San Francisco: It’s been on shelves for a matter of days, but some iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus users are complaining of a major design flaw that sees the smartphone body bend under pressure.
Photos have begun appearing online showing distinctly bent aluminium devices, with complaints that the new iterations of the iPhone, which feature a thinner and larger aluminium body, are unable to stand up to the wear and tear of staying in a pocket, CNET reported.
Apple users have taken to the MacRumors forum to complain about the design flaw, which seems to affect the device at the top end near the volume buttons. One user, hanzoh, posted an image of a bent iPhone 6 Plus, complaining that the device warped after roughly 18 hours in his pocket.
“The iPhone 6 Could Bend In Your Pocket… !! haha.. love u APPLE,†tweeted Nelson Cardoz.
“Love the apologists saying ‘well duh, just don’t put your iPhone in your pocket!’ What, am I supposed to buy a purse? #bendgate,†another iPhone user, Brian Hough tweeted.
The reports come just after an insurance company claimed that the new iPhones are the most robust ever – though its tests didn’t include bending.
The iPhone 6 and 6 Plus chassis is milled from a solid piece of aluminium alloy whose composition is secret. The weak area of the phone appears to be around the volume buttons, where the frame is at its thinnest and creates a fulcrum point around which the phone bends. Surprisingly, the screen does not break when the phone bends – though it does if the phone is then bent back to a flat profile.
Apple is not the first to have the problem of a large-screened metal-framed smartphone bending under use. Sony’s Xperia Z1, which had a 5in screen and a metal frame, saw users complaining that they bent in pockets, while Samsung Galaxy S4 users had similar complaints, as did BlackBerry Q10 users.
Testing by ‘Unbox Therapy’ showed the iPhone 6 Plus can be bent by applying substantial force by hand.
The amount of force required to bend the smartphone is unlikely to be repeated in all but the skinniest of trousers. Before conducting the test, Lewis Hilsenteger from Unbox Therapy said his 6 Plus showed signs of being bent simply from being in his trouser pocket.
A similar test was conducted with the 5.7in Samsung Galaxy Note 3 phablet, which warped to a lesser extent and then came back into shape due to its primarily plastic construction. The Note 3 is 2.5mm thicker than the iPhone 6 Plus, which is 7mm thick.
