Will the iPhone 6s Plus Bend, or Has Apple Finally Solved Bendgate?

Making every phone thinner than the last generation has a downside, one that Apple became intimately familiar with over the past year. When the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus were released last year, they made waves for the technology they packed within their svelte exterior – especially the monolithic iPhone 6 Plus models.

Of course, when you have such thin phones, one of the things you might do is slip them into your pockets – where, because they’re so thin, you rapidly forget they’re there, and act accordingly. Sitting down, wearing jeans, you know, the usual.

As users soon found out, the iPhone 6, but especially the iPhone 6 Plus, was regrettably easy to bend. A combination of the new design and the thin aluminum, the Plus-sized iPhone started bending left and right, usually at the most compromised stress point – one the left side of the phone, where the cutouts for the volume buttons could be found.

Word spread and pictures of bent iPhones soon went viral, tagged with the hashtag #bendgate. People were buying iPhones with the explicit intention of bending them on video and try to fuel the flames of the controversy. For a brief period of time, Apple replaced the affected units, completely free of charge – but that didn’t last. Eventually #bendgate died down – it never really ended, since Apple could do little to change the iPhone 6 design post release, but people learned they had to be a bit more delicate with these particular iPhones.

Enter the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus. As early as several months ago, we started hearing reports that Apple would be switching to an all new aluminum alloy, part of the stronger 7000 series of alloys. When they new phones were announced earlier this month, that stronger aluminum frame was a non-trivial part of the announcement.

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And you know what? It appears to have made a huge difference in the structural integrity of Apple’s latest and greatest iPhones. A couple of charming Kiwi blokes have tried their hardest to bend the new iPhone 6s Plus:

Despite one person putting his full strength behind, he was completely unable to permanently bend the phone. When two people work together, they were able to add a slight bend to the phone, but the iPhone 6s Plus seems completely immune to snapping in half – no matter how hard you press.

Here’s another guy trying to break the 6s Plus:

He seems to have slightly better luck than the previous attempt, but it still looks really, really difficult to cause serious damage.

With the release of the new iPhone 6s Plus, replete with Apple’s new 7000 series aluminum alloy and ion-strengthened glass, I think we can officially declare that #bendgate is history – but remember: Apple is still selling last year’s iPhone 6 Plus at a reduced price, and those models will still be using the 6000 series alloys and weaker glass.  If you end up snagging one, you’ll still need to take care, and should probably be using the 6 Plus in some kind of case.  If you stick to the 6s Plus, however, you won’t need to worry about which pocket you use!