From specs to hardware build the iPhone 6 just seems really behind the curve and very "blah".

The iPhone 5 was definitely a class leading phone in the hand before this test, feeling like a beautiful instrument. This test is proving it too is a fantastically put together device from a durability POV.

The 6 is very ho hum and I'm adding this to my list of ho hum things about it. It's not a bad phone, but not a great, class leading one in any way either.

I never really thought I'd see the day that a Korean phone designed by a completely anonymous corporate industrial design drone really beat the socks off of Apple's offering, and yet it appears to have happened this year.

All that being said, #bendgate is seriously overblown, just like antenna-gate. This is most likely a desire to hit Apple where it hurts the most, image, in order to extract free stuff/lower price/whatever like what happened last time with antenna-gate.

GuiA2• 12 years ago

From specs to hardware build the iPhone 6 just seems really behind the curve

Obviously people see what they want to see, but: http://www.anandtech.com/show/8559/iphone-6-and-iphone-6-plu...

PhantomGremlin2• 12 years ago

Sigh. Even that link causes Safari on OS X to display an image saying:

   WE'RE SORRY
   You need to update your Flash Player

So, by default, the Consumer Reports website is non-functional with those customers who are most likely to have an iPhone. I then visited consumerreports.org using my non-bent iPhone6 and wonder of wonders, the video played.

Morons.

saool• 12 years ago

doesn't look like they applied pressure on the spot near the volume rocker where it apparently has the defect.

2muchcoffeeman• 12 years ago

That doesn't sound right. If you look at their tests of the iPhone 5, the LG G3 and the Galaxy Note 3, they clearly bend off centre, where I assume there is a weak point.

This whole thing is stupid. I have an iPhone 6 and it just barely fit comfortably in my front pocket. If it's just a bit off I find it awkward and uncomfortable.

I would love to see tests involving the real people who are bending their phones in their pockets. a) to measure the forces in their pockets and b) to see how they can stand that sort of discomfort.

Edit: I'll be specific. When I am standing the phone fits fine in my jeans. It's not great when I try and sit. In some positions it's ok. But in my head I was implying that if it's uncomfortable, I take it out of my pocket. The 6 is definitely the limit of any phone I'd buy.

idlewords4• 12 years ago

You are complaining that the big phone you bought doesn't fit comfortably in your pocket. I don't even know what to say.

With regard to a weak point, the phone would bend there first in these tests if such a thing existed. That's how weak points work.

virtuabhi• 12 years ago

If I remember correctly, in the original iPhone 6+ bend video[1], the force was applied both at the top and bottom. Wouldn't that produce more torque (with respect to centre of mass) and maybe result in quicker bending? The ConsumerReport machine applies force only at the centre.

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=znK652H6yQM

oldmanjay2• 12 years ago

only applying force at the center would be a push

mschuster91• 12 years ago

45kg? Put your phone in your back pocket and sit down... if you're a bit more fat than usual, 45kg is easily achieved.

I killed four phones to date simply by accidentally sitting down on them.

aroch• 12 years ago

...

Stop sitting on your phone. Would you put your laptop of the edge of a chair and sit on it?

icelancer• 12 years ago

I killed four phones to date simply by accidentally sitting down on them.

Uh.

Don't sit on them? Who does this?

CamperBob2• 12 years ago

People who can afford to buy and mistreat a lot of phones, apparently.

baddox3• 12 years ago

Putting your phone in your back pocket and sitting down is in the same class of abuse as jumping into a swimming pool with your phone in your pocket. I would never expect any phone to survive either.

Gustomaximus• 12 years ago

Sony Xperia z2 & z3 are both waterproof. Quite amazing phones. A couple more generations and this could be the standard.

interrupt132• 12 years ago

I think water + electronics is a well-known bad combination. Apple never claims their products to be submersible, so of course a dip in the pool = death to the device (though I've had a Galaxy S3 survive a dip in the pool -- recovered completely after spending 3 days in a bag of rice). The point here is that an iPhone (or similar) is a device carried along with the person. That implies being stuffed in pockets, being dropped now and then, left in the car from time to time, and being sat on. A consumer device of quality would withstand such stresses. I guess if Apple were to make a car it would be okay if it was 'totaled' after running into a curb? I

nemothekid• 12 years ago

I really think this is a ridiculous statement - or maybe I don't weigh as much as everyone else.

Not until now has putting a phone in your back pocket been "crazy." I recently upgraded from the iPhone 4 (which I had for 3 years) to the 6, and for the life time of iPhone 4 I've sat on it for extended hours and had it my back pocket. I currently do the same with the 6.

What I really think has happened here is this whole thing is being blown out of proportion because 1.) its Apple and 2.) they moved 10M units in a weekend (if they had 1% defect rate, thats 100,000 angry tweets, status, youtube videos and blog posts).

FWIW the only videos I've seen of the phone actually bending are the non-measured ones when someone applies an inane amount of force with their hands trying to destroy the thing (with an Li-On battery inside!)

boyaka• 12 years ago

The only time I consciously put my phone (Galaxy Nexus) in my back pocket while sitting was when we were going on a water ride at the amusement park. I think it was worth the risk because we got soaked of course, but I definitely tried to not put my full weight on it.

There have been other situations where I have unconsciously put my phones through pretty intense pressure, not realizing it was under me where I sit down or sleeping with it and it getting stuck in between mattresses/cushions/pillows whatever (although for other reasons I have been trying to not go to sleep with my phone anymore, leaving it plugged in somewhere else).

idlewords4• 12 years ago

Try stacking multiple phones in your back pocket to increase their rigidity.

LordHumungous3• 12 years ago

Front pocket man. Always.

Thlom• 12 years ago

Used to have my phone in my front pocket, but the iPhone 4s made ugly "phone marks" on my jeans! So moved it to my back pocket where it appears to not do the same amount of damage.

pessimizer• 12 years ago

You're holding it wrong.

Crito• 12 years ago

Bend a phone once, shame on the phone. Bend a phone four times...

crystaln• 12 years ago

Definitely a problem with the phone manufacturers. They should fix this problem ASAP so that you can sit on your phone.

abduhl4• 12 years ago

This test shows a severe lack of understanding of flexural strength testing. This test is a bastardization of the three point bending test that is commonly performed for peak bending strength analysis of materials.

Bending is a result of moments and moments are driven by moment arms. These tests should not be looking at point load required to induce deformation but rather the moment required to induce deformation. Each of these should have been converted into equivalent moments based on the size of the phone.

For example, the M8 is shown as 146.3 mm (5.76 in) H; 70.6 mm (2.78 in) W; 9.4 mm (0.37 in) D and the iPhone 6 is 138.1 x 67 x 6.9 mm (5.44 x 2.64 x 0.27 in) and both are shown to "deform" at 70 lbs.

The M8 has an induced moment of 100 lb-in while the iPhone 6 has an induced moment of 95 lb-in. The resultant bending stress by assuming a linear stress distribution across the section is then 1575 psi for the M8 and 2950 psi for the iPhone 6.

Similar analyses should be undertaken for each of the other phones.

A more accurate test for the failure mode of concern would be a four point load test in which moment is constant across a portion of the phone. The three point load test induces a moment that is maximum at the point of load application. The four point load test is more likely to show you where the point of weakness in the phone is.

knowaveragejoe• 12 years ago

So what does this ultimately mean? Seems like you can bend any given modern smartphone, given enough force. Is the iPhone 6 more likely to bend under average conditions? Is there any substance to the hubbub about bending 6's? A lot of jargon in your response, is this lengthy response just to point out that their methodology is flawed or are you making a point about the case at hand?

ics• 12 years ago

The machine and example configurations:

http://www.instron.us/wa/acc_catalog/prod_list.aspx?cid=833&...

http://www.instron.us/wa/applications/test_types/flexure/con...

---

My attempt at a "for dummies" summary of the issue here:

If you look carefully, the Consumer Reports tests involve placing end supports roughly 1/4" from either edge of each phone. Basically, all the phones are different sizes and thus have varying amounts of material and torque being applied between the supports and the part of the machine pressing down. A particularly long phone which yields at 70lb of force has actually performed better than a stubby one which yields at 70lb in this case. Hopefully I didn't just say anything too wrong or confusing, because I'm not going to notice until the morning...

fit2rule• 12 years ago

The point is things got worse from iPhone 5 -> 6 .. the case got less resilient. So its a downgrade.

higherpurpose• 12 years ago

Really? Have you seen or heard of ANY other phone that bends THIS easily?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJ3Ds6uf0Yg&feature=youtu.be

abduhl4• 12 years ago

Sorry if my point was unclear.

The point of my response is that the test performed does not test against the complaint, it is a manipulation of the data (either through ignorance or malice) that presents data that may not truly imply the conclusion drawn by the article.

Phones are composed of many different materials of many different sizes and shapes at different points through its cross section. When looking for a "yield force" or "rupture force," as this article does, the three point test is effective ONLY for materials which are constant along the entirety of the test section or for parts where the loading condition is replicated exactly. When the loading condition may be unknown or the sectional properties may vary along the length of the phone then the four point test is more appropriate as it will show you the bending moment that is required to induce yield/rupture and, more importantly, it will show you WHERE that point is.

Most people elsewhere in this thread note that the point of weakness appears to be at the volume buttons on this phone. The three point bending test where the phone is loaded in the center may or may not reveal this, but a proper four point bending test would. Proper analysis of the testing method, reported failure modes, and the testing data would reveal this.

I also take a little exception with the "70 lbs is what it takes to break four pencils" demonstration they do as it is misleading and not informational at all. Four pencils loaded with 70 lbs at what point? What is the geometry of the four pencils? Is it 2x2 square or 4x1 rectangular? Which direction is it loaded?

The whole article stinks of pseudo-science which is what you get when you have journalists conducting tests without consulting with a proper expert in the field.

The article notes that the three point test is the "standard" that Apple uses for this type of test as if it somehow makes that the appropriate test for this type of analysis. It does not.

3rd3• 12 years ago

They also didn't respond to the suspected weak spot near the mute and volume buttons at all. I could imagine that this spot was not under a lot of stress the way they bent it.

kyrra• 12 years ago

(For others that want to know more) An example of what a four point load test looks like: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thd01MjOTeA

With this type of test, it may have been able to show if the volume or SIM card slots create structure weak points.

Schweigi• 12 years ago

The Youtube video made by the guy who bends the 6 Plus with his hands shows that the weak point is at the volume slot. I think its a bit disappointing that ConsumerReports didn't go into more detail.

pstan• 12 years ago

Civil Engineering Grad student here. Agreed, four point load test allows for uniform bending moment distribution between the two loading point. Which can expose the weakest point in the phone (in iPhone6+ near the volume buttons). The link below is the moment diagram for both load test. http://images.slideplayer.us/5/1566057/slides/slide_20.jpg

thathonkey• 12 years ago

That is a LOT of words

chrisBob2• 12 years ago

I completely disagree. This is a case where the size plays a significant role in how it would be bent in real life. Strongest for its thickness isn't worth much. My cheek pressing in the center of a phone while I sit on a soft couch loads the full length, and approximates the 3 point test quite well.

carlob3• 12 years ago

Insightful comment, bot those units really make me cringe. How do you do physics with those? Did you know that 1 lb in is 16 oz ft?

techrat2• 12 years ago

It's too bad there isn't an educational system that exists to help us learn units throughout childhood so that we can apply them to everyday tasks in our adult lives.

abduhl4• 12 years ago

Physics is done quite readily by using a consistent unit system of pound inch second or kip feet seconds. All of these units can be converted to metric; however, it appears that one of the key characteristics of metric system champions is an inability to do conversions and so the convertiblity of any units may a moot point.

IshKebab• 12 years ago

lb-in

Ugh. What's that in microtonne-millileagues?

lutusp2• 12 years ago

My favorite Imperial unit is velocity expressed in furlongs per fortnight. I can't understand why people don't use it more often.

interrupt132• 12 years ago

Do CR consider this a real defense? They've proven that the iPhone6's physical weaknesses pair it with the lowest end of the spectrum (by a wide margin). It is indeed more scientific than the empirical 'viral' story, but their results do not bode well for Apple.

roghummal• 12 years ago

CR isn't presenting a defense. They did a few tests and presented the results. They then suggest the #BENDGATE drama is overblown.

LordHumungous3• 12 years ago

Ok, a comparison to other phones is not that reassuring, because many phones on the market are flimsy. Compare it to the iPhone 5. That thing was built like a tank compared to the competition.

PhantomGremlin2• 12 years ago

I traded my iPhone 5 in, because I got $200 for it. But I fear that the 5 will turn out to be the pinnacle of iPhone achievement. I wish I could have bought a new phone with the iPhone 5 case design but with useful tweaks like NFC and an improved camera.

Tloewald• 12 years ago

The iPhone 4/s was even more solid, and I think very attractive. A stainless steel frame has its advantages (especially since I think weight is a non-issue with devices this small).

hrktb• 12 years ago

Please do an image search for "iphone5 bent". An example: http://www.barnorama.com/iphone-5-can-bent/

Anecdotaly I also seen it first hand.

bentcorner• 12 years ago

While I can't discount the possibility that the iPhone 6 may be more susceptible to bending damage, I'm sure that the high profile release and media coverage are pushing this out of proportion.

Reminds me of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seattle_Windshield_Pitting_Epi...

gojomo• 12 years ago

If a media outlet is going to thrive with the modern internet masses, then the one thing it cannot afford to have is a sense of proportion.

Spooky23• 12 years ago

Sure it is blown out of proportion, any issue with Apple draws crazy headlines and overwrought debate. Remember the nonsensical antenna gate "death grip"?

XorNot3• 12 years ago

So nonsensical Apple wound up firing the engineer in charge of the design, a man no one would have otherwise known the name or job of?

userbinator• 12 years ago

One difference between plastic and aluminium is that the latter tends to retain deformation more than plastic, which flexes and then returns to its original shape. This is exacerbated by the fact that aluminium cases are usually made much thinner than plastic ones to reduce weight and cost. Also the peak force produced by the impact of e.g. bumping against something with the phone in your pocket could be much more than a constant force of the bend test they used, and easily exceed the elastic limit.

If you compare the thickness of the material in an iPhone 5 vs 6 casing, I'd bet on the latter being somewhat thinner. If that picture of the iPhone 5 is after 150lbs were applied to it, I don't see much "case separation", only a slight bend. It could probably take a bit more force before something catastrophic happened. So it is possible that those used to the robustness of an iPhone 5 are the ones bending their new iPhone 6s.

suprgeek• 12 years ago

Almost all the bending reports are for the iPhone 6+ bending & twisting at/close to the volume-down button when placed in pockets etc.

Placing the phone between two flat blocks and applying pressure at the exact center (three-point-test) will NOT test for this specific issue.

Even then it should be pretty suspicious that in the test conducted, the new phones are at the bottom of the stiffness list.

On another front, the Apple response is textbook - Deny, Minimize, (deride the press), then grudgingly make changes even while insisting that none were needed to begin with. Expect the next lot of these phones to experience a sudden stiffening.

IBM• 12 years ago

"You're bending it wrong"

fredfoobar• 12 years ago

"Just bend it the other way"

seanp2k23• 12 years ago

That was also my first though -- they'll recommend that concerned iPhone 6 owners buy stiff-back cases.

Is it a coincidence that the silicon cases for the 6 /6+ are stiff and fully wrap the back vs the bumper design they used for previous generations?

emersive• 12 years ago

All nine reports of the 10,000,000+ who have iPhone 6s. I really think this whole thing has been blown way way out of proportion. If this were any other phone maker we wouldn't be talking about it.

nmridul• 12 years ago

I know my phone will shatter if I drop it. But I'm not going to drop it to prove this point.

All 10,000,000 won't dare to test the bending and would try to avoid conditions (don't keep in pockets, buy thicker cases etc) that will lead to bending..

KJasper• 12 years ago

Why would you believe a company that said about the antenna issue on the iPhone 4: "You're holding it wrong". There are way more complaints and pictures to be found on this issue than the ones that Apple reports.

InclinedPlane• 12 years ago

First off, we don't know how many phones have been bent nor do we know how common that bending is. The fact that there are any reports at all within the first few days of the phone being available is troubling. What matters is the overall rate of bending under "normal" phone handling conditions. Even if that rate is fairly low (say one per million per day) that still results in a huge number of people with bent phones over their expected use lifetime (nearly 1 in 1000 over the standard 2 year upgrade window).

Moreover, the rate of things like phone bending is probably non-linear, because it will happen during the highest amount of applied bending force over the period of use, which probably doesn't happen every day. If the iPhone 6 plus is just enough weaker than other phones such that it bends more commonly under fairly common handling conditions for any phone then the result could be a LOT of bent phones.

I've seen several videos of people bending these phones and to be honest it looks like Apple has a problem. The phone seems to be much weaker than any device designed for that use environment should be.

Considering that Jobs went to great efforts to ensure that the original iPhone was rugged under normal but inadvised handling conditions (i.e. putting it in the same pocket as keys, thus the use of gorrila glass), I can't help but see this bendiness as a decided step backwards in the design philosophy of the iPhone line.

untog• 12 years ago

It has been blown out of proportion. But so was the iPhone 6 launch. It's the downside of the Apple hype machine, basically.

LarryMade2• 12 years ago

I think a big factor of this is the number of reports in the time-frame... Nine reports over the course of a year is one thing, nine reports over the course of the premiere week is something else entirely.

abandonliberty• 12 years ago

iPhone 6: Now twice as bendy!

Confirms that the new iPhones are much bendier than the old ones.

everyone• 12 years ago

Didnt the viral stories mention heating as a factor? The heat of the device itself (building up by being contained by a tight pocket) + body heat. Writers of this article did not mention that at all.

starky• 12 years ago

If a phone got up to the temperatures where the materials were weakened in any significant way they would be burning the operator and have never passed regulatory testing.

tvon• 12 years ago

Christ, will the damn thing deform if I keep it in my pocket like I would any other phone or is it just a minuscule percentage of devices that have had photos re-posted in the LOLOMGWTF nature of these inane corporate allegiance squabbles? That is all I care about, I'm not trying to build a damn house out of these things.

DAddYE• 12 years ago

Probably if you'll not put the 6+ on your back pocket you should be good. Is taller and thinner and so weaker, easier to bend.

JohnTHaller• 12 years ago

The reports came from people putting them in their front pants pockets and sitting. Your thigh is pretty strong.

lpsz• 12 years ago

Thank you for the first reasonable comment I've seen on this in a while. So much "lol" sensationalism and not much to say how much I, a fairly typical user, have to care about this.

jgon• 12 years ago

I think that you should just hold off buying it for a bit and wait for apple's response. This is admittedly anecdotal, but I know one person who bought the new 6 (not the 6+), and although it is a great phone in every respect he said that over the weekend he had it, it had bent in his front pocket (not his back). It is nothing egregious like the bend test videos, but when he sets it down on a table now it doesn't lie flat because there is a noticeable bend on the diagonal between the top and the bottom. He is now carrying it in his other pocket to try and get a similar bend the other way to even it out.

I am sure that Apple will not let this issue just stand, although they will definitely work to minimize and downplay it publically, and a few months from now the next batch of iphones will have been stiffened and will be much better. One of the risks of being an early adopter and if you can hold off for a bit I'm sure you'll get a stronger phone.

moeedm• 12 years ago

This is getting fucking ridiculous.

Manapp• 12 years ago

sounds like apple paid these guys to do this report...

gress2• 12 years ago

You don't think the bending reports are paid for by someone?

verroq• 12 years ago

You don't think he got paid to post here? /s

But seriously they didn't do the test properly. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJ3Ds6uf0Yg

capkutay• 12 years ago

My biggest issue with Apple's response is they have not revealed their policy on what will happen if I come into apple care with a malformed phone. Will they blame me for putting it in my pocket wrong...or assure me that they can either replace it or give me some kind of case that lessens the risk of curving

godDLL2• 12 years ago

If you come to a Genius Bar looking for help with your bent device they will inspect it visually, and if it doesn't look like it bent under extreme conditions they will replace it. The ultimate arbiter of "normal usage" vs. "extreme conditions" is the AppleCare professional, they aren't going to test your device with automated tools for that.

marincounty• 12 years ago

I'm sorry, but I don't want to be at the mercy of the manager of the Apple store. I once questioned the way a Apple manager was treating a Salesperson who was helping me. Well I guess I the Manager was having a bad day-- he wouldn't sell me anything and ordered me to leave the store. Yes--I was banned from a Apple Store. I took a video of the Manager with an Apple phone and posted it on Youtube.(I took it down. I've always had a hard time with guy's who get a little bit of authority and it goes straight to their heads, so maybe I did something to piss him off?) After that incident, I realized there's a hard coded line of command at those stores and if the Manager says no--the other employees don't have any power.

(If anyone from Apple reads this don't let store Managers abuse their position; you lose sales, and employee store moral goes out the window. You can guess which store it is from my name. Don't take my version of the story. Verify the incident with other employees, I don't think anyone would forget--it happened feb 1, 2013, and "The Manager" was Greg?)

techrat2• 12 years ago

http://i.imgur.com/fGBV3SP.jpg

They were set on allowing people to believe that a structural defect is only available for out of warranty service until the issue got enough attention.

sdk16420• 12 years ago

Wow, a swollen battery is not covered under warranty?! I would understand that if the battery is removable, but how would you prevent this?

(of course, under normal usage it's very unlikely that a modern battery will swell, but it's not impossible)

jaunkst2• 12 years ago

Lol, we actually tested this in the office after seeing this. The glaxaxy and htc one is considerably harder to bend. I sit on my HTC every day in my back pocket, which is a lot mor repetive stress that an iPhone bending in your front pocket.

jaunkst2• 12 years ago

I don't think apple would ever influence online content to say that they are not as bendy. That would be unfair. Give them a break guys! Consumer report isnt making any money on this.

discardorama• 12 years ago

I dunno... 70lbs doesn't seem that much, given some of the backsides I've seen in the US. Just sayin'...

k-mcgrady• 12 years ago

From what I've read most (of the few that there are) bending cases happened with a 6+ in the back pocket. If you stuff a giant phone into your pocket and then sit on it, and then it bends, tough shit. What do you expect?

happyscrappy• 12 years ago

People are stupid, especially when complaining.

Htsthbjig• 12 years ago

What the man in the viral video did was focusing the force in ONE POINT, not in a line like in this experiment.

He focuses the force on the lateral side of the iPhone in order to bend it.

This is probably not very representative of having your phone in your pocket as Apple says but makes for an impressive video that gives you views(and money).

wodenokoto• 12 years ago

How much money does an article or a youtube video generate? It seems that this one article alone must have cost thousands of dollars in equipment alone.

And while the iphone 6 bend video on youtube has almost 40 million hits now, the unbox therapy user who uploaded it hits less than 500.000 views on average for their other videos. I'm willing to believe that 40 million views on youtube can be monitized to pay for more than an iphone 6, but I'm not so sure about the 2-300k, so it seems like quite the investment to go around breaking phones.

andrewchambers• 12 years ago

I have seen youtubers who live off youtube with average video views of 20-30k per upload.

If an ad plays on 1/10 videos, and each ad makes the person 0.1 cent its still (30 million * 0.1 * 0.1) / 100 = 3 thousand dollars. Now take into account the added subscribers this adds which will make all future videos more profitable, and that I'm probably underestimating ad revenue, it is worth it.

jfager• 12 years ago

Video cpms can be well over $10, a 40M-view video could easily make a few $100k (though, of course, only a % of that ends up in the creator's pocket). 500k views could be a few thousand. Spread your equipment costs out over a bunch of videos and you're making some nice money.

Cowicide• 12 years ago

I'd rather see a test with robotic dummy legs (soft, human-like, padding material) wearing pants with various sized pockets and the phones placed inside said pockets (in various positions within pockets) and stress tested by bending the robotic legs over and over to simulate sitting down with a phone in one's pocket over time.

It would be a much more time consuming, expensive and complex test, but I think I'd trust the results much more than what I'm seeing here.

chrisBob2• 12 years ago

Sorry guys, You did the test backwards.

Correct me if I am wrong, but I think most people place the phone with the screen in, so that it would bend toward the screen not away from it. The results could be significantly different in that direction, especially since the major mode of failure was the screen separating from the case.

Someone• 12 years ago

I think http://www.wired.com/2014/09/curvature-and-strength-empzeal/ ("how Gauss taught us to hold a pizzeria slice"; discussion at https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8274529) is relevant here.

The phones most resistent to bending in their length axis have back sides that are curved. That makes the backside contribute to the strength of the phone in the bending direction. Flat backsides will bend easily, so the relatively tiny vertical sides (and any ribs inside the phone, but those are rare due to lack of room) are the main parts contributing to strength. That's why the iPhone's weakest point is near a slot in those sides.

51Cards• 12 years ago

Here's my concern on a quick look at the aftermath photos. They bent the phone in the middle, where it's admittedly not that weak.

If you look at most of the user damage photos the phone bends towards the top end where the button cut-outs weaken it. The phone did fail around the buttons as well but it's still bent in the middle from the tests. It appears their setup didn't stress it where the problems are occurring.

My estimation would be if you placed a load equidistant between the top of the phone and the middle, stressing the buttons area specifically, you would see a large difference in performance between models. The pocket issue seems to be "bending over" the top of the phone, not applying point loads across the length of the body.

msandford• 12 years ago

The phone will actually perform better being bent this way as the distribution of stresses goes from pure torque (compression on top, stretching on the bottom) in the middle (where the load is applied) to pure shear at the edges where it is supported.

The iPhone6 has a weak spot for torque at about 1/3 of the way from the top where there are some buttons. This test didn't stress that as aggressively as it could have. I suspect that it would perform 20-30% worse if you loaded it at the weak point.

The real issue here is that the phone both grew in length and was reduced in strength at the same time. That means that actions which previously didn't approach the elastic deformation limit of the phone now are. No change in behavior => change in result especially one with negative outcomes is going to get people riled up.

S_A_P• 12 years ago

While it's certainly important that apple build a phone that is strong enough to withstand daily use, these "tests" are sensationalist click bait. Maybe it's just me, but I'm going to be careful how I treat 6-800 device. If it doesn't really fit in my pocket, I need to buy bigger pants. If it's too big to fit jammed in somewhere then get the smaller one. There is a level of entitlement here that is thinks every new phone needs to be nuclear capable but also thinner, lighter and more svelte than the previous generation. I have plenty of expensive gear that I have to treat with kid gloves and I'm not making YouTube videos about how it's bullshit...

iPhone 6 and 6 Plus not as bendy as believed

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