Apple downplayed reports on social media that the new iPhone 6 Plus is easily bent and even showed its testing labs to journalists where iPhone’s are being “bent” and “destroyed”.
The Cupertino-based company said out of the many people claiming on social media that their iPhone’s are easily bent, only nine users so far have reported this to Apple. In a statement, Apple said the newly-released iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus feature a “precision engineered uni-body enclosure constructed from machining a custom grade of 6000 series anodized aluminum, which is tempered for extra strength.”
“With normal use a bend in iPhone is extremely rare and through our first six days of sale, a total of nine customers have contacted Apple with a bent iPhone 6 Plus,” the statement read.
It even invited selected journalists to visit its secret testing labs where Apple performs rigorous tests on iPhone’s. The Wall Street Journal reported that there are five pressure tests that an iPhone undergo, namely:
- Three-point bending: Apple’s tests place pressure on iPhone’s in varying degrees to make sure they can handle “reasonable” force in various situations.
- Pressure-point cycling: The pressure-point cycling tests place “substantial” force across an iPhone’s display and encasing, while it is held along its edges, to ensure that an iPhone can be bent and pushed many times over during its lifespan. Apple runs this test hundreds of times to ensure durability.
- Torsion testing: Apple clamps down an iPhone at both ends and twists the handset about 8,000 times. The company does this to make sure its devices can handle twists and torque in various situations, such as sitting on an iPhone unevenly.
- Sit tests: A single phone is placed into simulations reflecting real-life scenarios, such as being in the back pocket of tight jeans. Phones are sat on, against a hard surface, thousands of times and in multiple positions in a pocket. Sit tests cover both orientations of the glass screen—facing out and facing in.
- Real-life user studies: Another part of testing involves real humans, hundreds of company employees live with and use the phones in various situations to test for both durability and performance. Employees who have the highest usage rates on their phones are selected to take part, and Apple methodically checks the phones for any issues as they’re being used.
However, tech geek Lewis Hilsenteger of Unbox Therapy, whose video showing how easily an iPhone 6 Plus bends went viral in the past days, uploaded another clip of an iPhone 6 Plus just as easily with his bare hands, this time in front of witnesses in a busy square in Toronto.
In the video above, Hilsenteger shows a sealed iPhone 6 Plus to the audience, unwrap’s it, and bends it effortlessly. This time the phone, already opened, seemed bend more dramatically without using too much force.
“We’re expected to hold these phones for years, in some case, not just an afternoon. That phone [iPhone 6 Plus] is weaker than many of the competitors,” he said.
