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Bending iPhones
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besson3c
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Oct 10, 2014, 04:12 PM
 
What do you guys think of the whole bending thing? A big deal, or overblown?
     
OAW
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Oct 10, 2014, 04:19 PM
 
See the Bendghazi thread for the various comments on that "fauxtroversy". And then consider this as well ...

Bendgate Bends Back: Samsung Galaxy Note 4 Fails the Test, Too

OAW
     
Laminar
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Oct 10, 2014, 04:36 PM
 
Depends, besson - what kind of pants do you wear? Skinny or baggy? This is important stuff.
     
mattyb
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Oct 10, 2014, 04:59 PM
 
Do you like billy goats besson?
     
besson3c  (op)
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Oct 10, 2014, 04:59 PM
 
Sometimes I don't wear pants at all, but usually when I do they are fairly baggy, but not so baggy it looks like I've boreed myself.
     
besson3c  (op)
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Oct 10, 2014, 05:00 PM
 
What kind of pants do you wear, Laminar?
     
besson3c  (op)
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Oct 10, 2014, 05:01 PM
 
Originally Posted by mattyb View Post
Do you like billy goats besson?
I do, especially the ones that eat tin cans and butt people all the time.
     
Ham Sandwich
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Oct 10, 2014, 05:37 PM
 
Originally Posted by besson3c View Post
What do you guys think of the whole bending thing? A big deal, or overblown?

It's expected.

The area increases but the thickness does not. Basic physics: it's more likely to bend.
     
besson3c  (op)
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Oct 10, 2014, 07:06 PM
 
Originally Posted by And.reg View Post
It's expected.

The area increases but the thickness does not. Basic physics: it's more likely to bend.
That explains why my penis is very bendy.
     
Ham Sandwich
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Oct 10, 2014, 07:54 PM
 
????

What does your penile dysfunction have to do with the iPhone's metal frame bending?
     
besson3c  (op)
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Oct 10, 2014, 07:59 PM
 
I'm just saying that the physics checks out.
     
Shaddim
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Oct 11, 2014, 12:23 AM
 
When Spheric announced that his friend's iphone did bend (after having it in their front pocket), there was a hushed silence over the Apple faithful here.
"Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it."
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OAW
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Oct 11, 2014, 02:22 AM
 
Oh is that what it was? Yeah. Ok.

OAW
     
Shaddim
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Oct 11, 2014, 02:58 AM
 
Yep, all the "it's only 9 phones!" parrots stopped squawking immediately after.
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Phileas
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Oct 11, 2014, 08:12 AM
 
My 6+ arrived yesterday. Seems pretty strong, but I would not leave it in my pants when sitting down. Also, Google has snuck in a dialler with the hangouts app, meaning you can use it to make regular calls with an app that isn't the default.

IOS 8 is a huge step into the right direction, taking some of the best of Android and marrying it with the best of iOS.
     
Laminar
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Oct 11, 2014, 08:36 AM
 
Originally Posted by besson3c View Post
What kind of pants do you wear, Laminar?
Levi 505s.
     
badidea
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Oct 11, 2014, 09:05 AM
 
Originally Posted by Shaddim View Post
Yep, all the "it's only 9 phones!" parrots stopped squawking immediately after.
I have another theory: You and your "friends" destroyed the thread and it was locked...

It's 10 reports now and mine is still NOT bent!

I DO believe though that an iPhone 6 (+) bends more easily than any other iPhone!
Case closed for me!
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besson3c  (op)
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Oct 11, 2014, 09:21 AM
 
Originally Posted by Shaddim View Post
Yep, all the "it's only 9 phones!" parrots stopped squawking immediately after.
Yeah, anybody that parrots the PR of any company is a little too into that company. Then again, I think there is ample evidence to support the notion of a *lot* of force being necessary to bend your phone, and common sense should indicate that you shouldn't be applying that much force to any electronic gadget, especially ones this expensive.
     
besson3c  (op)
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Oct 11, 2014, 09:23 AM
 
Originally Posted by badidea View Post
I have another theory: You and your "friends" destroyed the thread and it was locked...

It's 10 reports now and mine is still NOT bent!

I DO believe though that an iPhone 6 (+) bends more easily than any other iPhone!
Case closed for me!

You have no idea whether the number 10 is a meaningful number. The job of PR is to gloss over stuff ala Lionel Hutz from the Simpsons.
     
Spheric Harlot
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Oct 11, 2014, 10:20 AM
 
Originally Posted by Shaddim View Post
When Spheric announced that his friend's iphone did bend (after having it in their front pocket), there was a hushed silence over the Apple faithful here.
There's a certain irony there, given the number of times I've been denigrated as a "fanboy" and "Apple faithful" on these forums.

Also, I'm pretty sure the "hushed silence" was just stunned awe at how you and OAW totally devolved into a grunting mess of chest-beating internet stalker/stalkees.

That was slightly unreal, and it turned any discussion of iPhone issues - real or imagined - into a sideshow.
     
Spheric Harlot
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Oct 11, 2014, 10:25 AM
 
FWIW, I've had moments where I've thought "okay, that would've probably bent the new one" - mostly times when carrying heavy flight cases or crates, which I tend to prop against my thigh when carrying them.

I can easily imagine a steel-edged case weighing thirty kilos bending a phone in my pocket when carried in such a manner, and I'm pretty sure I'll have to change things a bit when I upgrade to the 6s next year.

As it is, I don't consider this a design flaw - rather, I was slightly surprised to see that my 5s had NOT warped after being subjected to the force of twenty kilos of Apples (the biological kind) last weekend.
     
besson3c  (op)
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Oct 11, 2014, 11:05 AM
 
20 kilos of apples and you don't call yourself an apple fanboy?
     
Shaddim
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Oct 11, 2014, 11:41 AM
 
Originally Posted by besson3c View Post
Yeah, anybody that parrots the PR of any company is a little too into that company. Then again, I think there is ample evidence to support the notion of a *lot* of force being necessary to bend your phone, and common sense should indicate that you shouldn't be applying that much force to any electronic gadget, especially ones this expensive.
"A lot" is relative, if you apply 70lbs of force to the middle of the 6+ you can bend it, however, if you apply a mere 45lbs to the area directly below the volume rocker, which coincidentally is where pressure is applied if the phone is in your front pocket when you sit and you aren't wearing baggy pants, they'll also bend. Personally, I think that's a design faux pas, that's exactly where millions carry their phones and Apple knows it. No, it won't cause Apple to tank or even cost them anything, they can write off all the returns from it, but it is a bummer for the consumer when they dig their beautiful iPhone out of their pocket to send a message, and find that it's now shaped like an `80s Casio calculator.
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besson3c  (op)
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Oct 11, 2014, 12:26 PM
 
Originally Posted by Shaddim View Post
"A lot" is relative, if you apply 70lbs of force to the middle of the 6+ you can bend it, however, if you apply a mere 45lbs to the area directly below the volume rocker, which coincidentally is where pressure is applied if the phone is in your front pocket when you sit and you aren't wearing baggy pants, they'll also bend. Personally, I think that's a design faux pas, that's exactly where millions carry their phones and Apple knows it. No, it won't cause Apple to tank or even cost them anything, they can write off all the returns from it, but it is a bummer for the consumer when they dig their beautiful iPhone out of their pocket to send a message, and find that it's now shaped like an `80s Casio calculator.

Consumer Reports says it takes 70 pounds of pressure to bend an iPhone 6, and 90 to bend an iPhone 6 Plus. I don't understand how somebody can apply 70 pounds of pressure just by wearing tight pants. It has also been determined that the same sort of pressure can bend other phones. To me the takeaway message is don't apply 70 pounds of pressure to expensive electronic devices?
     
Shaddim
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Oct 11, 2014, 12:33 PM
 
Like I said before, it isn't 70, or even 90, pounds if you focus on the point directly under the volume rocker, it's considerably less. With the one phone they tested they applied all the force on the exact middle of the phone back.
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besson3c  (op)
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Oct 11, 2014, 12:35 PM
 
Is there a number in pounds - whether 45, 55, 65, 70, 75, whatever, where you would deem this acceptable design? If so, what is the number?
     
Shaddim
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Oct 11, 2014, 01:23 PM
 
One of the engineers on reddit was saying 100lbs, and I think that's a good target. Yeah, I know there are Android phones that fail with that much stress, but to me that just means that they aren't properly reinforced either.
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Ham Sandwich
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Oct 11, 2014, 06:00 PM
 
Originally Posted by besson3c View Post
Is there a number in pounds - whether 45, 55, 65, 70, 75, whatever, where you would deem this acceptable design? If so, what is the number?
That's not the point. If people put their phones in their pockets it shouldn't bend to the point of damage. At any given moment (sitting down, standing up, shifting your seat, jamming something else into your pocket) you're applying an instantaneous force, which may not result in the same behavior as long-term pressure like having all that stuff jammed in your pocket AND sitting with it in there for hours. How about: the iPhone 6, 6 plus, and whatever else should be just as durable as the previous generation in all of these circumstances.
     
besson3c  (op)
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Oct 11, 2014, 06:24 PM
 
Originally Posted by And.reg View Post
That's not the point. If people put their phones in their pockets it shouldn't bend to the point of damage. At any given moment (sitting down, standing up, shifting your seat, jamming something else into your pocket) you're applying an instantaneous force, which may not result in the same behavior as long-term pressure like having all that stuff jammed in your pocket AND sitting with it in there for hours. How about: the iPhone 6, 6 plus, and whatever else should be just as durable as the previous generation in all of these circumstances.
Maybe I just need some sort of frame of reference, as I just can't process how any of those activities could possibly result in all of that pressure being exerted?
     
Phileas
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Oct 11, 2014, 07:44 PM
 
I really like mine, but then I've always been a phablet fan. The phone is sturdy and seems extremely well made. It's also long and thin so I won't be taking any chances with it. Because, physics.
     
Ham Sandwich
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Oct 11, 2014, 09:09 PM
 
Originally Posted by besson3c View Post
Maybe I just need some sort of frame of reference, as I just can't process how any of those activities could possibly result in all of that pressure being exerted?
Well apparently it happened to more than 9 people...
     
besson3c  (op)
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Oct 11, 2014, 09:45 PM
 
Originally Posted by And.reg View Post
Well apparently it happened to more than 9 people...

So have cracked screens, broken buttons, and probably every other imaginable thing, I'm sure. With millions of phones out there you are probably going to get a bit of everything.

Why has there been no articles about how much pressure the glass can withstand before cracking? It seems like there has been an entire industry built around repairing cracked screens, but people just kind of accept this as part of owning a phone.
     
reader50
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Oct 12, 2014, 03:10 AM
 
Like flat tires? Similar cost to a screen replacement. I reworded your paragraph to a tire context, does it still sound outrageous?

Why have there been no articles about how much pressure a tire can withstand before puncture? It seems like there has been an entire industry built around replacing flat tires, but people just kind of accept this as part of owning a car.
     
Spheric Harlot
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Oct 12, 2014, 04:15 AM
 
Car analogies always suck, but yep, that reinforces his point rather nicely.
     
Shaddim
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Oct 12, 2014, 11:03 AM
 
Originally Posted by reader50 View Post
Like flat tires? Similar cost to a screen replacement. I reworded your paragraph to a tire context, does it still sound outrageous?
Tires are similar in price to replacing the glass on an iPhone? Maybe a single tire on the average econobox, but you should never replace just a single tire.

That aside, the tire industry can make a widely available product that lasts >300k kms, commercial truck tires are a perfect example. For obvious reasons they choose not to. Due to regenerative systems in electric cars they're finally being forced to work on alternatives, but it'll still be a long time before we get a chance to buy them.
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ort888
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Oct 13, 2014, 12:05 PM
 
While I love the bigger screen size 90% of the time, it definitely makes actually using the phone harder. It's just not as easy to hold. I've got my iPhone in the standard apple leather case and it also digs into my pinky when I'm holding it for an extended amount of time.

Behold... PINKYGATE.



This is an actual picture of the lines indented into my pinky from using the iPhone 6 in a leather case for about 30 minutes.

My sig is 1 pixel too big.
     
OAW
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Oct 13, 2014, 12:15 PM
 
Are you trying to one hand the iPhone 6+? If so you might just have to give up on that and force yourself to use it as a two-handed device. It should be a lot more comfortable that way.

OAW
     
ort888
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Oct 13, 2014, 12:20 PM
 
Regular iPhone 6. And I have huge banana finger hands.

It's all muscle memory. I've been using iPhones that were the same basic shape for about 5 years now, and suddenly the shape has changed. You don't realize just how "trained" you are to use certain things a certain way. Apparently I used my iPhone in one hand more than I thought I did.

It's still doable, but the grip needs to be a little different. I'll adapt. Mankind has a way of adapting to difficult new challenges like this.

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OAW
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Oct 13, 2014, 01:28 PM
 
Wow! I wouldn't have expected all that from the regular iPhone 6. Mine arrives today. I imagine the biggest thing to get used to will be the new location of the lock button. We'll see if I have a similar experience.

OAW
     
badidea
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Oct 14, 2014, 08:27 AM
 
Originally Posted by OAW View Post
... the new location of the lock button.
That's my only personal problem with the iPhone 6 so far - I accidently press the lock button way too often!
It should have stayed on the top of the case!!
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ShortcutToMoncton
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Oct 14, 2014, 09:27 AM
 
Hah - yesterday my friend was showing me his new iP6 and specifically mentioned that he liked the new lock button because he didn't need to reach up to the top for it, which would be far more annoying to do with the larger phone.

So there's that.
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Laminar
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Oct 14, 2014, 10:03 AM
 
The lock button is the same place as the Galaxies have had them for a while, so it was a natural switch for me.
     
ort888
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Oct 14, 2014, 10:28 AM
 
I liked it a lot better on top as well.

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Shaddim
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Oct 14, 2014, 10:44 AM
 
they wanted a uniform look with the 6 and 6+ and keeping the button on top for the former would have been fine, but the latter? You'd need fingers like a xenomorph to turn it off with one hand.
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Phileas
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Oct 14, 2014, 12:40 PM
 
Originally Posted by Laminar View Post
The lock button is the same place as the Galaxies have had them for a while, so it was a natural switch for me.
Same here with the Nexus.
     
OAW
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Oct 14, 2014, 01:26 PM
 
Given the larger size of the iPhone 6 I think I prefer it in the side. I've found myself reaching up top for it a few times out of 7 years of habit but the stretch quickly reminds me what I need to do. I figure I'll be totally used to it in a few days. Overall I'm loving the user experience thus far. It's still very much a one-handed device for me. Especially with the Reachability feature.

OAW
     
badidea
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Oct 15, 2014, 04:11 AM
 
Well, I understand of course why they decided to put the lock button on the side of the iPhone now but when I want to take pictures in landscape mode for example, I want to use the volume buttons to trigger a photo ...and in that case my thumb wants to be where the lock button is now ...which often leads to an accidental lock of the phone because of the counter pressure!
I guess I'm holding it wrong!?
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starman
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Oct 18, 2014, 11:27 PM
 
Remember Bendgateâ„¢?

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OAW
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Oct 19, 2014, 11:30 AM
 
The Internet is mysteriously silent on the matter. And the iPhone 6 and 6+ can't be made fast enough to keep up with demand. They are just flying off the shelves. Doesn't seem like #bendgate is much of a thing ... if it ever was.

OAW
     
Shaddim
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Oct 19, 2014, 12:13 PM
 
What else needed to be said? It's a design flaw but Apple will just absorb the cost of replacing the bent phones, at least they admitted the problem early on.
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