Skip to main content

Consumer Reports devising authoritative test for iPhone 6 bending issues

Consumer Reports LG G Flex

Not sure what to believe about recent claims that the iPhone 6 Plus has a malleability issue? Consumer Reports says it is in the process of undergoing authoritative testing to find its own answer to the question of whether or not the larger iPhone has a bending problem.

According to their post, Consumer Report will critically test the new iPhones against other popular smartphones using their “sophisticated machinery” which can apply up to 1,000 pounds of force previously used to test the LG G Flex and determine whether or not the iPhone 6 models are more likely to bend than other phones.

While you would expect any device to succumb to pressure at some extreme point, Consumer Report’s experience will presumably offer data specifying at which point each popular smartphone maintains damage from bending when it becomes available.

Apple today issued a statement to various media outlets saying that only nine customers have filed complaints regarding the bending issue during the six days of iPhone sales.

After initial reports of iPhone 6 Plus devices maintaining bends in the frame after normal use surfaced, several videos have been shared demonstrating the malleability of the new iPhone model.

We’ll share the results from Consumer Reports as they become available, so stay tuned…

FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.

You’re reading 9to5Mac — experts who break news about Apple and its surrounding ecosystem, day after day. Be sure to check out our homepage for all the latest news, and follow 9to5Mac on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to stay in the loop. Don’t know where to start? Check out our exclusive stories, reviews, how-tos, and subscribe to our YouTube channel

Comments

  1. 89p13 - 10 years ago

    This has really taken on a life of its own.

    PEOPLE

    Don’t put your 5.5″, Glass and Aluminum phone in your pants pocket.

    Really

    • cynical2014 - 10 years ago

      For those of us who don’t carry purses to put our phones into, where should we be carrying it? A belt holster?

      • Islandlife - 10 years ago

        Cargo pant pocket? Hold it in your hand? Belt Holster? Shouldn’t that have crossed your mind when you decided to buy a HUGE phone like that?

      • Mike Wëwerka - 10 years ago

        Your pants pocket is fine, just take it out when you sit down or drive in a car where, 1.) it won’t fit due to the tight nature of seats pockets and 2.) You don’t need your phone in your pocket all day long.

        Simply take it out, when your pocket won’t hang flat down or put it in your back pocket, but remove it when you are seated. If you’re doing a lot of bending where your phone will be compromised due to bending, take it out.

        Would you put a pencil in your pocket while seated, no, it may break. This is not really a problem, if people wanted a bigger phone (especially one this big) there will be trade offs. Just like the iPhone 4 being to small for some people, (either for their hands, big pockets, etc ) but you don’t hear people complaining.

        It’s no different than buying a Ford F-150 King Cab, your going to have problems parking in small spaces and may need to park a little further way to avoid having an accident, it’s just the price you pay for getting something bigger. Want to swing in a spot quick, by a Fiat. Get my point?

    • b9bot - 10 years ago

      Apple has already done this. Consumer Reports is a bunch of BIAS B.S. and should not be in business anymore. If you actually read there garbage or buy there garbage I suggest you stop wasting your money. Ask your 2 year old and you will get a better review.

  2. paulywalnuts23 - 10 years ago

    Let me go get my car and we can drive over it to be sure that there is a bending issue because if it bends with my car there must at an issue.. Really? 1000 lbs of force…

  3. 89p13 - 10 years ago

    Consumer Reports trolling for subscriptions?

    • Wes - 10 years ago

      Consumers are concerned, so consumer reports is reporting on it. Wut?

      • Dean Har - 10 years ago

        Exactly. I have faith Consumer Reports will provide an unbiased report as best they can.

        Meanwhile, foolish fans accept Apple’s statement with no evidence whatsoever, even despite the obvious conflict of interest.

      • FAME - 10 years ago

        Please don’t encourage the idiots on the internet.

  4. George Lacy - 10 years ago

    Same people probably put their glasses in their pocket and wonder why they broke.

    • shareef777 - 10 years ago

      I expect my phone to be more durable then a pair of glasses. I have the 6+ and keep it in my pocket all the time (even after all this ‘bendgate’ nonsense came out), but people’s responses of ‘just don’t put it in your pocket’ is absolutely ridiculous. I don’t want to walk around with my phone in my hand if I’m not using it, no matter how small or large the phone is. It’s for the same reason I don’t keep my wallet or my keys in my hands if I’m not using them. So where do I put them? IN MY POCKET!

      • jrox16 - 10 years ago

        For god’s sakes people… don’t keep your phone in your pocket, especially back pocket WHEN YOU SIT DOWN. There’s nothing wrong with standing or walking with in your pocket, it will not bend. Anyone who says otherwise is an idiot or a liar. But all we need is basic common sense. A thin huge phone should not be sat on. In fact, NO phone should be sat on, but people are stubborn and dumb. This whole issue is so stupid I can’t believe we are all, me, and the internet, wasting so much time talking about it. DON’T SIT ON YOUR PHABLETS! How can Apple design a thin huge phone to guarantee no one will bend it when sitting on it? What if a 100 lb little girl sits on it? Probably fine. What if a 400 pound obese person sits on it? Probably will bend. It’s physics, it’s nature, it’s REALITY!!!

        “I feel like I’m taking crazy pills!!!!”
        – Mugatu

      • shareef777 - 9 years ago

        @jrox16

        I’m with you 100%. Don’t sit on top of ANY thing other then a chair and your @ss lol.

        And if the phone fits in your front pocket, you should be able to sit/walk with it in there without ANY issues. I’ve been keeping my 6+ in my front pocket since I got it and I’m a bit over 200lbs. I see zero issues with my phone (except a buggy iOS 8, even after 8.0.2).

  5. paul55br - 10 years ago

    I know a couple of people that have been using their 6 Plus with no issues.

    • herb02135go - 10 years ago

      Well that’s as much evidence as Apple has provided.
      The company has failed. Again

      • jrox16 - 10 years ago

        Failed? You’re a tool. A few idiots sat on their huge thin phablet and you call it a fail? Why do you come here to troll you idiot, go suck on some Samdung.

    • b9bot - 10 years ago

      Yea, there’s about 9,999,991 people who have them and have no issues. Because it is not an issue unless you are incredibly dumb or forcefully do it in a stupid video.

  6. Jeffrey Dowell - 10 years ago

    I just bent the cord to my iPhone. BENDGATE CONSPIRACY. LORD HELP US!

  7. Dusty Dottoms - 10 years ago

    I just love that how whenever Apple has an alleged slip-up that everyone is on their asses. So all of a sudden, now that we have some type of issue with a phone being bent that we must all run around and assume that this is the holy grail of all mess-ups. No one would give two damns if this was happening on a motorola or samsung phone…yet again, if this did happen with motorola and samsung, they would just release a whole new line of phones a month later and call it the Next Big Thing to fix the issue.

    • Bob Smogango - 10 years ago

      I do think Apple should have done a little more testing on the product before releasing it. It should bend out of shape when putting the device in your pocket and sitting down since that’s where most people put their phone and it’s common for people to sit down with their phone in their front or back pocket.

      I’m buying the iPhone 6, which is less susceptible to this problem because it’s not as long and is harder to bend.

      I think they might need to thicken the area of the case to prevent it from bending or use a different case material.

      Aluminum is considered a soft metal and doesn’t have as good of “memory” as something like titanium. What Apple could have done is used a slight curve to the back of the unit to prevent this as curving the back of the case adds extra strength.

      • ecruz53 - 10 years ago

        So, you in all your wisdom know that Apple didn’t do enough testing…
        Should i buy Apple or Samsung stock wizard?

      • I agree, they definitely should have tested it further but they might not have foreseen the issue. It’s true though that everyone jumps right on Apple for a slip-up, giving them almost no time at all to even respond to the problem.

      • Max Mars (@devianter) - 10 years ago

        If your front pockets are THAT tight and small, you’d probably feel a lot of PAIN before the iPhone could bend. It’s a big ass phone. If it doesn’t fit, don’t INSIST.

      • jrox16 - 10 years ago

        Why is it that everyone accepts the reality of the universe that a dropped slab of glass from a good height has a very good change of shattering, but at the same time, they can’t accept the reality that sitting on a thin huge phone might just happen to bend it and we should take better care of our very expensive toys?? Why is that? Why is one bit of physics understandable, but the other not? People drop their phones every day, yet sitting on them, oh no, it should be able to withstand any size person sitting on it with any amount of force, it should be unbendable. Please, if you folks think Apple didn’t do enough testing, then you must back that up by offering actual details of what the tolerance of passing such tests should be. In your opinion, how heavy should a person be able to be, and how tight should their pants be, and with what exact amount of newtons should they be able to sit on the thing before it bends at all?? Provide those figures because what you’ll find is that it’s NOT POSSIBLE to prevent against anything 10 million people are going to throw at it, there will always be outliers.

      • Metl Mann - 10 years ago

        “I do think Apple should have done a little more testing on the product before releasing it.”
        You can only say that with any credibility if you ACTUALLY know how much testing Apple did. Also, your statement is meaningless if you are not privy to internal Apple policy on structural requirements of an iPhone 6+. As far as you know, the phones met all their predetermined requirements.
        Don’t talk about things you don’t know about.

  8. Maria Makris - 10 years ago

    All haters out there looking to make Apple look bad….its all they have. Because they all know that Apple and Apple technology is far superiors and they just need something….makes me chuckle and shake my head.

    • Dean Har - 10 years ago

      Apple is making themselves look bad. Samsung didn’t make the iPhone bendable… Nor did they force Apple to release 8.0.1.

      If you’re going to hype up your announcement and put the iPhone 6/6+ on the world stage, then you better be damn ready for the backlash if things go wrong.

      • herb02135go - 10 years ago

        Very well stated.

        Foolish sheep.

      • jrox16 - 10 years ago

        All phones are bendable LOL. You think I can’t bend a Samsung in my hands. I’m strong, I’ll do it, no problem. So what’s your point??

        My point is that this debate is absolute utter bullshit. There’s no data, no facts of what amount of force is being applied and how much is too much or what any manufacturers standards should be, etc. Some phones are stronger than others, so what. Apple’s might not be the strongest, but if you sit on your phablet, it’s going to bend, period. Your Galaxy Note will bend too. It’ll spring back since it’s plastic, but its absolutely bending to some degree every time if you sit on it. At some point, someone will sit hard enough or be heavy enough to break it from the amount of bend. How far is that? How much force? Do you know? So by talking all you’re doing is taking a story where you have no actual data, and turning it into an anti-Apple argument, a flame war. Send me your non-Apple phablet, I’ll bend the shit out of it on video in my hands, I’m stronger than the guy in the video. I’ll turn it into a taco, and that will prove nothing.

        8.0.1 being released in the state that it was in WAS a total fail, and I will not sugar coat it. That was a big Apple fail moment, but at least they fixed it the next day. Still, it should not have happened and there’s no denying that.

    • FAME - 10 years ago

      How does someone end up writing a post so sad? What happened in your life for you to become a free corporate marking tool? Concerned consumers and people investigating the issue are haters? Why is your capacity to understand the situation so abysmal? Did you graduate college?

      Find out on the next Episode of Dragon Ball Z.

  9. Bob Smogango - 10 years ago

    The guy in the photo that bending it with his fingers is bending it off center.

  10. The Gnome (@gnomehole) - 10 years ago

    Anything Consumer Reports can do to stay relevant. Even my grandma doesn’t read their material….

  11. ecruz53 - 10 years ago

    If i dont trust CR when i read their cars reviews, they are bias against some, why should i care what their iphone tests say?

    • Wes - 10 years ago

      I find them to be pretty objective. It’s not their fault american cars were so unreliable for a few years. They just report the data. They’ve turned around a fair amount on domestic brands since they’ve upped their games a bit.

  12. Josh (@533mhz) - 10 years ago

    This has just gotten way out of hand.

  13. Lars Pallesen - 10 years ago

    Consumer Report, the company that brought you the popular horror story “Antenna-Gate” is now back with another shocking non-story: “Bend-Gate”! *dum-dum-dum!*

    • Dean Har - 10 years ago

      Considering they were right the first time….

      • Jim Phong - 10 years ago

        They never were right. They clearly are getting paid to bash Apple. Apple should sue them all. These people are so corrupted.

      • Dean Har - 10 years ago

        I guess my eyes were failing me when the my signal went to zero and web pages didn’t load when I held my phone ‘the wrong way’. Was the iPhone 4S, iPhone 5, or iPhone 5S just as bad? NOPE

        Go home with your “clearly getting paid to bash Apple” BS.

  14. Jim Phong - 10 years ago

    Apple should sue them all! Steve Jobs would have started already.
    It’s now well known that competitors are behind this lame bashing campaign to attack Apple.
    LG, Samsung and Nestle started releasing a marketing campaign on the ‘net trying to make fun of “the bend-gate” against Apple… Nestle CEO must be the dumbest of the group there because they don’t even make smartphone and tablets, do they ?
    These competitors managers and their marketing depts people are an absolute shame! They deserve to be go bankrupt and be put in jail!
    This whole marketing campaign is the most stupid and childish ever.
    Any smartphone or tablet would bend and crack if anyone sat on them. As well as if anyone bent them on purpose with the hands.

  15. verizon2828 - 10 years ago

    Fucking Consumer Reports trying to be relevant again. Are you kidding me? As if “does it bend” should be in the sales process of buying a damn phone. It’s $700 (or more) piece of electronics…treat it as such! Imbeciles out in the world.

    • Dean Har - 10 years ago

      LOL, treat it as such by not putting it in your pocket? There are enough imbeciles right on this very page.

  16. This is getting ridiculously stupid. Hey, if you put it in an industrial blender, it’ll blend. What does that have to do with reality?

  17. Lee (@leemahi) - 10 years ago

    iPhones shouldn’t bend at all. They should make it out of a more malleable alloy instead of pure aluminum. Apple fucked up. No doubt. Now let’s see if they can get the support structures into the iPhone 6 Plus before the end of the year.

  18. David Hyman - 10 years ago

    9 People thats all. The above picture, look at his thumbs, look how red they are from the pressure. above and beyond the normal day to day pressure. Just sad that so many IPhone 6 Plus have to be destroyed to keep playing this game when i have to wait a month for mine.

  19. Edward James - 10 years ago

    So,what is the result?

  20. Jonny Mack - 10 years ago

    It’s so hard to get a 6 Plus right now, it pains me every time I see someone purposely damaging one. It’s delicate, it’s expensive, it’s fabulous and I want one. Stop breaking them… lol

  21. Peter INova - 10 years ago

    Assuming 4,000,000 iPhone 6’s had been delivered into customers’ hands as of the 9 reported bent versions showed up, that would suggest around 0.0000025% of all iP6s suffered this Major News Story’s Terrible Fate (MNSTF).
    How is it significant? How significant is it?
    If you put your iP6 into a place you would never shove a pencil, you will probably be safe. The number of people who stab themselves bending over with a pencil in their pocket every day is not known, but it is way in the thousands, likely.
    Where are the MNSTF stats on that when you need them.

  22. Emma Jones - 10 years ago

    Apple iPhone 6 is up for sale. Find sites offering best prices & amazing deals on iPhone 6 & 6 Plus only at freeappleiphone6(dot)com (Just replace the (dot) with the actual . )

Author

Avatar for Zac Hall Zac Hall

Zac covers Apple news, hosts the 9to5Mac Happy Hour podcast, and created SpaceExplored.com.