Apple Inc. advertised the new feature iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus as ultra thin; critics say the mobile devices are so thin and light that they bend.
As early as two days after the phones’ release date, several iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus users took to macrumors.com, a website dedicated to Apple news, to complain about a design failure that supposedly can cause the iPhones to bend. Some of the users said the devices were noticeably bent after having them in their back pockets for less than 12 hours.
“I was actually going to buy the iPhone 6 when I got paid, but now I’m worried about it bending since I keep [it] in my pockets when I’m not using it,” senior Spanish major Jocelyn Paez said. “It’s kind of pointless for [Apple Inc.] to make the iPhone more resistible to breaking when it’s bendable.”
Apple users have posted pictures of their bent iPhones to Twitter, using #BendGate. Just like users on macrumors.com, Twitter users have also claimed that their phones bent after having the devices in their pockets for several hours.
Funny memes did not take long to surface across social media outlets, such as Twitter and Instagram; one popular meme showed an image of a “bent iPhone 6 repair kit,” which includes a dough roller, duct tape and an iron.
One user on macrumors.com said, “If you love your skinny jeans, you will hate the very flexible iPhone.” Another meme claims that the new iPhone has a feature called “iFlex,” which allows the phone to bend.
Reporters on cnet.com, a technology-centered news outlet, claimed the problem is the “anodized”— coated with a protective film by chemical or electrolytic means — aluminum frame. Although the special aluminum makes the phone more durable, the aluminum is a soft metal than can be bent with low pressure, according to CNET.
Sophomore biology major Joe McLaughlin said he still hopes to buy the new iPhone soon.
“I just hope they take responsibility and replace my phone if it happens to bend,” McLaughlin said.
Apple Inc. said that the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus were put through “rigorous tests throughout the entire development cycle including three-point bending, pressure-point cycling, sit, torsion and user studies,” Trudy Muller, an Apple spokeswoman, said in a statement to the New York Times on Friday.
The publication also stated that Apple said only nine customers have visited stores with bent iPhones issues. Apple said it is extremely rare for the iPhones to bend with normal use, according to the New York Times.