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You are here: MacNN Forums > News > Tech News > Some users complain of iPhone 6 Plus bending in pockets

Some users complain of iPhone 6 Plus bending in pockets
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NewsPoster
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Sep 23, 2014, 01:42 PM
 
Having only shipped on Friday, the iPhone 6 Plus is already bending in the pockets of some owners, according to complaints in forums. Hours-long pressure from sitting or physical activity appears to be responsible. Affected phones should still function, but may look noticeably deformed and refuse to lay flat.

Past iPhones have occasionally bent as well, but the 6 Plus may be particularly vulnerable. The product is larger than any other iPhone, while simultaneously being extremely thin and made out of metal. It may be possible to prevent bending by putting the phone in a rigid case, keeping it out of a pocket when possible, and/or using pockets with ample space.


( Last edited by NewsPoster; Oct 1, 2014 at 02:39 AM. )
     
FrackingCylon1
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Sep 23, 2014, 02:03 PM
 
Great. Buy a phone that's too big for your pocket, sit down and force the phone into unnatural angles and stresses and then complain about the phone getting warped. I think the user is warped in this case! If it didn't bend, then they would complain that the phone pokes them in the hip when they sit down. Here's a top: take the freakin gigantic phone out of your crotch or butt pocket when you sit down, stupid.
     
coffeetime
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Sep 23, 2014, 02:27 PM
 
I think that should be Apple's next move: a bendable iPhone 6s Plus. Plus size and thinness come with fragility.
     
PJL500
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Sep 23, 2014, 03:21 PM
 
These people are sitting the wrong way.
     
Inkling
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Sep 23, 2014, 04:01 PM
 
Duh! Don't put it in your back pocket and sit down.
Author of Untangling Tolkien and Chesterton on War and Peace
     
pottymouth
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Sep 23, 2014, 05:15 PM
 
Or your front pocket, for that matter.

Welcome to the age of mobile phones that are no longer portable. Maybe somebody should invent some sort of belt holster for these giant phones...wait...didn't we go through that already and decide that smaller was better? I'm so confused.
     
Flying Meat
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Sep 23, 2014, 05:24 PM
 
I'm gonna need a giganto-holster. There's no way I'm gonna try to put that thing in my pants pockets.
     
b9bot
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Sep 23, 2014, 06:19 PM
 
Agree with FrackingCylon1. Don't buy a phone that's to big for your pockets. Don't expect that phone to last if you are going to force yourself to sit on it or bend when that phone is to tight in your pocket. This isn't an Apple problem, not one bit.
     
panjandrum
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Sep 23, 2014, 06:29 PM
 
Wow, this is about the biggest "duh" ever. I'm by no means a fan of everything Apple does, but this is obviously a UTS error. How in the world are people stupid enough to purchase any phablet-sized device and then try to stick in their pocket and expect it to be happy there? I guess maybe the same people who think they can charge their phones in a microwave... This is clearly the fault of the user, and in no way Apple's responsibility.
     
chimaera
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Sep 23, 2014, 06:52 PM
 
Ordinary people see problems. Great people see opportunities. Here's a chance to join the 1%, without robbing a bank.

Someone start a Kickstarter, or round up some sweatshops. There's an undiscovered market for shirts with extra-big pockets. T-shirts, casual wear, even suits. And you can be first to market if you're quick enough.

I'll take 10% for inventing the idea.
     
jpellino
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Sep 23, 2014, 10:28 PM
 
Because physics.
Just sayin'
     
JEB
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Sep 24, 2014, 01:46 AM
 
all of your bending in pockets are belong to us
'Simplify. Simplify.' --Thoreau
     
kooBi
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Sep 24, 2014, 02:00 AM
 
what JEB said
     
Spheric Harlot
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Sep 24, 2014, 06:59 AM
 
People want phones that big, people GET phones that big.

If you discover that it might have been a stupid idea, chalk it up to being a learning experience and stop being stupid.
     
ShortcutToMoncton
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Sep 24, 2014, 08:11 AM
 
Hang on now.

If other companies can make phones of a similar size that do not bend in pockets...then this is clearly a dumb mistake on Apple's part.

I have no idea whether this is a problem with other phones, but you can't very well blame it on users if they're doing the same things they could normally do with other phones. I mean, I've just read that this problem may include iP6s as well...I'm not aware of any 4.7" phones with a bending problem?
Mankind's only chance is to harness the power of stupid.
     
HPeet
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Sep 24, 2014, 08:26 AM
 
Is there potential for another round of iPhone fires?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRI9Cc82d-Y
     
panjandrum
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Sep 24, 2014, 08:51 AM
 
OK, revisiting this, which from what we've seen so far (inappropriate pocket use) still reeks of UTS errors, I suppose there is another possibility related to Apple's use of metal shells rather than the cheaper plastic shells seen on most devices. Metals often stay bent once bent (obviously a generality which doesn't include spring-steel etc), whereas most plastics spring back to something resembling their original shape. This definitely had an impact on the MacBook / MacBook Pro line, in which the metal cases have been prone to denting, bending, and / or permanent distortion when "impacted" to a degree which often leaves a plastic-cased laptop either completely undamaged or with a minor crack. I work with a lot of users in Education, often with hundreds of devices per school, and as much as I like the industrial-design of Apple's metal-enclosed MacBook Pros, there is no denying that they look permanently "damaged" much more easily than Apple's older plastic MacBooks. Maybe we are seeing a similar problem here: It's possible that the iPhone 6 might be flexing no more, or even less, than competing plastic-bodied phones, but is retaining the bent-shape due to the materials used (which, of course, opens up the question as to whether or not metal is actually a superior mater for constructing devices that are subjected to daily knocking-about).
     
Grendelmon
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Sep 24, 2014, 09:44 AM
 
Typical fanboy response: you're doing it wrong.
     
DiabloConQueso
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Sep 24, 2014, 10:01 AM
 
Part of the reason Apple uses metals and metal alloys in their products is because plastic cracks and becomes weaker over time. As evidenced by the plastic MacBook series, things start breaking down: the body of the computer, the display hinges on laptops, etc.

I'd much rather have my laptop dent if I drop it than crack. Dents don't get worse over time -- once it's dented, it's dented. If the body of the computer cracked, then simple, everyday, casual use could and would cause the crack to become bigger and bigger.

A plastic-bodied device (laptop, smartphone) won't lose its shape when slightly bent, but that's about the only thing that plastic has going for it.
     
mac_in_tosh
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Sep 24, 2014, 03:19 PM
 
Why do some people feel the need to defend Apple all the time? I'm sure if Samsung launched a new large phone and it was getting bent in people's pockets, some of the people here would be having a field day with it. Maybe "thinner, lighter" has reached the limit.
     
Spheric Harlot
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Sep 24, 2014, 08:14 PM
 
I doubt that. Telling people that stupidly big phones are prone to stronger leverage forces isn't "defending Apple"; it's telling them that basic physics are simply common sense.
     
mac_in_tosh
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Sep 25, 2014, 01:42 PM
 
Thank you for making my point. The average person that buys a phone is supposed to know about leverage forces and basic physics? All they did was put it in their pocket. If it is so prone to being bent, then it should come with an advisory as to that fact.

Gee, I've put my iPod Touch in my pocket but didn't first calculate the leverage forces. How irresponsible of me.
     
Spheric Harlot
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Sep 26, 2014, 02:20 AM
 
Larger items bend more easily. This is not something arcane, but something most humans grasp (literally) by the time they're about eight.

It's also affected the larger Sonys, blackberrys and Lumias, suggesting that only Apple is expected to defy the laws of physics.

As it is, this doesn't seem to be a real (as in, in any way common) issue - Apple claims a total of nine people have complained, and the test videos show people requiring considerable strength to bend the metal, which, btw, is reinforced with steel and titanium.
     
Grendelmon
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Sep 26, 2014, 10:37 AM
 
Originally Posted by Spheric Harlot View Post
Larger items bend more easily. This is not something arcane, but something most humans grasp (literally) by the time they're about eight.

It's also affected the larger Sonys, blackberrys and Lumias, suggesting that only Apple is expected to defy the laws of physics.

As it is, this doesn't seem to be a real (as in, in any way common) issue - Apple claims a total of nine people have complained, and the test videos show people requiring considerable strength to bend the metal, which, btw, is reinforced with steel and titanium.
Oh look, Apple gets another pass. Spheric is schooling us on the laws of physics.

Nobody is disputing physics. This is completely about Apple's QA. The iPhone 6+ hasn't been out long enough for Apple to collectively identify if there is a serious design flaw. They sure like to remind us about how many units they've sold though. Do you think they have any incentive to come out and say that they just potentially shipped and sold millions of defective units?

The point is, you don't know all of the facts, and stop acting like you do. It could possibly have been a bad production lot. How many manufacturers are producing the new models?
     
   
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