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Apple provides a look inside its iPhone stress-testing facility following ‘bendgate’ controversy

via The Verge

via The Verge

After a few YouTube videos hit the web claiming that the iPhone 6 Plus could be easily bent out shape in a user’s pocket, Apple addressed the issue by stating that the device was designed to meet its quality requirements and that only a handful of owners had complained about any issues. To further prove its commitment to building solid devices, Apple gave journalists access to the lab where it tests the build quality of its iPhones.

In a tour of the facility guided by SVP of Hardware Engineering Dan Riccio, reporters were given an in-depth look at how each new generation of the iPhone is tested to ensure that it can endure all of the rigors of daily life. Each device the company makes—including its notebook computers—is put through thousands of rounds of testing that simulates everything from twisting the device to flexing the screen, or sitting on a bench with the phone in the back pocket of your skinny jeans.

Video and more photos below:

Apple still maintains that in daily usage, the phone shouldn’t bend at all. SVP of Marketing Phil Schiller said that if a phone does end up getting bent, it can be taken to a Genius Bar for inspection to determine if the damage is covered under the device’s warranty.

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Comments

  1. Pudge Wagzs (@Iwagsz) - 10 years ago

    Those must be the straightening machines.

  2. xbepax4224 - 10 years ago

    It’s an expensive phone, treat it with care of n the first place

    • lkernan - 10 years ago

      Exactly, common sense really.

    • TechPeeve (@TechPeeve) - 10 years ago

      yea, can’t blame Apple for the iOS 8.0.1 bugs either. Anything wrong with the iPhone is the fault of the stupid user. There are lots of stupid people using iPhone!

      • herb02135go - 10 years ago

        There are a lot of stupid people buying Iphones without any research or thinking

        Along with boasting how quickly they got their f’d up phone they can whine about its failures.

        But they will do it all again next year.
        That’s why they are called sheep.

      • Gate Satoru - 10 years ago

        iOS 8.0 is not the first iOS to suffer so many bugs in its debut. In case you don’t know Apple as much as I do, you better know that Steve Jobs couldn’t make a single successful iOS debut before his death.

        iOS 4.0 came when Steve Jobs was still alive and guess what. iOS 4.0 suffer a serious carrier signal issue. iOS 4.0.1 was supposed to solve the issue but failed.

        iOS 5.0 was even worst. Your iPhone would lose its battery life in less than an hour or two. In addition to that, the Wi-Fi is dead. No updates could fix the issue until iOS 5.1.1

        iOS 6.0 suffered WiFi issue and the infamous Map bugs for iOS 6.0.

        iOS 7.0 suffered battery life and WiFi signal. In addition to that, there were some lagging issues.

        All in all, people who have used Apple iOS for 4 years will wait for iOS 8.0.4 or iOS 8.1 and then start upgrading. As for the iPhone 6 buyers, once Apple release iOS 8.1, your iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus will be good to go.

      • Computer_Whiz123 - 10 years ago

        I was hoping someone would be optimistic about this!

      • madushan92 - 10 years ago

        @Gate Satoru Thanks for the information. Honestly I am still on Samsung and had been thinking that iOS was more “stable” and “smooth”. Seems I am wrong :(

  3. iphone6splus - 10 years ago

    PublicityGates equals more sales?

  4. Nycko Heimberg - 10 years ago

    Sure, 9 customers only….
    But to pay $300 it is a lot to replace a new iPhone.
    Many wait maybe for another option offered by Apple in a few days.

    • robertlozano - 10 years ago

      yes and no… I paid 300 but, there is a program within your carrier that would take your older iphone and give you 200 for it. so its more of 99.99-199.99 for the replacement.

  5. Michael Mize (@mrmizer) - 10 years ago

    Anyone notice that computer is running Windows XP?

  6. fredhstein - 10 years ago

    Playing with numbers: Assume 1/2 were 6+ and 9 returned so far. 5M / 9 = 0.0000018. Of course many 6+’s are in transit to overseas markets.

    • Dean Har - 10 years ago

      Playing with common sense: Just because 9 reported directly to Apple, doesn’t mean there aren’t more who took to youtube and tech sites for initial support.

      When the antennagate issue spread, I didn’t hop in my car and drive to an Apple Store. I waited for an official response from Apple.

      Apple’s response was very clever. If/when more people start reporting directly to Apple, do you think Apple will update their official statement? Definitely not.

      • airmanchairman - 10 years ago

        I took my ugly-ass bumper case off after a few months of buying in to Antennagate; I still use my iPhone 4 three years later and cannot recall a single degraded, let alone dropped call.

        Fool me once, shame on them, fool me twice…

      • tigerpork - 10 years ago

        No. If my phone is bent I would take it to apple right away and demand a replacement. That’s common sense.

      • Dean Har - 10 years ago

        Anyway my point is that just because 9 people directly complained to Apple doesn’t mean only 9 people are affected.

        And even if your anecdote wasn’t already disproven, what you’re pretty much saying is that you’ll never believe reports of a defective Apple device. Good for you?

      • Dean Har - 10 years ago

        As usual, people like tigerpork are dancing around the main issue. It’s not about what YOU would do, it’s about what people are actually doing.

        I’m glad you’d drive directly to an Apple Store to get it swapped, but it’s pretty damn obvious that not everyone is doing so. So WHEN more people start calling and going to Apple Stores after this officially statement, we can pretty much expect Apple to remain quiet about the increasing number of affected users.

      • bb1111116 - 10 years ago

        An indicator of the frequency of an Apple product problem is to go to the Apple Support Communities web page. Every problem that affects Apple products that has been experienced by many customers gets lots of posts complaining about the issue.

        I went the Apple Support Communities page and searched for “iPhone 6 bent”. On the threads with the bent phone topic I only found one person who claimed to have a bent iPhone 6. And that seemed to be a hoax since the “owner” claimed to have thrown away the iPhone 6 and the receipt.

        * From that evidence, it seems so far that this bending issue is not that common.

  7. Bruno Rigo Werminghoff - 10 years ago

    Am I the only one that noticed the Windows XP machine? hahaha

  8. taoprophet420 - 10 years ago

    There is definitely a weakness in the upper third of the 6 plus. The Apple logo should been dead center like on iPads, there is to many cutouts near the same point on the phone and it’s where the battery ends and nothing is olive that point besides antenas and camera components.

    Everyone here defending Apple here obviously doesn’t own a 6 plus. I wear very loose pants or shorts and wouldn’t want to leave the 6 plus in a pocket while bending or sitting. Lightly applying force with my hands the phone has a definate flex it should not have in the upper third. I have athritis and don’t have much strength in my hands to begin with. The iPad air doesn’t have flex like this. The power button, volume buttons,mute switch and apple cutout all being at the same place gives the 6 plus flex that is not been in other idevices.

    People shouldn’t have to wear kid gloves for a phone and should be able to out it in your pocket without worrying about it bending. Loose or tight jeans aside the 6 plus is not as strong as past iPhones and first time I worried about damage by handling one. It’s not rounder corners that cause the weakness. It is all the weak points between the logo and volume and power buttons. I wonder if the plastic gaps cause more flex too.

    • dugbug - 10 years ago

      I dnot worry about my iPhone 6 bending and keep it in my pocket. . There were 5s bending complaints and a host of android ones in the past year or so and the earth still rotates. I doubt you have much to worry about

    • iJonni - 10 years ago

      Have you seen the titanium bars that reinforce that area? Check out iFixit’s teardown. Your point is true but was addressed by the engineers months ago.

      • taoprophet420 - 10 years ago

        There is no added support in that area unless it is along the frame. The shell itself is the same except for the very top and very button where the ante as and other components screw in. I saw nothing structural to the shell in ifixit’s tear down around the logo or power, mute and volume buttons.

      • Raido Orumets - 10 years ago

        I watched iFixit video again. Yes there is some supporting bar (for buttons). But there are lot of empty space also, to add thicker walls. It may make phone little bit heavier, but not so much.

  9. yeyshonan.com - 10 years ago

    my iPhone 4s got bent in my back pocket and I bent it back.

  10. tuandbui (@tuandbui) - 10 years ago

    anyone notice they have a dock for the 6 plus?! shown in the picture. i want it

  11. irelandjnr - 10 years ago

    When are we going to have ‘Journalistgate’. Far more widespread issue that’s affecting the world at large.

    • Dean Har - 10 years ago

      No I think we should have some kind of program for people who can’t seem to process more than one issue/controversy at a time.

  12. Pablo Zaremba - 10 years ago

    Didn’t anyone realise yet that a phone with a 5.5 display is not a pocketable device? Was enough to kneel to adjust the laces and got a my Galaxy Note with a two pieces display. Want pocketable? Buy the 6, not the Plus

  13. drtyrell969 - 10 years ago

    The PR blitz to lie about this easily bendable phone is laughable. Magicians creating funny videos, testing facilities, false reports of only nine people complaining (the internet reveals dozens). Just fix it Apple. Take lessons from Galaxy Note 3. Try not to win the world over with THINNESS. Just make a great phone.

    • even if it is dozens (as you and the internet say) that is dozens of over 10million. That is incredibly small % of users. Even 1,000 complaints is less than 0.0001%. Though I do hope that if their phone did bend due to normal use…they should get a new phone.

    • Nabil Zeidani - 10 years ago

      I have been saying for years that phablets are not pocketable phones. it does not make sense to put it in jeans pocket. I tried to put before Galaxy note in my jeans pocket but that was not comfortable at all. For this reason it is called a phablet. We can’t treat it like an ordinary phone. If we keep this in mind no body will complain.

  14. thejuanald - 10 years ago

    Does nobody realize that Apple wouldn’t be doing this much damage control if it was such a minor occurrence.

    • 1chiefredfox - 10 years ago

      No, it’s a minor occurrence. The unbelievably major occurrence is the media and the lack of common sense (read: stupidity) in reporting this non-issue.

      Remember, there are plenty of stupid people in this world; half (by definition) have below-average intelligence. Let that sink in for a second and you’ll understand that most of those (below-average intelligence) folks are the ones dancing in this internet-fueled circle jerk… and they really believe that a phone bends just by putting it into a pocket.

      A big ass phone is GONNA bend if you put enough pressure on it — and it doesn’t matter if it’s in a front pocket, back pocket, shirt pocket, jacket pocket, backpack, under a car tire, whatever.

      • Markus Galla - 10 years ago

        These are the same stupid people who put their dogs in the microwave and then complain that the manual didn’t state not to do so.

    • Nabil Zeidani - 10 years ago

      The real problem is the media. I have heard some people are saying that the iPhone 6 bends and they don’t know that it needs a certain amount of force to bend it.

  15. jedimindtrick99 - 10 years ago

    That iPod looks huge on the stand, but I can see the 30pin, and is that windows they are using on one of those machines

  16. AJ Starsiak - 10 years ago

    Apple, how is it that you made your cash cow product and nobody caught this. You can show me your fancy testing rooms, and expensive test machines. At the end of the day guess what? You failed with this one, and you know it.

    You did not do your job testing this product fully, if so you would had already caught this. Then added more material or redesigned the metal backing to resist this flexing. Design fail+testing fail= Apple fail. I hope they don’t test the Iwatch the same way.

    • tigerpork - 10 years ago

      They did test 30,000 iphone 6. But if you’re really that concern then return it or don’t buy!

  17. patstar5 - 10 years ago

    I still imagining it bending if you are pressing it against a counter in jeans. There will be much more reports about this in a few months, as they wear down

  18. jerryfromcan - 10 years ago

    Can’t we just skip to the part where Apple apologizes and fixes the issue for those affected and changes the production line somehow?

  19. Rodolfo Ferreira (@djmc7) - 10 years ago

    Okay so they might do testing which stresses the phone with a lot of energy at once, but do they also replicate long and steady pressure, like say, if it were sitting in your jeans bending over time?

    For the first time since iPhone 4 I did not get the new model on launch day, and I am kind of happy about that decision, and for the first time ever, I might actually end up waiting for the inevitable “6S Plus”. Also for the first time ever, I want to be able to buy it fully unlocked at retail price instead of the bullshit subsidization.

  20. Neha Mehra - 10 years ago

    hat is ridiculous.Have you guys noticed that since the day iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus is launched, all the android lovers are going out of their way to pull down Apple.I mean c’mon bending seriously? I am using 6 plus for the last 8.9 days and i keep it in my pocket for long but still nothing happens to it.It is just not possible unless and until you start doing purposely.These YouTube bloggers are paid by different companies to pull down Apple brand and promote the other brand better than them,take it for example Samsung.A case was against Samsung that they are paying the writers to promote great stuffs about their new phone.I have worked with Samsung for the last 7 years so i know what happens inside.Guys please don’t hear this BS and do what you like.There was an article i read in http://www.viralexpose.com about how Samsung actually pays the bloggers to good about their phones and nasty about others and specially Apple because they can never ever come close to the iPhone sales or any apple product!

  21. Neha Mehra - 10 years ago

    Trust me there are so many educated bloggers who literally ruins smartphones by bending them hard or destroying them.Check this out http://viralexpose.com/tech-updates/reality-check-is-it-really-necessary-to-do-hammer-testnitrogen-testknife-testbend-test-on-smartphones/
    The real question here is,it is necessary,Those pricks are paid to do all this but they are do dumb from their head that instead of destroying expensive phones,show results or solutions related to problem.They won’t do that because it requires efforts while destroying doesn’t.I live in India and i use an iphone,my servant loves my phone but she can’t afford one so what i do is let her play games or let her use my phone till the time she is home,if you can make someone’s day or teach them a bit of technology,you do well but over here these educated bloggers are doing nothing,ruining and gaining attention..Growup

  22. 89p13 - 10 years ago

    Well – the statement that Apple has sold 10 Million of these phones may be accurate – but how many of them are still in the pipeline, waiting to be manufactured / shipped / delivered / used?

    I am an Apple owner and I do enjoy and care for my products, so I’m not trolling – but I do find that statement to be very disingenuous to the discussion!

  23. crisrod63 - 10 years ago

    Everything can bend, even perception.

  24. Joe Legakis (@joelegakis) - 10 years ago

    as a fat man with little pockets, my 6 Plus is doing just fine so far.

  25. Jamie Gilder - 10 years ago

    That dock, need.

  26. tijeladeacai - 10 years ago

    I want Apple’s iDenin. The revolutionary skinny jeans perfectly design to hold the iPhone.