Apple: iPhone 6 Plus that bends with normal use ‘very rare’

In normal use, a bend of the iPhone 6 Plus is ‘very rare’. That is what Apple says in response to the fuss about bent iPhones in recent days. Apple says it has received nine complaints about bends since its release last week.

Last week, photos and stories appeared online of users whose iPhone 6 Plus is said to have been bent in their pocket. It is unknown how often this has happened, but the manufacturer tells the business newspaper The Wall Street Journal that at least nine complaints have been made about it. Whether this only concerns complaints in the United States or worldwide, the article does not state.

Apple says that with normal use, the bends on the iPhone 6 Plus are “very rare.” In addition, the new iPhones have passed tests to test the durability in daily use. The manufacturer says it carries out various types of tests, including the sitting test. This simulates a situation where the telephone is in the back pocket of tight pants and where someone is sitting on a hard surface.

It is the first time that the iPhone maker has responded to complaints about the bent iPhone 6 Plus. The problem is that the phone doesn’t bend back when bent, which is often the case with competing smartphones. The iPhone 6 Plus seems to bend especially at the volume buttons, to the point where it couldn’t be reinforced due to the placement of the buttons.

The fact that bending is possible is due to the combination of the small thickness and the almost completely aluminum housing, a material that is easy to shape. Thin phones have had such problems for a long time. Inflections were previously seen on the iPod touch, iPhone 5, and some other phones like the Sony Xperia Z1.