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Internal Documents Show Apple Knew the iPhone 6 Would Bend (vice.com)
In 2014, multiple users reported that their iPhone 6 and 6 Plus handsets were bending under pressure, such as when they were kept in a pocket. As a byproduct of this issue, the touchscreen's internal hardware was also susceptible to losing its connection to the phone's logic board. It turns out, Apple was aware that this could happen. Motherboard: Apple's internal tests found that the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus are significantly more likely to bend than the iPhone 5S, according to information made public in a recent court filing obtained by Motherboard. Publicly, Apple has never said that the phones have a bending problem, and maintains that position, despite these models commonly being plagued with "touch disease," a flaw that causes the touchscreen to work intermittently that the repair community say is a result of bending associated with normal use. The information is contained in internal Apple documents filed under seal in a class-action lawsuit that alleges Apple misled customers about touch disease. The documents remain under seal, but US District Court judge Lucy Koh made some of the information from them public in a recent opinion in the case. The company found that the iPhone 6 is 3.3 times more likely to bend than the iPhone 5s, and the iPhone 6 Plus is 7.2 times more likely to bend than the iPhone 5s, according to the documents. Koh wrote that "one of the major concerns Apple identified prior to launching the iPhones was that they were 'likely to bend more easily when compared to previous generations.'"
The weird thing was Apple replaced the whole screen and it was still bent. It went haywire after that and hit a full refurb phone. Great phone the iPhone 6.
But did they know it would blend?
Yeah, that's the precise reason why I didn't buy a large-screen phone. I said to myself, "dude, that's going to bend if I put it in my pocket and bend over." And people are surprised somehow by this? That's people being dumbasses for the sake of being dumbasses.
Apple will replace your iPhone 6 for "only" $149 if you run into the touch screen disease. Since it really is a manufacturing flaw, it should be $0. There is currently a class action lawsuit over it.
It's just a phone, I don't feel much outrage.
I mean, if we're talking about cars and people dying from a design defect, and the car company making a cold calculation that settling lawsuits from dead customers' relatives would be cheaper than recalling and fixing the entire fleet of cars (see the movie "Fight Club" for example), then yes I can see myself feeling some level of outrage.
But like I said, it's just a damn phone. So Apple calculated that .03 % of iphone 6's will bend, cost of settling would be X, and cost of recalling the entire year's worth of iphone 6 will be Y, and Y turned out to be much greater than X, so they went with option X. Sounds pretty logical to me.
Unless you are overweight with rolls of fat, how does bending over cause the upper part of your leg to bend (where the front pockets are)?
Tired of my customary (Score:1)
From guys wearing nut hugger jeans and women putting the phone in their back pocket
Only the State obtains its revenue by coercion. - Murray Rothbard
You are significantly more likely to be hit by lightning than win the lottery. But that doesn't mean lightning is a significant worry. It just means the effect is measurable.
Some drink at the fountain of knowledge. Others just gargle.
multiple users reported that their iPhone 6 and 6 Plus handsets were bending under pressure, such as when they were kept in a pocket.
I would imagine God is pretty scared right about now over minor chronic misuse leading to certain body parts bending.
(-1: Post disagrees with my already-settled worldview) is not a valid mod option.
It's a non-issue. Yes, their internal reports said it was more likely to bend than the iPhone 5s. So? Can you only make a new phone if it's less likely to bend? What's acceptable levels of manufacturing? If the 5s had a 1:1,000 chance to bend and the 6 Plus had a 1:950 chance, but got a thinner, lighter device ... so? Who cares?
The only part about this that I find surprising is that Apple's solution to this wasn't to sell iPants with no pockets.
Some of us wear a belt.
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
I don't get it. The pinnacle of this nonsense was the newer Moto Z. What is this bullshit? Give me a friggin Phone that doesn't feel like I'm holding a thin small slice of plywood with some fragile crystal glued on. And Oooph the battery while your at it. Point in case: I added a UAG case to my Moto G5 and it finally feels like a phone and not some piece of junk from a vending machine that will break when I sneeze at it. How awesome would it be if that extra heft would be like +2000mAmps of power. ... OnePlus, Nokia, Motorola ... all are into this nonsense. I seriously don't get it.
There definitely is a market for solid phones the thickness of the iPhone SE or thicker that have a solid battery and a case that doesn't fall apart. Or bend.
If I had the resoures I'd build it.
My 2 cents.
We suffer more in our imagination than in reality. - Seneca
(where the front pockets are)
I know you are on /. so you probably don't hang around a lot of women, but have you seriously not noticed that nearly every woman wearing pants puts them in their BACK pocets?
Could make the same kind of snark; front pants pockets are almost vestigial at this point. They're designed for maybe holding a tube of chap-stick, not something practical like a phone.
Which is why consumers with a clue should have taken precautionary measures to prevent the entire product segment from degenerating into a walled-garden duopoly.
Because holding all four railroads or both utilities is massive bean-sniffer power up. Ensconced on a fantasy island of Florin/Guilder (also known as rich/raff), the bean counters always win. And now the piper extracts his pound of flesh, almost with indifference: So it bends. Big deal. Pay us again, skater Sam (of the big grab) and slender Samantha (of the tiny clutch).
that we would know about it?
And do they care?
“Common sense is not so common.” — Voltaire
Are you retarded?
Wear pants.
Sit down.
Look at there the opening to the pocket is.
Imagine a large phone in that pocket.
How high does the phone sit? Does it even fit all the way in the pocket? (If you wear women's clothing, such as women's clothing or skinny jeans, it will not.)
How much tension is the phone placed under when sitting or leaning forward? (If you wear regular men's jeans, it's still quite a bit.)
Any 5 year knows that it's a bad idea to put something with one side made of glass in your ass-pocket and sit down.
Why somebody would do such a stupid thing is beyond me.
Overall, what Consumer Reports found was that while all of the phones they tested would eventually bend or break with the application of enough force, âoeit took significant force to do this kind of damage to all these phonesâ and every model tested (including the iPhone 6) should hold up fine under ordinary, everyday use.
Turns out you can break any phone if you try hard enough. Who knew!
Internal Documents Show Apple Knew the iPhone 6 Would Blend
https://youtu.be/KWqw5SpITg8
"Every time I see an adult on a bicycle, I no longer despair for the future of the human race." - H. G. Wells
Or not wearing cargo pants with knee-length pockets.
7.2 times more likely is more like 1:1000 vs. 1:140. Not a minor difference.
It's been known for a long time that Apple customers are a load of benders.
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
Overall, what Consumer Reports found
The first sentence of my post: "That Consumer Reports test was flawed, because they tested pressure in the middle when the phones were clearly being bent at a particular point higher up."
Turns out you can break any phone if you try hard enough. Who knew!
Jobs is dead, but the reality distortion field lives on!
The 4s was great. The 5s was the last decent iPhone. The 6 onwards were just too big. The 7 had no headphone jack.
RIP iPhone.
The first sentence of my post: "That Consumer Reports test was flawed, because they tested pressure in the middle when the phones were clearly being bent at a particular point higher up."
Claim: The iPhone 6 Plus will bend easily if placed in a pocket.
MOSTLY FALSE
I really don't care about your analysis over Consumer Reports or Snopes.
7.2 times more likely is more like 1:1000 vs. 1:140. Not a minor difference.
And if it was 20x more likely? My laptop is probably 20x easier to bend than a Panasonic Toughbook. Is my laptop brittle? Who determines what's adequate? Was the 5s just over-engineered? Considering that the other phones Consumer Reports tested bent as easy, or easier, than the iPhone 6 Plus, is that bad? Sounds like the 5s was just so far beyond everything else it was unnecessarily over-engineered.
I really don't care about your analysis over Consumer Reports or Snopes.
It's not my analysis, it's the analysis of an engineer. Of course, a bit of common sense also goes a long way, as the videos demonstrating the bend and the bends found in actual usage show the same weak spot. But congratulations on your sheepish following to Apple, Consumer Reports, and Snopes. Jobs would be proud.
Apple is wonderful at product testing, they just suck at using the resulting data to improve their products. Now we have documented proof of this.
So sad, how far they've fallen. One wonders how long it will take their money to catch up... or if they might correct course before that happens.
APK quotes people (including myself) without context and should not be trusted. Just thought you should know.
Ummm ... because that's where your fucking hip joint is located?
You must have some seriously defective pants or your body does not conform to normal human standards. I've never had a pair of pants where anything sitting in a front pocket is located over my hips and not further down my leg (almost halfway to my knee).
The waist of your jeans aren't supposed to be hanging midway down your thighs.
The pockets aren't on the waistline though are they?
Wanna buy a shirt?
https://www.redbubble.com/people/stealthfinger/shop?asc=u
I think that's been my favorite title for an iPhone news story.
I went to Wal-Mart the other day. I needed a belt in short order and it was the only place around. When I finally found the belts specifically designed for y-chromosome possessing hominids I was shocked to learn that my waist size (32 inches) was considered a child's size. It was the smallest belt they had in the building. The next closest size was 38 inches. Sizes progressed from there in 2" increments up to over 50".
It was shocking to extrapolate the algorithm used for stocking belts at Wal-Mart has determined that adult males who shop for belts at this Wal-Mart will be overweight. it's still freaking me out.
When the only tool you have is a claw hammer every problem starts to look like the back of someone's skull.
Dude, you're fucking small like a child. You're probably 135lbs soaking wet.
Thank you for pointing out the information I left out. I am 6 foot tall and weigh in at somewhere between 158 and 165. Broad shoulders, tapered waist, no "love handles" anymore (three years since I stopped drinking and they are completely gone!), slim build with lean muscle, and a distinctly unflabby torso.
I previously weighed as much as 200 pounds and was unhealthy due to poor diet and over-consumption of alcohol.
When the only tool you have is a claw hammer every problem starts to look like the back of someone's skull.