Apple Allegedly Boycotts German Tech Site Over 'Bendgate' Video

[Scooterfitz]

I think you guys are still trying to create a problem where one does not exist. Read the Consumer Reports test.

I have personally been using an iPhone 6 Plus since the day it was released. When I first heard about this "bending" issue I took caution to not put any kind of stress on it. However, after I heard this story was blown out of proportion, I stopped treating it any different the I did my iPhone 5S. It is large, and when I bend down to tie my shoes I can feel it pressed hard to my thigh in my jeans. I am putting in new floors at my house and I am moving all of my furniture and doing some construction. I have kept the phone in my pocket the whole time, and notice I am frequently putting stress on it when moving furniture, wrestling construction materials, etc. I can report zero deformations, or “bending”.

I am a Technology Manager for the service desk of a large international company. I have issued over 150 iPhone 6 Pluses to executives in my company, and 200+ iPhone 6 devices. Not a single one of them has reported "bending". In fact, some of them have already had screens broken, dropped in airports, and one was even accidentally ran over by a car tire on asphalt (Don’t ask, users somehow find ways to do these things to company hardware). I have personally looked at these damaged phones, and not a single one was "bent". Surprisingly, the one that got ran over stopped recognizing touch input, but sustained the least amount of physical damage.

 

[SkyBill40]

I think you guys are still trying to create a problem where one does not exist. Read the Consumer Reports test.

Where CR is applying pressure is not where the phones have been shown to bend. This has been stated numerous times and a reason as to why the test results aren't all that reliable. But, then again, you're more than free to believe what you choose and dismiss the bending issue as erroneous should you wish to do so.

Best wishes for your fleet of phones.

 

[Scooterfitz]

Hey, thanks for the well wishes for my fleet. However, I do not care how strong a device is, my users will find new and creative ways to destroy them such as I would never imagine. Rest assured, I will lose some.

However, I cannot help but notice that the picture of the broken iPhone on Consumer Reports web site does in fact show the failure point to be at the point that everyone is talking about: right next to the buttons. And that took at least 90 lbs. of pressure to accomplish with a focused pressure point. A thigh or a buttock squeezing a device in a pocket should not create a similar situation.

So what observations do I take away from this that I choose to believe? Indeed, the week point is where the buttons are, and it takes between 55 (3 pencils) and 90 lbs. (4 pencils) of force under the right circumstances to cause this to occur. I also observe that by breaking pencils for comparison, it is possible for someone to apply this amount of force with their hands in a focused area to cause the same effect, but not so easy to do with your bare hand on a phone that requires 150 lbs. By not explaining these facts to viewers, this is exactly what the presenter from Computer Bild did in a staged, non-scientific, and sensationalized manner; I’m strong enough to bend one phone, but not the other. Where’s the “quality reviews for our readership” that the open letter references? Where is the hard data and scientific tests? This is un-reputable reporting and definitely means by which any company might refuse the right to be a part of their press program. They are of course still within their rights to buy a phone and do what they want with it.

Every one of these devices has a glass jaw in its structure, and if you know where it is, you too can bend an electronic device with your bare hands! If you mistreat something, it will break. But everyone knows that, right? Everyone knows that the coffee from McDonald’s is hot, right? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gmSZDFP1vQ

After typing the above response-

I watched videos of people on YouTube bending their phone. I grabbed my iPhone 6 Plus out of my pocket, placed my thumbs right where the weak spot is, and started gradually applying force to it. I am a big guy, with big hands. I stopped before I caused damage, as I can see that if I wanted to bend this thing, I could do it. So I went and got one of the damaged ones I spoke of, and I was able to bend it. I gave another one to with a shattered screen to my wife. She was unable to be it with her hand strength. I have some returned phones of various makes and models from my various users so I started grabbing them and sure enough, I found some others that I could bend and break too.

I stand by my choice to believe that if I want to break something, I can. And that I also choose not to sit on my sensitive electronics. And I have been telling my users to treat them as they did any other phone I have issued them. So far, no bending.

 

[rdc85]

....

APC builds mission-critical dependent appliances.
Apple builds vanity-critical fad appliances.

But they sure try to sells the phone at incredible price level...
with that price range I'm expecting some degree of quality (to high of expectation seems to be)..
either it a mission critical parts or just every day goods.. (either it phone, mug, car, food, etc)

It's their response that tick me, it's the same as "you hold it wrong" all again..
they could learn something from how APC handling things...

 

[rcallahan79]

I am glad I have the Galaxy 5 and switched away from Apple when I changed phone providers in May 2014. I had iPhones before that. Once I got used to Android, I like it better than ios. Apple made great products when Steve Jobs ran the company, but since he is gone, Apple products have gone downhill in quality and no longer the best.

 

[rundmcarlson]

Hey, thanks for the well wishes for my fleet. However, I do not care how strong a device is, my users will find new and creative ways to destroy them such as I would never imagine. Rest assured, I will lose some.

However, I cannot help but notice that the picture of the broken iPhone on Consumer Reports web site does in fact show the failure point to be at the point that everyone is talking about: right next to the buttons. And that took at least 90 lbs. of pressure to accomplish with a focused pressure point. A thigh or a buttock squeezing a device in a pocket should not create a similar situation.

So what observations do I take away from this that I choose to believe? Indeed, the week point is where the buttons are, and it takes between 55 (3 pencils) and 90 lbs. (4 pencils) of force under the right circumstances to cause this to occur. I also observe that by breaking pencils for comparison, it is possible for someone to apply this amount of force with their hands in a focused area to cause the same effect, but not so easy to do with your bare hand on a phone that requires 150 lbs. By not explaining these facts to viewers, this is exactly what the presenter from Computer Bild did in a staged, non-scientific, and sensationalized manner; I’m strong enough to bend one phone, but not the other. Where’s the “quality reviews for our readership” that the open letter references? Where is the hard data and scientific tests? This is un-reputable reporting and definitely means by which any company might refuse the right to be a part of their press program. They are of course still within their rights to buy a phone and do what they want with it.

Every one of these devices has a glass jaw in its structure, and if you know where it is, you too can bend an electronic device with your bare hands! If you mistreat something, it will break. But everyone knows that, right? Everyone knows that the coffee from McDonald’s is hot, right? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gmSZDFP1vQ

After typing the above response-

I watched videos of people on YouTube bending their phone. I grabbed my iPhone 6 Plus out of my pocket, placed my thumbs right where the weak spot is, and started gradually applying force to it. I am a big guy, with big hands. I stopped before I caused damage, as I can see that if I wanted to bend this thing, I could do it. So I went and got one of the damaged ones I spoke of, and I was able to bend it. I gave another one to with a shattered screen to my wife. She was unable to be it with her hand strength. I have some returned phones of various makes and models from my various users so I started grabbing them and sure enough, I found some others that I could bend and break too.

I stand by my choice to believe that if I want to break something, I can. And that I also choose not to sit on my sensitive electronics. And I have been telling my users to treat them as they did any other phone I have issued them. So far, no bending.

I have been sitting on my note 2 for 2 years and it hasn't even bent. I put it in my front and back pockets and sit directly on it for periods of time with no issue. If it bent in my front pocket it would be back to the store immediately. I don't expect my laptop to bend in half when I use it on my lap. A phone should be able to withstand being put in a front pocket. Where else is it designed to be carried?

Regardless, some of us like a reliable sturdy product over a device that needs to be catered to, cased up, screen protected, etc. It is also laughable how smug apple is about having the best devices and how everyone raves about the "great build quality" because it is made of metal. Metal is a BAD material in this application and plastic is both more durable, and more shock absorbent, which is why you see tons of iphones with broken screens (the metal case transfers most of the energy directly to the edge of the screen).

You are perfectly right to have your own opinion, but pretending the device isn't weaker than the competition is stupid, and thinking that some people don't want sturdier devices is even more so. Just because a flaw doesn't matter to you, doesn't mean it isn't a flaw. The entire thing was discovered because one bent in a guy's front pocket and he tweeted it. It wasn't discovered by some white coats doing irrelevant testing in a lab that doesn't replicate real world usage. It was discovered from real world usage. Even if that usage is in the minority it is still a problem. Honestly, I think the number of reported incidents is low because its more of a pain in the ass to report it and get a new one than it is to just use it bent. The bend is slight enough that it is probably less troublesome for people than going to IT to get a new one.

 

[rundmcarlson]

I am glad I have the Galaxy 5 and switched away from Apple when I changed phone providers in May 2014. I had iPhones before that. Once I got used to Android, I like it better than ios. Apple made great products when Steve Jobs ran the company, but since he is gone, Apple products have gone downhill in quality and no longer the best.

They were hardly the best when jobs ran the place, they were just the most popular. Those two things aren't the same. My note 2 was better than the iphone when it was released and is still better than most of apple's lineup. Up until the last few years, apple just shouted the loudest and people bought them. They also attract a huge crowd for being simplistic. Almost all of the people I know who use iphones tell me they don't want to switch to something else because they don't want to have to "learn a whole new phone", and that they got the iphone because it was the easiest to use. Sure ease of use is important, but it doesn't change the fact that their hardware has been inferior to competitors for years now.