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iPhone 6 Bending Problems May Have Quietly Been Fixed

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While the launch of the iPhone 6 was one of Apple’s best opening weekend releases ever for the iPhone, the company wasn’t getting let off easy. The internet has been buzzing lately over some users noticing that their iPhone 6 Plus units slightly bend while tucked in their pocket, but it seems that Apple has quietly fixed the issue.

The issue only seemed to affect a very small percentage of users, and it wasn’t enough for Apple to issue replacements for bent units. However, it did seem enough for the Cupertino-based company to secretly redesign the iPhone 6 in order to prevent random bending from occurring.

According to one Reddit user who compared an iPhone 6 Plus that he just bought to his wife’s unit that was bought shortly after launch day, there were some significant design differences between the two units.

iPhone 6 bending problems

First off, the smoothness between the two devices seemed to be different, with the older model having a softer and smoother aluminum finish than the newer model, suggesting that Apple could have toughened up the aluminum body a bit.

Secondly, tapping on the back and sides of the iPhone 6 Plus units where the bending would usually occur resulted in a much different sound from both devices, with the Reddit user saying that there’s “a night and day difference in sound.”

He went as far as putting on a stethoscope and listening closely to the taps:

Without a doubt, the new 6 Plus (the one I got yesterday) sounds much more dull toned, indicating to me it’s more solid than my wife’s week 1 phone. Her phone had a lot more percussion sound, indicating that area was previously hollow.”

He even got out his trusty microscope and looked through the cracks of the volume buttons. From that, he noticed  a red-colored object placed in the volume down button opening on the newer iPhone 6 Plus model. However, there was nothing to see on the older unit, concluding that Apple might have re-enforced that section of the phone where there was an apparent weak spot, which resulted in iPhone 6 Plus units getting bent so easily.

iPhone 6 Plus Review - 2

Lastly, he weighed both units and discovered that his newer iPhone 6 Plus weighed 21 grams heavier than the older unit. It’s possible that his 128GB storage chip was heavier than the 16GB storage of the older unit, but it seems unlikely that it’s 21 grams heavier.

Based on all this, we wouldn’t be surprised if Apple indeed updated the iPhone 6 Plus to be more sturdy and durable. At the same time, though, it’s hard to believe that Apple made such a big structural change the iPhone 6 in a short amount of time, considering that they would have to design the new structural re-enforcements and test them out, all of that taking just a couple of weeks, which seems rather quick.

In any case, we’re sure that many users are hoping that Apple actually did make some changes the smartphone’s internal design to make it stronger, but it’s certainly something that we don’t know for a fact until someone can get their hands on a newer unit and do a complete teardown comparison.

Apple has been rather quiet about this specific issue, but that’s likely because the fiasco with iOS 8.0.1 has garnered a lot of attention as well. However, Apple says that it is “looking into this with an insane amount of detail.”

In any case, a phone made out of thin aluminum will bend with the right amount of force, so we don’t see this as something incredibly surprising. In fact, there were several reports back when the iPhone 5s released of units bending in people’s pockets. Of course, the amount of attention the issue got was nothing compared to what the iPhone 6 “bendgate” is receiving now, which is rather unfortunate, since this issue is nothing new.

11 Comments

11 Comments

  1. Cameron Nix

    10/30/2014 at 11:48 am

    It’s about time Apple figured out they screwed up making it so thin

  2. Buck Wheat

    10/30/2014 at 3:48 pm

    Uh… it was never bendable in the first place. People are just careless idiots wanting something to whine about.

  3. Tory

    10/30/2014 at 6:26 pm

    I’m still on a waitlist for my i6+ :(

  4. Blair

    10/30/2014 at 6:54 pm

    Is this a joke? You’re basing a story on a redditor who couldn’t even bother to post pictures of the supposed massive difference in weight? You ought to be embarrassed to have this piece on your site. Get some integrity.

  5. Southshore

    10/30/2014 at 8:07 pm

    This is without a doubt, the dumbest,most lame excuse for a tech article I have ever seen. Please, please, please fire the shithead who wrote post dated to last month. Ignorant journalism at its worst, absolute worst.

  6. Tim

    10/30/2014 at 10:42 pm

    I guess I was click-baited, because I knew his story was B.S. before I even read it. Do you have even the slightest clue about how long it would take to redesign a product, even with the resources of Apple? It would need to be tested, determine where the alleged weakness was (and his testing would need to be different and in addition to the testing that was already done in the original design). Then, when the weakness was found (in theory), a new design would need to be modeled and tested and approved.. Let’s pretend that the first redesign was good enough. Then, manufacturing processes would need to be modified to make the new parts, possibly with changes in the assembly process as well. Think of how many machines are cranking out the millions of iPhones. Finally, all of those iPhones already in the production process would need to be completed, shipped and sold through to the customer before the new phones reached a customer. All of this would happen in less than two weeks? Fricken nuts.

  7. shmoetheho

    10/31/2014 at 3:55 am

    All of this skewering aside. The word is reinforced.

  8. tbrass84

    10/31/2014 at 7:30 am

    I just spoke to someone at Radio Shack that told me they were backordered on their iPhone 6 Plus units, and he confirmed there was a redesign to the iPhone 6 Plus.

  9. Drew

    10/31/2014 at 9:54 am

    It’s not hard to imagine that they discovered the flaw after producing thousands of phones, began work on a fix and that fix was finally put out to the public a month after the release date. They aren’t going to hold up the date for something like this, and they sure arent going to throw out the half million phones that are slightly sub par.

  10. Blah

    10/31/2014 at 10:30 am

    My phone warped and i barely use it and i keep it in my coat, so there was def an issue on the first edition.

  11. TyrannyOfEvilMen

    10/31/2014 at 1:24 pm

    What a bunch of BS. Yeah, they quietly changed something in the supply chain like two weeks AFTER the first set of orders were filled. If THAT’S true then everyone should buy all of the Apple stock they can, because they have discovered magic!

    LOL! No wonder Samsung is doomed! You can’t beat magic!

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