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Consumer Reports: New iPhones Not As Bendy As Believed 304

An anonymous reader writes: Over the past several days, we've been hearing reports about some amount of users noticing that their brand new iPhone 6 Plus is bending in their pockets. The pictures and videos shown so far have kicked off an investigation, and Consumer Reports has done one of the more scientific tests so far. They found that the iPhone 6 Plus takes 90 pounds of pressure before it permanently deforms. The normal iPhone 6 took even less: 70 lbs. They tested other phones as well: HTC One (M8): 70 lbs, LG G3: 130 lbs, iPhone 5: 130 lbs, Samsung Galaxy Note 3: 150 lbs. The Verge also did a report on how Apple torture-tests its devices before shipping them. Apple's standard is about 55 lbs of pressure, though it does so thousands of times before looking for bends. One analysis suggests that Apple's testing procedure only puts pressure on the middle of the phone, which doesn't sufficiently evaluate the weakened area where holes have been created for volume buttons. Consumer Reports' test presses on the middle of the device as well.
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Consumer Reports: New iPhones Not As Bendy As Believed

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  • by Moderator ( 189749 ) * on Saturday September 27, 2014 @11:45AM (#48009529)
    <tt>Consumer Reports: The iPhone users wearing skinny jeans aren't really as skinny as they believed.</tt>
  • There should be a minimum charge (like another $199) and a replacement phone be provided. I once had an iPhone that cracked near the camera lens and apple replaced it for free because it was a known defect. Has anyone had an experience where apple didn't replace the phone? I didn't have AppleCare either.
  • by Space cowboy ( 13680 ) on Saturday September 27, 2014 @11:48AM (#48009555) Journal

    As is the case a lot (not all) of the time with Apple. They're worth a lot in click-bait, so what you do is try to find something outrageous to say about a popular product, put adverts on the page to generate you cash, and try and profit from the massive public interest in yet another Apple product...

    Or maybe I'm getting too cynical in my old age.

    Simon

    • Too cinical?
      Keeping an eye on reality, that's what I'd say.
      Not allowing one to be fucked over once was a virtue, now you just draw mindless smirks, raised shoulders and drawls like "what's up?".
      Let the masses be deluded. Mundus vult decipi, ergo decipiatur.
      But keep saying your piece.
      Thanks man.

    • You're complaining about clickbait, but your signature is an advertisement that makes use of exactly the same tactics to try and draw people to a website that you probably have a stake in.
  • by aaron4801 ( 3007881 ) on Saturday September 27, 2014 @12:04PM (#48009639)
    Read it again. People are accustomed to treating their iPhones in a certain way (storage-wise), but the 6 bends at nearly HALF the pressure of the 5. That's the crux of the problem. The 6 is a step backwards in strength. The larger size in part of it, since there's more leverage potential, but LG and Samsung seem to have solved that problem. No, it's not made of cheese, as some users seem to have reported, but it will bend under circumstances that the 5 would not.
    • by phantomfive ( 622387 ) on Saturday September 27, 2014 @12:28PM (#48009797) Journal

      No, it's not made of cheese, as some users seem to have reported, but it will bend under circumstances that the 5 would not.

      That seems to be true, but it is also not the question anyone cares about. Given two phones, one is likely to bend under circumstances that the other won't.

      The question that needs to be answered is, what circumstances exactly? If I hold it in my hand while pressing on the screen, is that enough to bend it? If I sit on it, will that be enough to bend it? If I drive a car over it, will that be enough to bend it?

      Details matter.

    • by Nemyst ( 1383049 )
      LG and Samsung have solved it... by using plastic. Both the Note 3 and the G3 have plastic frames and backs, which, while not as pretty or nice to the touch, are a lot more elastic and have much better shape memory than metal. That's also why HTC's One M8 didn't recover that well from the tests. The problem's not that they bend (it's much better to bend than to snap), it's that they don't recover their shape once the force is removed.

      The test appears to be somewhat faulty though due to the location of the
      • by itsdapead ( 734413 ) on Saturday September 27, 2014 @01:41PM (#48010119)

        LG and Samsung have solved it...

        Also, when someone breaks their Galaxy Note, it doesn't make CNN and BBC.

        I have a Galaxy Note 2 and, from the feel of it, I would fully expect it to break if I put it in my back pocket and sat on it. So I don't. If I'd wanted to do that I'd have bought a smaller phone.

        What I don't get is why Apple decided to produce two phablets rather than update the 5 for people who want a phone and just have the 6+ for people who wanted a phablet. I'd consider the 6+ if it weren't quite so eye-wateringly expensive (esp. if you want decent storage), but I really don't see the point of the 6.

      • Aluminum is brittle, while steel deforms.

    • by SuperKendall ( 25149 ) on Saturday September 27, 2014 @12:40PM (#48009869)

      but the 6 bends at nearly HALF the pressure of the 5

      Neither figure matters if the pressure actually put on the phone in your pocket is 1/10th of 55 lbs.

      To phrase it differently since you seem to have a personality tailor-made for being "misled by statistics", if the only force a device undergoes is 10-20lbs, why does it matter if a device can sustain a million pounds of force, or 30,

      Remember that in realty Apple's has reports of just six actual phones being bent.

      I have a 6plus and have been using it in my pocket. After sitting or leaning over or whatever, there is zero bend or even flex to the thing. To actually bend it would take enough force I'd be concerned about my own structural integrity.

      • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

        by AmiMoJo ( 196126 ) *

        Last I heard they were admitting to nine reports of bending, but the reality is we don't have a true figure at this time. It was the same with the antenna problems. They denied many people had them but eventually fixed it anyway with a free bumper.

        I imagine somewhere in Apple's labs they are testing strengthened cases

    • My old candy bar Audiovox phone which I got in 1998 didn't bend at all (except for the retractable antenna). Removable battery, took voice commands, battery life that lasted days.

      However it broke because it was so thick that when I wacked my leg on a piller it took all the force and broke.

  • by aussersterne ( 212916 ) on Saturday September 27, 2014 @12:06PM (#48009653) Homepage

    Who thinks it's okay to sit on their phone? Why do people think they ought to be able to? It literally makes no sense. It's an electronic device with a glass screen. If I handed someone a sheet of glass and said, "put this in your back pocket and sit on it!" they'd refuse.

    But a phone? Oh, absolutely! Shit, wait, no! It broke?!?!

    • by itzly ( 3699663 )
      Maybe they had them in their front pockets. Or they were used to having a smaller phone in their back pocket that they could sit down with. Notice how people typically don't sit on their pockets.
    • I'm pretty much with you on this; I wouldn't ever carry a bare phone or one with just a silicone bumper in a front pocket let alone a back pants pocket. But I also feel to some extent that this is a "mobile" device and it should be designed with a certain ruggedness in mind, especially considering the retail replacement cost.

      • The retail replacement cost is why it's insane to put it in your pants pockets.

        "I just dropped a grand on this. I know, I'll subject it to huge forces and see what happens!"

        Why would you do that?

        • Re: (Score:2, Informative)

          by Anonymous Coward

          The retail replacement cost is why it's insane to put it in your pants pockets.

          "I just dropped a grand on this. I know, I'll subject it to huge forces and see what happens!"

          Why would you do that?

          Steve Jobs thought that enough people would put iPhones in their pockets that he made the original iPhone design team scramble to completely redesign the screen to use a new material starting less than six weeks before launch.

          So "why would you do that?" -- because Steve Jobs told you that putting an iPhone in your pocket is a reasonable action.

      • Practically everybody puts their phone in a case. Which makes wonder: why is phone thinness such a huge issue?

        Apple especially acts like the thinness of the phone is one of, if not *the* most important feature. But once you put the phone in a case, then shaving 2mm off the thickness means nothing.

        • by Uberbah ( 647458 )

          So it's thinner once the case is on, obviously. Compare a regular iPad (1/2/3/4) with an iPad Air, with cases on, and see if you don't notice the difference.

        • by AmiMoJo ( 196126 ) *

          That's how Steve Jobs always presented new iPhones. Faster, thinner, longer battery life, one or two major new features. The major new features no one else has part seem to have gone, and while faster the 6 is in most common operations about the same as a Nexus 5. Battery life is about the same. So they cling to being slightly thinner.

          I had a funny thought. The only other product I can think of that is obsessed with getting thinner is condoms.

        • Looks like about 75% of people uses cases (http://www.tomsguide.com/us/smartphone-owners-spurn-cases,news-18024.html), and considerably skewed toward iPhones having cases. That's higher than I thought, but still much less than "practically everybody".

          Your argument only makes sense if you're going to replace the case with a thicker phone. I suspect most people with cases will chuck a case on just about any phone.

      • I wouldn't ever carry a bare phone or one with just a silicone bumper in a front pocket

        I have for years without issue.

        And that includes the iPhone plus.

        Theres simply not enough force to even come close to flexing the phone, much less bending...

        Back pockets are I think more worrisome but even there - the Plus (as the tests show) is pretty damn rigid.

    • Strawman. At least some of the reports of bending were from people claiming they put the phones in their front pockets.

      • Strawman. At least some of the reports of bending were from people claiming they put the phones in their front pockets.

        Well hello, Counter Strawman.

        In reality the 6 plus works fine in front pockets - I know. I've been using it for days and there's not even a hint of bending from having the phone in your pockets.

        Furthermore that was the point of the tests consumer reviews did, under normal packet use these things are not going to bend - especially in front pockets.

    • Comment removed based on user account deletion
      • I sit on my Nokia all the time.

        Countries are rebuilding cobblestone roads using Nokia's instead of rocks to get an increase in durability. Me, I'm wondering how many of the 9 reported bent phones were bent by people who wanted to try to see how strong they were, only to discover exactly how much force it needed to bend.

      • by MichaelSmith ( 789609 ) on Saturday September 27, 2014 @05:23PM (#48010969) Homepage Journal

        I found a nokia at a tram stop once. It was just the internal structure and battery, but a bit of hunting around in the gutter revealed the case. It had been dropped on the road and repeatedly run over. I snapped the lot together and found the most frequently dialed numbers (parents in Malaysia, not calling there to say I had found their daughters phone smashed on a road in Melbourne). Called her boyfriend and he arranged for me to drop off the phone. Very strong bits of gear, Nokias.

    • by Lehk228 ( 705449 )
      it's because they are high on chromosomes.
  • by apparently ( 756613 ) on Saturday September 27, 2014 @12:06PM (#48009657)
    One analysis suggests that Apple's testing procedure only puts pressure on the middle of the phone, which doesn't sufficiently evaluate the weakened area where holes have been created for volume buttons.

    One analysis? Every documented case of the issue shows that the bending occurs at a specific weakpoint that is not in the middle of the device. What fucking idiot would test for this weakness by only bending the device in the middle?

    Consumer Reports' test presses on the middle of the device as well. Oh joy, a whole team of professional fucking idiots.

  • Obviously, the consumer reports testing was completely scientific, after all, they are known to be on the side of the consumer, right? It is nothing less than astonishing that the HTC One happened to tie the iPhone 6 exactly. And of course, this video must have been faked. [youtube.com]

  • by JackAxe ( 689361 ) on Saturday September 27, 2014 @12:34PM (#48009827)
    It doesn't take much pressure at all to bend/break an iPhone 6 Plus: https://www.youtube.com/watch?... [youtube.com]
    • This video is a real public service.

      Apple's claims about this only happening to nine phones, out of 10 million, are extremely dubious.

      This is the second time this guy has done this with a new iPhone.

  • but /. articles initiate a lot of static in the information band.

  • by Scot Seese ( 137975 ) on Saturday September 27, 2014 @01:06PM (#48009993)

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v... [youtube.com]

    The guy from Unbox Therapy, angry at the accusations that his original video was somehow staged, just posted a new video yesterday. In the new video, he unwraps a brand new iPhone 6+ on the street in Toronto with a handful of random witnesses watching, and again - by placing his thumbs on the back of the phone and applying moderate pressure- IMMEDIATELY produces a 25-30 degree bend in the unit, with the crease forming again at the bottom of the volume control cutouts.

    In the new video, the iPhone deformed so badly the screen separated from the body.

    He then attempted to bend a Moto X (2014 model) with visibly considerable force applied to it, and couldn't.

    Is this really important? You decide. A lot of people - men, particularly - have carried their smartphones in the pockets of their jeans. If you're a big guy, and you have a tiny iPhone 5S in your back pocket and sit down in your car on a 3 hour road trip, the iPhone 5S won't deform because it's thicker, and much shorter in length, therefore providing a much shorter lever for your rump to apply force to. The iPhone 6+ however, being both thinner and significantly taller, provides a much longer lever for your 200+ pounds of man ass to press against the back of the car seat, making it quite conceivable that the iPhone 6+ WOULD have a bending problem in actual consumer use.

    This issue has gotten enough viral traction and major media attention that it isn't going to go away. Worse yet for Apple is that unlike Antennagate, this problem won't be solved with a rubber bumper case costing Apple 20 cents manufacturing cost - NO, bent iPhone 6+ units still within their return period or covered by AppleCare are going to cost the company $200+ per unit, according to recent teardown parts costing estimates.

    When, as educated tech consumers, are people going to stop confusing "smaller and thinner" as being "more advanced" ? All we are doing here, people, is sacrificing durability and battery life.

  • Get a real phone. (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Animats ( 122034 ) on Saturday September 27, 2014 @01:14PM (#48010023) Homepage

    Apple needs to get their ruggedness act together. Meanwhile, here's a real phone, the Caterpillar B15.

    Cat B15 tested by users. [youtube.com] Dragged behind car. Used to play basketball. (As the ball, not as a computer game.) Dropped off bridge. Run through cement mixer. Frozen in bucket of ice. Run over by car. No problem.

    Cat B15 tested by Caterpillar. [youtube.com] Dropped into pool of water. Scooped out with heavy equipment. Run over by front end loader. (One of Cat's smaller front end loaders.) No problem.

    It's an Android phone. The B15 runs Android 4.2; the new B15Q runs Android 4.4. Price around $300. Available in the US at Home Depot. Unlocked; pick any GSM carrier. T-Mobile works. No annoying carrier-provided apps. Caterpillar preloads apps for ordering Caterpillar heavy equipment parts and renting heavy equipment.

    If you have one of these in a pocket, you will break before it will. I carry one of these horseback riding.

  • Steve Jobs ... (Score:4, Insightful)

    by PPH ( 736903 ) on Saturday September 27, 2014 @01:24PM (#48010055)

    ... would have said, "You're sitting on it wrong."

  • by Stan92057 ( 737634 ) on Saturday September 27, 2014 @01:26PM (#48010065)
    How mush pressure does it take accounting for body heat? How must does it change for a person who is sweating ? Is this a parameter they test for as well?? How about say rubbing? If a person had the phone in there back pocket it surly is rubbing up and down as a person walks. Or a poor mix of whatever the iphone is made of? don't know I don't own a iphone. Plastic? Bad mixture to save money? metal? mixture changed to save money? Shit most of the stainless steel we get from communist country's is magnetic. Stainless steel is not magnetic.
  • To summarize: (Score:4, Informative)

    by QuietLagoon ( 813062 ) on Saturday September 27, 2014 @01:36PM (#48010103)
    The iPhone 6 Plus, the iPhone 6, and the HTC one (M8) have abnormally low resistance for bending forces (less than 90 pounds).

    .
    While the iPhone 5, the LG G3, and the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 are much better in this regard (all >= 130 pounds), with the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 at the top of the tests with 150 pounds.

  • So it's a hype?
    Who would have thought that!

  • by tsa ( 15680 ) on Saturday September 27, 2014 @03:11PM (#48010465) Homepage

    I don't really understand why Consumer Report doesn't know the difference between force and mass. You measure force in Newtons (N) and mass in kilograms (kg) or, even less scientific because it's not a SI unit, pounds (lb).

  • Came looking for this: http://www.willitblend.com/ [willitblend.com]

    Left feeling disappointed.

  • I wonder how much it cost them to get the results they wanted, and have them published.

    If you think CR is still impartial, you are in the wrong century..

  • I haven't seen one bent to the point of damage, but I've held the regular iPhone 6 and I can flex it with one hand. It VASTLY more flexible than my nexus5.

  • Stop sitting on your phone, fatass! :P

Understanding is always the understanding of a smaller problem in relation to a bigger problem. -- P.D. Ouspensky

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